PNC Faces Leadership Challenges?

The People�s National Convention (PNC) is facing leadership challenges. �Our party is clearly going through some leadership challenges, and I am not surprised that there seems to be no progress taking place in terms of media visibility and electoral fortunes of the party,� the National Organiser of the party, Mr Emmanuel Wilson Jnr, has lamented. In an interview with the Daily Graphic on the electoral fortunes of the party, he admitted that its centre was not holding. Speaking on the party�s activities in between the 2012 election and yet-to-be organised 2016 election, Mr Wilson said, �There is no sense of direction, and we seem to be losing focus; the centre seems to be pursuing the interest of other political parties other than that of the PNC. �In my candid view, the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Ahmed Ramadan, who is also our leader, should assert himself, exert more authority, direction and bring more discipline into our party affairs�. No sanctions He said there were some leading members of the party who were openly flouting the rules of engagement and because they were not punished, they were emboldened to continue. �The loss of focus finds expression in the extent to which some leading members of the party are clearly seen pushing the agenda of other political parties other than that of the PNC,� he stated. �This is having a toll and negative effect on our party�s electoral fortune,� the national organiser stated. He said most of the party members at the grass-roots levels were getting frustrated by the inactivity of the party and the lack of commitment to the interest of the party which some of their leaders were exhibiting in the public domain. �My recent visit to a number of constituencies outside Accra indicated that there must be a clear party policy direction, which is expected to be driven by our national chairman, but it seems things are slow in the party,� Mr Wilson Jnr stated. Early congress According to the National Organiser of the PNC, if there was any difficulty in discharging that basic party duty, then the least that could be done now was for the PNC to start preparing for an early congress. �This will afford delegates an opportunity to elect individuals who can and will truly represent their interest, protect and work for the advancement of the PNC,� he argued. Article 49 (2) of the PNC Constitution states that the national chairman shall hold office for a term not less than the life of Parliament and shall be eligible for re-election for another term. Article 51(4) as amended also states that �The tenure of office of the National chairman/leader shall be for four (4) years from the date of their election, and is the same as that for the other elected national office holders on the National Executive...�. But Mr Wilson insisted that notwithstanding the fact that the party went for a delayed congress in February 2012, an early congress was urgently needed as many members truly committed to the cause of the PNC were getting frustrated as the leadership continued to fail, while �we stand aside and look!� He said with 2016 as an election year, the PNC needed to get its act together in order to make any significant impact. Any hope for PNC? �There is hope as long as we have the right leadership in place, doing the right things at the right time, � he stated. �I am talking of individuals who will have the interest of the party as prime and not working for other political party interests,� Mr Wilson stated. He said over the years, the PNC had had the best economic policies and mentioned the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and GETFund as intervention policies mooted by the PNC. �Our difficulty is the ability to package ourselves and make our party attractive,� he stated. He said many people were fed up with the duo politics of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party NPP) but �we are not attracting the electorate because we have not packaged ourselves well; we must let the electorate know that we are ready to govern�. PNC sues EC On whether the PNC had sued the Electoral Commission, Mr Wilson explained that �we have received calls from the rank and file of the PNC over the misleading headline �PNC Sues EC� in both print and electronic media. �The PNC, as a party, has not taken a decision or given the go- ahead to any individual or group to sue the Electoral Commission (EC),� he said He, however, explained that an individual member of the party could sue the EC but �as far as I know, the PNC as a national party has not sued the EC�. He recalled that the PNC participated in the last IPAC meeting which discussed the mode of accepting individuals for registration as qualified voters. �It will be a mere act of hypocrisy, self-seeking, and inconsistent with our party�s position to embark on such a venture in court,� he stated.