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The flagbearership race of the NPP for the 2016 election is becoming interesting. What makes it interesting as far as I am concerned is the campaign messages being churned out by the various candidates and their supporters. Hon. Asamoah Boateng says he has been directed by the Almighty God to join the race and is therefore very sure of victory because it�s God himself who crowns kings and leaders. Both Hon. Addai Nimoh and Hon. Ghartey say they are unifiers and will bring all the various factions in the party under one roof. The other candidates have all said something encouraging for their teeming supporters. What is intriguing me particularly is the assertion by Mr. Alan Kyeremanteng that he appeals most to floating voters who make the difference at the polls so the delegates should opt for him and no other candidate. Presidential election Alan says that Nana Akufo-Addo has led the party twice to presidential election and failed twice because he wasn�t attractive enough to the floating voters. But, he Alan, when endorsed by the delegates and made the flag-bearer, will pull all floating voters with his magnet to his side and that will catapult him to victory in the 2016 election. This is well said but there are a few hurdles to be cleared first before Alan gets to the floating voters. But let me ask first: What makes Alan believe that of all the 7 aspirants he is the most appealing to the so-called floating voters? What is his measuring rod? In the run-up to the 2012 general election I personally heard many pro-NDC sympathizers, knowing that their candidate was not very solid on the ground, but had something sinister up their sleeves, saying that if the NPP candidate had been Alan they would vote him. If you asked them why, they had no answer. It dawned on me then that that was a smart ploy engineered by the NDC to bring Nana down having got nothing nasty to hurl at him. And this caught on like wild fire and was all over the place that Alan would have been better than Nana and they would have voted for him if he were the candidate for the NPP. NPP Constitution But by the constitution of the NPP, the person chosen by the delegates is the one who becomes the flag bearer no matter what you think of him. There is no other way; this is democracy. So, the assertion that Alan may appeal more to so-called floating voters is not well-grounded. Besides, it�s well known that the NDC will hurl more missiles at Alan should he become the NPP flag bearer. Alan is a softer target than Nana. On Alan people will ask questions about the success story of the starch factory at Bawjiase and all Alan will do is to �explain matters.� Can he also give figures? People will also ask questions about the oil palm project which hit a snag somewhere along the line but here again Alan may try to �explain matters.� There were other presidential special initiatives run by Alan when he was the minister in charge during the Kufuor regime. Were all these successfully and well run? People will want to have answers to these and not explanations. Alan Cash Also, the man is called Alan Cash. How did he come by that name? It�s not for nothing that he goes by that name. It�s real; he wielded a lot of money then. But where did he get that mountain of cash from? Didn�t we all see how he floated cash on the day he launched his campaign at the Obra Spot then? And don�t we all know how various chairmen and other officials of the party made fortune out of him and yet he came second in 2007? Alan may be jumping the gun if he talks about so-called floating voters when he hasn�t crossed the NPP line yet. I will therefore suggest to him and his followers to concentrate on ways to convince the delegates so as to give the nod to him and no other candidate. Talk about being most attractive to floating voters is therefore irrelevant at this point in time. Besides, it�s a moot idea. Argument In any case, the argument used by Alan and his supporters against Nana can equally be used against him. He has contested Nana twice and twice he has failed to cross the line first. So, what makes him believe that on this third attempt he will turn the tables? Nothing shows. But how does Alan convince the delegates to overwhelmingly vote for him in order to lead and meet the floating voters? He may have started well in this regard. He has promised to pay wages of all categories of officials�from the polling station level to the national level of the party if they give him the nod. The proposition appears to be a tall order though, but it�s juicy all the same. The truth must be told that some of the officials at the polling station level are financially challenged and need help. However, this is an issue facing the entire nation as a result of the acute unemployment difficulties facing the youth and not confined to the NPP alone. Party officials We are here talking about thousands of party officials who are covered by this noble idea of Alan�s and it remains to be seen how it can be carried out. Will the money come from his personal pocket? No! But he will arrange things in such a way that the more endowed members of the party will be convinced to part with a little money from time to time for this to be feasible. And that�s where the crunch is. Texting for money Do you remember what happened to Sammy Crabbe�s innovation of raising funds for Greater Accra through texting when he was in the chair for that region? Very few personalities bought into the idea. In the final analysis that wonderful idea was shelved having hardly seen the light of day. What then is the guarantee that Alan�s great idea which hopes to rake in thousands of Ghana cedis every month can be achieved and sustained for a very long while? Besides, any member of the party who donates any amount of money may wish to have receipts for the payments made, for obvious reasons. This means that Alan may have to set up offices in all the districts and possibly in all the regions to collect the moneys and issue receipts to sponsors and account for such payments. Honestly, this is going to be a bureaucracy by itself and I wonder whether it�s going to be do-able. The cost of the bureaucracy may exceed the target revenue. Question But, I have a little, harmless question to ask on this. Alan�s proposal is a noble one; but why does he wish to implement it only when he becomes the flagbearer? Can�t he put it into action now that he is not yet the flagbearer so we know he really means business and not a trickster? Come on Alan, do something now, not later! Then we�ll know you are not joking. I have a problem generally with the process of selecting the flagbearer for the NPP for 2016. The process to me is too cumbersome and too expensive. There is going to be a delegates� conference to trim the number down to 5 after which there will be a larger conference to pick the real flagbearer. The decision has already been made but let me say this. It would have been better if there had been just one event, may be, the larger electoral college to go at it and pick the first to cross the line as the flagbearer of the party. Trimming the number down to 5 and then going at it again at a later date to pick the number one candidate is too cumbersome and too incongruous. And I tell you what: The result sheet of the limited voting process may repeat itself at the larger event. Mark this on the wall! J. H. Mensah I would like to end this piece by making reference to what one time senior minister J. H. Mensah said at Koforidua prior to the selection of a flagbearer for the 2008 general election. J. H. Mensah may have been upset by the huge number of gentlemen all of whom wanted to be president just because the late Limann has once been president; Rawlings has also been once a president; Kufuor too has once been president, so��.It was there and then that J. H. Mensah gave the admonition: �Check yourself; look into the mirror and see whether you are deserving of what you are seeking?� Let me ask: Have all the 7 aspirants looked at themselves in the mirror as suggested by J. H. Mensah? I rest my case. PS: There is fuel shortage once again; this time it�s diesel; the last time it was petrol. These are signs that there will soon be increase in fuel prices. Honestly! At my age I can say for sure that this has been the most incompetent, the most inefficient, the most corrupt, the most clueless and the most insensitive government that Ghana has ever had the misfortune of harbouring. Fellow Ghanaians, why have we visited this scourge on ourselves?