Retained National Chairman of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Nii-Allotey Brew-Hammond, has indicated his readiness and determination to work hard with his new team to wrestle power from the ruling NDC government in 2016.
Officials from the Elections Directorate of the Electoral Commission (EC) led by Mr. Dan Amanyo at noon yesterday declared Messers Nii-Allotey Brew-Hammond, William Dowokpor and Ben Saliah for the positions of National Chairman, 1st National Vice-Chairman and the 3rd National Vice-Chairman respectively duly elected.
The rest were Ms. Berlinda Bulley as the 2nd Vice Chairperson, Murtala Mohammed— National Secretary, whiles the National Treasurer went to Mr. Felix Ograh.
There was no election at the PPP’s 2nd national convention which was held on Saturday, October 31, 2015 in Takoradi in the Western region.
And that all the six current national executives were retained in office by popular acclamation.
Consequently, they were sworn into office by the party’s National Committee Chairman, Mr. Mike Eghan Sr.
Addressing an enthusiastic crowd at the convention on the theme; “Strategise to form Government in 2017,” the PPP’s national chairman slammed the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) for failing to improve the living conditions of Ghanaians.
He lamented the current situation the country finds itself of which he described as the introduction of ‘dumsor’ and ‘dumsorisation’ into the international dictionaries as a result of the erratic power supply.
Accordingly, he urged the youth to take the destiny of the country into their own hands by changing the NDC government in 2016.
According to the PPP leader, Ghana was sick and getting sicker with each passing day, which situation, he said, could be detrimental, if not halted by a change of leadership.
“This economy is sick and getting sicker. Create, loot and share has become the paradigm. The national debt is trespassing and may soon require forgiveness again.
…the society is divided and unemployment is sky rocketing. Poverty is breeding dependency and corruption even at the highest levels of government,” he averred.
He noted that every election was an opportunity to shape a nation’s future. To this end, he charged the PPP to use the 2016 General Elections to bring the needed change by voting out the NDC from office.
“It is time we voted for change to transform Ghana from a developing nation to a fully developed nation,” he said.
The PPP stalwart expressed his party’s desire to seek opportunity so as to invest in the people of Ghana, and move the teeming unemployed youth to employment through job creation to rid the nation of preventable diseases by ensuring clean environment.
He reiterated the PPP’s commitment to provide Ghanaians free compulsory quality basic education which in his opinion would lead to progress and prosperity.
Concerning Ghanaians living abroad, the national chairman of the PPP promised that his party would establish a secretariat which will cater for their needs to ensure their full citizenship rights so that they can vote and as well take public sector positions.
On the issue of corruption, Mr. Brew-Hammond reiterated PPP commitment to introduce an independent public prosecutor who would prevent what he described as state-sponsored corruption.
“We will give power to the people for development at the grassroots to enable the elections of all District Chief Executives (DCEs) to ensure local accountability and strengthen Parliament to perform its legislative duties effectively by sponsoring reforms to abolish the provisions that allow ministers of state to also serve as Members of Parliament (MPs),” he said.
That, according to him, would help fight corruption in the country.
For his part, 2012 flag-bearer of the PPP, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, affirmed his party’s commitment to make corruption unattractive by ensuring that the Attorney-General’s office is separated from the Ministry of Justice.
“We are the ones who are saying that the Attorney-General should be independent and the Minister of Justice should be the president’s lawyer so that if anyone does anything wrong politics will not be there to save them so that corruption can be attacked actively,” Dr. Nduom said.
He urged PPP members to continue to believe in the ideals of the party and work hard to bring victory to the party in 2016.
What the country needs now, according to Dr. Nduom, is an incorruptible leadership, adding that “it is only the PPP which can offer such leadership.”
He noted that the Mahama-led government has only brought ‘dumsor,’ unemployment, corruption and disregard for rule of law to the people and thus called on Ghanaians to make a change in 2016 by voting for the PPP.
He assured that a PPP government would give power to the people at the grassroots.
“We are the only political party saying that if our people are smart enough to cast a vote to elect an MP and Assembly Member, they are also smart enough to cast a vote to elect their District Chief Executives (DCEs).
The PPP is saying that it is time for us to elect our MMDCEs, he stressed.
On the issue of education, Dr. Nduom said: “free compulsory, continuous education from kindergarten to the end of senior high school is what we mean. The constitution does not only say free education but free compulsory education. It is only the PPP that is insisting that our constitution says compulsory education and we will bring it to Ghanaians.”
Earlier, the PPP unveiled its slogan: “Ghanaman, yenhwe ma no nsei,” to wit, “We won’t look on for Ghana to be destroyed.”
Consequently the immediate past National Secretary, Mr. Kofi Asamoah-Siaw, who was the Master of Ceremony (MC) for the occasion, charged members of the party to sell the slogan to Ghanaians so that it would not be stolen by their opponents.
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