There is every reason for us as a party to celebrate. As the oldest political party in the country’s history, we in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have notched in the fabric of Ghana’s democracy an enviable record of harmony, resilience, patriotism, and above all, championed an enviable record of development and governance.
As we match towards this mass convening of delegates across the country, we are reminded of the values and ideologies our forebearers bestowed upon us, and that shall remain our quest for years to come.
The NPP is as great as its leadership, members, sympathizers, and refined by the perceptions Ghanaians make of our individual and collective selves. The past decades have presented some interesting experiences and opportunities. We have remained a strong political force throughout, even in opposition, and that is under the confidence reposed in us.
We have today, under the leadership of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo another term as granted by the good people of Ghana to serve and transform the nation into prosperity and freedom. Our freedom could never be complete until the ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ is actualized. And yes, there is no other than the NPP as capable to champion this agenda.
Through the solid foundation laid by President John Agyekum Kuffour, the Ghanaian economy was positioned for enormous growth. As a party that cares for the Ghanaian people, several social intervention programmes, such as the National Health Insurance Scheme, Free Maternal Care, Capitation Grant, School Feeding Programme, Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) among others were implemented to make Ghana a better place for all. A nation that was labelled as a poor income country was catapulted into a middle-income earning country.
The Ghanaian economy leapfrog from a paltry 3.7 to 9.15% of GDP within the 8-year tenure (2000-2008). This was even without oil. Our opponents; the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was handed over the baton and they took us into the shackles of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The vibrant economy they inherited had rather been swept off to 3.4% of GDP growth and with a gargantuan debt portfolio that strangle our development.
Ghanaians chose in 2016, and indeed, the most prudent decision was to trust the affairs of the nation in the care of the NPP under H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo to restore it into its former glory and chart a new path for our development.
In the past five years, Ghanaians have witnessed the difference; a change from depravity, stagnation, and hopelessness to a brighter Ghana. As a mark of the competence of the Danquah-Dombo-Busia tradition, the NPP government had repaired the mess the NDC created and is working towards a resilient, sustainable, and steady development of the nation at all fronts.
The past four years had witnessed an addition of a crop of socio-economic interventions that had propelled us from the impoverishment of the NDC into an era of hope, dignity, and restoration. The NPP government under President Nana Addo introduced the Free Senior High School Policy, the Nation Builders Corps, One District One Factory, and many others while restoring, restructuring, and solidifying existing socio-economic programmes.
But we owe the Ghanaian people more, and it is the reason that key interventions as the YouStart Initiative, the Development Bank of Ghana, and many others are being instituted in fulfilment of the vision our forefathers had for the nation. We cannot let our guards down for another cycle of ‘cancerous’ disruption by the opposition to the gains we have made over the years. There is every reason to be concerned as a member of the NPP and a Ghanaian for the future of this nation when the fate of our development is bastardized by mere political propaganda from our opponents. We know what they are capable of, as they offer nothing but retrogression, suffering, and stagnation.
We in the NPP need to fight for this nation. We need to protect this nation and the gains we have chalked from the crawls of a desperate opposition party, whose desire is to exploit the magnificent and promising Ghana, President Akufo Addo has built. The next election is not about breaking a record. That would be selfish of us as a party but it is about protecting the future of this nation. It is about protecting the dreams of our young ones seeking academic and professional excellence. It is about our young graduates whose dreams are to find meaningful jobs after school.
Our quest for political power is to better the lives of our people, and we cannot afford to disappoint the Ghanaian people come 2024.
I am by this message calling on all sons and daughters of this great party to re-examine ourselves and ready each other to support this government to succeed. It is only on the record of success of the Akufo Addo government that Ghanaians shall reward us beyond the 2024 election.
This is the moment for introspection, a moment for reconciliation, a moment of truth and service. Let us eschew the backbiting, hatred, and other conflicts and forge a united front. Ghanaians have been good to us, and we owe them a lot should we allow some parochial interest to rip us apart.
The overwhelming endorsement we received in 2016 though fell short in the 2020 election must be considered a blessing. We have the opportunity to prove to Ghanaians that we are the answer to its development. The consistency in delivering on our social contract with the Ghanaian people is proof of our credibility and competence.
Going forward, we in the NPP must be disciplined. We must build relationships beyond our political circles. We must consider increasing our margins by winning more floating voters, and assuredly, some great numbers from the camps of our opponents. But these can only be achieved when we allow the values of our forebearers to imbibe in us.
Long live NPP! Long Live Ghana!!
Kukrudu!!!!!!
