Just Ended National Congress Of The GCPP

NEWS COMMENTARY ON THE JUST ENDED NATIONAL CONGRESS OF THE GREAT CONSOLIDATED POPULAR PARTY, GCPP

Once again, the Great Consolidated Popular Party, GCPP, has successfully gone through a national congress. The Party's 2012 flagbearer, Dr Henry Herbert Lartey received the nod to lead the Party into 2016.  Dr. Lartey’s election was by popular acclamation, because he was the sole candidate to have filed to contest the flagbearership position after the close of nomination. Similarly the other 19 national executives were all re-elected unopposed thereby giving the Electoral Commission very little work to do during the Congress. The GCPP was founded in October, 1996 by the late Dan Lartey who became associated with the popular slogan, Domestication, which he explains shortly as 'Grow what you eat and eat what you grow.'  Dan Lartey came to the political scene with the ambition of reversing the downward trend of Ghana’s economy by minimizing the overdependence on foreign products. In order words, he was worried that in the midst of plenty, there is hunger, and most importantly in a situation where everything, including plantain, rice and meat are imported thereby depleting the scarce foreign exchange. 

The current leader who happens to be the son of Dan Lartey has not deviated from his father’s vision to make sure Ghana becomes self-sufficient at least, in food production and other products that can be conveniently produced locally. With the successful Congress by the GCPP, the Party now joins the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and United Progressive Party (UPP), ready for 2016 general elections. Soon to follow, will be the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), People's National Convention (PNC) and the Convention People’s Party (CPP). The GCPP's vision to domesticate the economy when offered the opportunity to govern the nation appears to be indeed very significant as many, including the other political parties have come to appreciate. But the reality is that, looking at Ghana's political circumstances, the chances of GCPP to form a government are very slim, and the question is, does it only take a party to win power before its ideas and policies could be implemented for the general good of the nation?  It is important for political parties to know, that wisdom to generate ideas is part of human formation. This perhaps brings to the fore, the idea to have a national manifesto which will be based on a National Development Plan as being promulgated by the National Development Planning Commission. The proliferation in the country, of one man or woman party, is becoming disturbing. 

It is time the Electoral Commission applies the law to ensure the strict compliance, and subsequently weed out the so called mushroom political groupings to inject sanity into our democracy, which is the envy of the rest of the world. For, politics is completely different from comedy.  

BY: THOMAS NSOWAH-ADJEI, A JOURNALIST.