Former President, Jerry John Rawlings, has cautioned the leadership and followers of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to work very hard if indeed they want to reclaim power in the 2020 general election.
He explained that it would not be easy to wrestle power from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in 2020, but that natural triumph could and may possibly come after eight years of the rule of the NPP.
The former President and founder of the NDC, was worried some members among the leadership of the party initially did not know after four years, it would not be easy to wrestle power from the NPP.
“If I may speak frankly, the leadership have gone ahead and almost purchased the power of our party into their pockets and claiming to reclaim power in 2020, when I know and some of you should know your aim is not really towards 2020,” former President Rawlings posited.
He was speaking at a national cadres conference on the theme: ‘Effective mobilisation and organisation for victory 2020-The role of Cadres’ here on Saturday which discussed discipline, training, organisation, sustaining grassroots, mobilisation and participation to map out strategies for victory in the 2020 elections.
According to former President Rawlings, “2024 is your target when the NPP will be weak there, we have to make do with the truth and the reality,” he postulated and touching on accountability, probity and transparency, he said “after 18 years in office my wife and I did not have even one dollar in a foreign or local account, this is J.J and I know where I am coming from”.
He mentioned that “opening a foreign account was an advice from the late Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, when he asked me to help with HIV/AIDS campaign in Africa, as there will be payment of allowance into a foreign account, it was at that point I asked my wife to open a joint foreign account.
A former Eastern Regional Minister, Antwi-Boasiako Sekyere, in a welcome address, indicated their unflinching support for John Mahama, a former President, to lead the party to victory in 2020 however, worried the party seemed to have lost focus on social democratic philosophy and abandoned grassroots mobilisation and organisation.
FROM KINGSLEY E. HOPE, EJISU
