Why I Worked For NPP: Kwesi Nduom

The 2008 Presidential Candidate of the CPP, Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, has called on Ghanaians to embrace the idea that individuals from different political parties must work together for the benefit of all Ghanaians. He cautions that if we do not, political parties will continue to be supermarkets for their party members alone as opposed to change agents for all Ghanaians. Dr Nduom explained that he joined the New Patriotic Party administration to serve the people of Ghana in the true spirit of inclusiveness, using the best talent available to solve national problems. �I did not join the NPP to work for NPP but I went to serve the people of Ghana in an NPP administration in the true spirit of inclusiveness,� he said in a statement. �Every now and then, someone asks the question, �You were in Kufuor�s government so what did you do when you were there?� Sometimes the question is asked not in a judgmental way as the person is just curious or seeks information. At other times, the question comes when I suggest something can be done differently or I challenge something the NPP Administration did or the Mills Administration is doing. However it comes, whatever the motivation, it is a good question that deserves an answer and one I am happy to deal with,� he stated. Explaining further, he said that �my party, the CPP, agreed on a written alliance with the NPP in the second round of the 2000 election. We traded for the support of certain principles with the NPP in return for our second round support. For example, we asked them to abolish the cash and carry system for health services. �After we gave them our support and NPP won, they approached our leadership to ask for people to become part of the transition team. I was seconded by the party together with people like Professor Nii Noi Dowuona and others to serve on the transition team. I served on the Economy and Finance Team and ended up writing the policy paper for that team. After this period, NPP asked CPP, led by Professor Al Hassan, for some of us to serve in the government. �This was taken to the CPP Central Committee and approved. That is why I accepted the offer to serve in the NPP administration together with Professor Hagan, who was our flag bearer in the 2000 elections. Kojo Armah became a District Chief Executive. Kwesi Armah and Hajia Adisa Munkaila became members of the Council of State. �I gained valuable experience that can be put to use by the CPP but first and foremost it was for the people of Ghana,� he stressed. Dr Nduom said that all round the world, political parties trade support to advance their vision for the country, this was a productive practice and should not be disparaged in Ghana. That was why the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats are in a Coalition Government in the UK � something that would have been unthinkable not too long ago. �I started my political career at the grassroots level as the elected member of the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem District Assembly for the Akotobinsin Electoral Area. I gained a lot from this experience, he said. �I started quarterly sessions with people at each electoral area to bring them closer to the assembly and to listen to their issues and complaints so I could address them. This is where I formed my position that development will only happen in a consistent, timely way if the district chief executives and all assembly members are elected by the communities they serve than when they are appointed by the President. He said, as the Member of Parliament for the KEEA constituency from 2005 to 2009. he made education a priority and started building modern libraries for each of the four traditional areas in the constituency, adding that the project is ongoing. In Parliament, Dr Nduom said he was the one who made the statement that sparked investigations into the Ghana @ 50 Celebrations and the use of funds voted by Parliament.