NPP needs reorganisation to win power — Prempeh

Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah

THE Member of Parliament (MP) for Manhyia, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has said it will take unity, good organisation and a sense of purpose for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to re-capture power in 2012.
He said the party needs to constantly engage in constructive criticism of activities of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and present credible alternatives, where necessary, to win back the hearts of Ghanaians.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Manhyia MP acknowledged that the NPP lost power in December because it was a divided party.
“We failed to carry out our messages effectively, while we could not also effectively counter assaults of the opposition,” he said.
He noted that the NPP allowed the NDC “too much room to operate with lies” to paint the Kufuor government black.
Dr Prempeh said the NPP would, therefore, have to learn from its mistakes and capitilise on the weakness of the NDC in order to revive its fortunes and win back power.
Commenting on his experience in Parliament, he said he had come to learn that the work of an MP required personal sacrifices.
Dr Prempeh stated that the lack of resources for MPs was hampering their work and called on the society to recognise the crucial role of members of the legislature.
He said he found it very difficult to comprehend the volume of work done by Parliament in spite of the numerous challenges the institution had faced since the country returned to constitutional rule in 1993.
Dr Prempeh said it was unfortunate that supporters of the NDC and NPP sometimes considered themselves as enemies, explaining that the situation was, however, different in Parliament.
“Apart from few issues that we do not agree on in Parliament, we agree on a lot of matters brought before the House, share jokes and eat together,” he said.
He, therefore, called on supporters of the two parties not to consider themselves as enemies but rather as opponents, who also had different agenda for development of the country.
Dr Prempeh said he had come to enjoy debates in Parliament and said such healthy exchanges were good for the country’s democracy.
“Let us continue to work together, even though we may not share similar goals, since our common aim is to use politics to enhance the lot of our people,” he said.