NDC Choke on Kwesi Botchwey Report

A former Minister of Information under the late Atta-Mills regime, Mr. Fritz Baffour, has admitted that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) suffers challenges because the Kwesi Botchwey Report is still on the shelves, as the party struggles to face the future with hope.

Fritz Baffour, a former MP for Ablekuma South, explains that the Kwesi Botchwey Report that identified the issues surrounding the 2016 defeat has not been implemented after several years of their work and that may explain pressures on the party to reform itself after the 2020 defeat.

As part of the recommendations, it was proposed, among other things, that the party puts together a group of credible and eminent members to undertake a peace- building mission aimed at healing the party and country.

The report added that the party takes steps to restore the integrity of the biometric register and the expanded NDC’s existing electoral college system.

“We recommend that steps be taken to restore the capacity and effectiveness of the party’s organs especially at the branch level where we believe these organs are the most critical because they are the party’s immediate connection to the people, we are afterall a truly mass party. We also have recommendations on ways we can and must improve the collation of election results. We also believe that steps ought to be taken by the party to reconnect itself properly to our social democratic roots and the principal actors in these social democratic roots.”

It continued: “We recommend that steps ought to be taken to strengthen research and intelligence in the party. This should involve crowding in a larger body of the party’s intellectual base which has not been particularly active in the past, this will help to support the party’s research capacity.

There are recommendations that the party will scale-up and re-invigorate its work in the area of youth organisation.

The organisation of women, we note that significant changes have taken place in the country’s demographic profile and that the party ought to take notice of this and all the implications of these changes.”

But the former MP says the issues have not been addressed.

At the end of the 2016 elections, we had the Kwesi Botchwey Committee that looked into the election. The report had not been released to the rank and file of the party…The issues in the report have not been addressed. So how do we do that without accusing anyone of incompetence?”

He was responding to the recent forum organized some cadres of the party on reorganizing the party last weekend.

He said the party is faced with operational challenges and the party only rises when it is time for an election.

Mr. Fritz Baffour said from time immemorial, people have complained alined bitterly that the NDC should get away from being only an election winning party to the social democratic principles.

The ideals of social democracy he posted should provide solutions that will better the lives of the people through education and other social policies.

He advised the party to strengthen its organs and follow the principles of social democracy.

Fritz Baffour added that also touched the issue of the high monetization of politics in Ghana and until we move away from that, it would affect the quality of the politics we practice in Ghana.

He said the issues being raised is not about personalities or individuals but an agenda to make the party work again.