Features
NDC flagbearer race: Who wins?
Mr John Dramani Mahama • Mr Kwabena Dufour • Mr Kojo Bonsu
As with all democratic political parties, the NDC, unlike previous times some years ago, has accepted the democratic principle of choosing a flagbearer instead of having them imposed on the party by a higher authority, as was the case with the late Jerry John Rawlings in 1993 and also the late Arthur Mills in 2000.
Today, thanks to democracy, parties in Ghana have come to accept the democratic principle and are now ensuring that the choice of candidates come from people described and recognised as official delegates. These delegates have the responsibility of ensuring that flag-bearers go through the democratic process of selection.
When the opportunity was open for people willing to lead the NDC as flagbearers, four names popped out, but later one of them decided to withdraw from the competition. Thus, we now have three candidates who have decided to compete to become flagbearers of the party. As we know, only one candidate is expected to win this enviable position.
The three candidates are Dr. Kwame Dufuor, former Minister of Finance; Mr. Kojo Bonsu; and finally, Mr. John Dramani Mahama. These are the three candidates who have been bold enough to lock horns with each other for the flagbearer title, come May 13.
From the initial stages, it was as if the competition was going to be an easy race for one of the candidates. It has now become clear that the competition is going to be intense for all the three candidates.
When we look at the NDC, it is difficult to understand why only three candidates have come up to compete in the race. For a political party that has ruled the country before, we were expecting them to come up with more names. This is because we have not forgotten people like Hon. Ekwow Spio-Garbraah, Prof. Naana Opoku- Agyemang, Prof. Joshua Alabi and a few more.
The fact is that no one within the NDC can be compelled to enter the flagbearer race. Only those who have the boldness to come forward to compete.
And to be able to compete in the race, a candidate must have leadership qualities and have been accepted by the delegates. The person should be honest and bold enough to stand as the leader of a party. That person should also have the patience to accommodate all kinds of views within the party.
Similarly, the person should have a good temperament, be affable and be very knowledgeable about the challenges that lie ahead in nation building and governance, among others.
It is also important for such a person to be very experienced in governance. The person should also be confident enough to come out with programmes that can convince the delegates and later the electorate to vote for him. If all these ingredients are available, then it is most likely that he will win the race as a flagbearer.
The question to ask is: does any of the three candidates — Kojo Bonsu, Dr. Kwame Dufuor and Mr. John Mahama — possess these qualities and many more as required?
It will be difficult to answer “yes” to this question. However, one of them can win the flagbearer position and become leader of the party in the 2024 general elections. Winning the flagbearer position will not necessarily enable you to win the presidential election in 2024. This is an important point that must not be overlooked.
Mr. Kojo Bonsu has been mayor of Kumasi before. As far as that is concerned, he has acquired some skills that will help him to win some votes from the delegates. He has, however, not been heard pronouncing policies and programmes that endear him to the hearts of the delegates. Probably he does this on the quiet, but it will be strange for him to keep quiet on such matters.
Dr. Kwame Dufuor, on the other hand, appears to be more experienced, especially in the area of national financial administration. Even here, he has not created a positive impact on the minds of Ghanaians, so it will be difficult for the delegates to select him as flag-bearer. We cannot write him off entirely. He is a heavyweight champion in his own right, but one wonders whether he can win the flag-bearer race.
When we come to John Dramani Mahama, he has served as a former vice president and president before in this country. In addition, he has also served as a Member of Parliament and a Minister of Information before.
This put him ahead of his other two competitors. In addition, he is endowed with abundant financial resources. He is believed to be the financier of many of the programmes of the NDC. He must, however, pay attention to his pronouncements, especially how he attacks his political opponents.
His previous experience as a former president has not created a good image in the minds of Ghanaians as someone who can create better conditions for Ghanaians when given the chance. Again, his administration has been characterised by alleged corruption and embezzlement of funds. A number of his former ministers who were prosecuted in court today testified to this.
In light of all this, what will be the verdict of the NDC delegates?
All in all, most of the delegates will vote for him to become the flag-bearer of the party. However, can he win the 2024 elections?
Perhaps, he should have listened to the good advice given to him by his friend, Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria.
Mr. John Mahama is likely to win, from all indications, with 71.3 per cent, followed by Dr. Kwame Dufuor with 21 per cent and finally Mr. Kojo Bonsu with 7.7 per cent.
This is how it will be, so will anyone want to challenge me?
EMAIL ADDRESS/WHATSAPP NUMBER OF AUTHOR:
PRADMAT201@GMAIL.COM (0553318911)
By Dr. Kofi Amponsah-Bediako
THE typical itinerant salesman in Sikaman is a herbalist. He is normally a slim macho with the capacity to perambulate the expanse of area covering the triangle of Accra-Tema-Ashiaman. In short, he can walk a total of 60 miles a day, marketing a product that cures every disease, including poverty. 
The door-to-door herbal pharmacist advertises his product by word of mouth. He has nothing to do with the Food and Drugs Board (FDB). After all, his concoctions do not feature on FM stations.
Those herbalists who cannot walk to propagate the herbal gospel, liaise with drivers of mass transportation and their mates. They are, therefore, given the chance to sell their products on Benz buses that ply the routes.
Normally, the herbalist starts his sales message with a prayer and Bible study. He asks the passengers to bow down their heads in supplication to God the father, the son, the Holy Spirit.
When a herbalist asks the passengers to close their eyes and bow their heads, Moslems on board naturally feel offended. They feel that the herbalist has no right to assume that every passenger is a Christian. They think such an assumption is an affront to Islam.
So a Moslem on board will raise the hand for a point of order. He’ll remind the herbalist that it would be in his own interest to mind his language.
“Be careful the way you address people in a public place. Not every person here is a Christian,” he’d state assertively.
Of course, the herbalist will promptly ignore him, but would all the same “watch” his tongue. Who knows whether or not the Moslem brother is inspired by Quoranic zeal to defend the tenets of Islam to the hilt?
When he starts saying, “Wallahi!” and “Inshallah!” it could be the beginning of proclaiming Islam as supreme, a point which must be driven home with talibanic precision.
So the herbalist must tread carefully lest he steps on fire.
The herbalist could even add a measure of mirth to it all, by announcing that Christians on board today have very interesting company on the journey, but that should not detract from the business of the day.
The Moslem brother will weigh the words carefully and offer a wry smile.
He must be careful the occasion does not degenerate into the use of semantics and proverbial oration to deride his conviction that public utterances must be mindful of religious sensibilities. He has made his point very clear and expects that it is taken in good faith in the interest of a peaceful journey.
The herbalist will now open the New Testament and preach salvation, stating clearly that salvation can come only through Jesus Christ and NOBODY else.
The Moslem brother will now start twitching his moustache. The visible and almost revolutionary reflexes of his upper lip can be an indication that sentiments have begun superseding reason, and the outcome could well be tragic now shift uneasily in his seat.
The time has come for him to also express his right to the religion of his fore-bears. He’ll put his hand into his pocket and rise to his feet. The time has indeed come!
This article was first published on Saturday, September 9, 2006
When the cause of a particular problem like sickness, disease, sudden illness, a social issue etc. are not known, it stands to reason that resolving it becomes a huge challenge.
Citizens would understand the government when public announcements are made to the effect that government is trying to find a solution to the issue, even though it is taking a while for it to be resolved because citizens are rational beings.
On the other hand, if the solution to a particular issue is known to everybody but the government for whatever reason, is dragging its feet in resolving it, citizens become frustrated and begin to lose trust in their leaders.
One such issue is the heavy traffic along a section of the Kasoa – Odokor road. A short stretch of bad road between the traffic light at the Weija Government Hospital and the entrance to the entrance of the overhead that leads to the N1, is the cause of the problem but nothing is being done about it, day after day, week after week, month after month. Thus is clearly unacceptable.
Another issue that requires urgent attention is the lack of pavements along a lot of streets in parts of the various Municipal Assemblies. Exercise is a prerequisite for long life and healthy living and for those of us who it has become a way of life, this issue of people putting up structures right to the edge of the drains beside the roads, are making life difficult for us.
We are compelled to walk along the roads, putting our lives at serious risk. Pedestrians should never be compelled to compete with vehicles on our streets and roads. Roads and streets are made for vehicles and pavements are made for pedestrians. That is the norm. Any attempt to normalise a situation where pedestrians are mingling with vehicles is insanity.
It is the road regulations that makes it so and therefore district or municipal assemblies are to take responsibility and ensure that spaces for pavements are not encroached upon. Citizens have rights that must be protected by their leaders and making pavements available to pedestrians, is one of them.
When we hear of teachers having sex with students, it appears it is something recent. It is not a new phenomenon. It has been there since Adam. Perhaps this issue is getting much attention due to the proliferation of social media. It was an open secret in times past when Teachers were in relationships with female students and some married them immediately after completion of school.
Some teachers were also known to be having unholy interactions with female pupils but due to the times that these acts occurred, human rights issues and the awareness around it, allowed such unscrupulous teachers to get away with their crimes.
Now we are in a different era and so a Headmaster is now in hot waters. He is alleged to have raped about 19 female students and as usual, some officials tried to cover it up and are also in hot waters and their actions or inactions in the matter are under investigation.
Why the man has been allowed to roam freely without being arrested is simply mind boggling. It appears that the law applies differently, depending on who you are. This issue came to public attention sometime in August this year, yet the police had not arrested or invited this man for question regarding the rape allegation.
It has come out that he is a Constituency Secretary of the ruling party and the question in the public domain is that, is it because he is a political figure that is why he is still walking around without questioning? I believe in the rule of law so let us hold our breadth and let the proper thing be done.
The police must however be seen to be active in this matter. God bless.
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