Mr. Isaac Osei, Member of Parliament (MP) for Subin and a leading contender in the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) falgbearership race, has cautioned the party against what has become known in the political circles as “moneycracy”.
The legislator says the practice is dangerous, and would not help build the loyalty of its members, as the party strives to regain power.
Mr. Osei said in rebuilding the party for the next elections, “we need to engage the people and not influence them with money,” which practice, he said, was not the answer to the woes of the party.
He said the details of the expanded Electoral College were fine, and that the new electorate must be encouraged to direct the affairs of the party, by respecting their views and positions on issues, and not impose ideas and persons on them.
The MP, in a chat with The Chronicle, reiterated the need for the NPP to take steps to build party structures towards the objective of winning back political power, saying that it was only when party structures were well built, that it stood the chance of winning back political power 2012.
MP Osei said it was very important that party structures are strengthened at the polling station and constituency levels, since elections are won because political parties are organised at the grassroots, to avoid rigging.
Mr. Osei indicated that at best, money oils the wheel of politics, but does not buy loyalty, hence the need to use money to build the party structures, and not buy people.
He advised that efforts must be made to bring hard core members of the party on board, by choosing people with the capacity to lead the party to win at every stage of the democratic process. “Elections are about people, not money,” he said.
He noted that money was not panacea for the ailment of the party, since it cannot buy the conscience of constituents.
According to him, the essence of democracy was competition which borders on the understanding of the democratic process, which ensures that the best candidate and the choices of the people always win an election, at any stage of the process.
Mr. Osei gave the assurance that the will of the people would definitely be expressed at the Subin constituency congress, because the people were much alive, and cannot be bought to vote against their conscience.
Sharing ideas further, the legislator stressed the need to get the youth involved in rebuilding the party, without limiting their abilities.
He said, however, that by giving the youth the opportunity to serve and contribute to the growth of the party, their capability and experience should not be discounted.
Meanwhile, the former COCOBOD Chief Executive has also frowned on politics of abuse and insults.
He said intra-party rivalry should not border on insults, and stated his abhorrence for negative politics, including insults, and threatening text messages to perceived enemies.
Source: GhanaWeb
