The New Patriotic Party (NPP) says a change of leadership and retention of a party beyond eight years is necessary if policy reforms are to be sustained and enhanced.
It explained that a four-year term cannot bring out the best in any particular leader as it is too short a time while “beyond eight years is not feasible for the individual at the helm.”
Speaking at a media encounter yesterday, the party’s Director of Communications, Yaw Buaben Asamoa, said even after President Akufo-Addo’s eight-year strong and decisive leadership, the policies put together by the government may not have matured yet.
“So it is important to continue credible policies by changing the leader and retaining the party providing good governance under fresh leadership. That way, we avoid the ‘fix it’ search for instant results and opt for a sustained policy and leadership approach to development,” he said.
Sterling leaderships
Mr Buaben Asamoa referred to countries like Japan, Germany and Canada where leadership of the parties change but the parties remain in charge, noting, “the continuity of parties in power appears to be function of the effectiveness of their successive leaderships.”
It is in this direction that he called for same for Ghana, pointing out that the NPP has the ideology, principles, respect for liberties and rights and leadership ethos to shepherd this country on a sustainable path forward.
“…The performance of the NPP in the context of the 4th Republic justifies that belief. I repeat, the NPP has been better managers of the economy, providing cutting edge social service and social capital solutions and demonstrating strong political will,” he pointed out.
The journey so far
The NPP Communications Director told journalists that the eight-year cycle of electoral change has outlived its usefulness following the series of events and economic outlook that comes with several changes of regime.
He said even though Ghana’s debt to GDP ratio stands at 78 per cent, the NPP has managed on all fronts much better than the NDC, considering the Covid-19 pandemic.
This, he said, is evident following analysis from EUROMONEY, which saw beyond the prevailing economic and fiscal shock.
“We are at a crossroads. It’s time to make a choice. After eight elections, there is enough of a record for civil society to determine the best party to grow our fortunes, going forward. That party is the NP,” he said.