Mr Peter Mac Manu, leader of the 2020 national campaign team of the governing New Patriotic
Peter Mac Manu, the 2020 Campaign Manager of the New Patriotic Party, has assured the party’s members that hard work will remain the watchword of his team, “as we spearhead the effort of securing another resounding victory for the governing party in the December presidential and parliamentary elections.”
“The fact is not in doubt that I have a solid team to work with. We also have a solid party and will get a solid candidate. What is left is ensuring that we all, including our party members, work extra hard to implement our ‘3Ms’ campaign task in the most effective and efficient manner to win and win convincingly, and I think we are capable of doing that,” Mr Mac Manu told the Daily Statesman in an interview.
“Our campaign task will revolve around the ‘3Ms’ of money, mobilisation and messaging. With a strong party and candidate, we now have to find the appropriate message that will touch the hearts of the electorate, and we will reach the people through mobilisation, and we need money for that task,” he explained.
New approach
Mr Mac Manu, who led the NPP’s campaign to secure an unprecedented victory in 2016, further explained that the approach to this year’s campaign will be different from the previous one in various ways.
“First of all, in the previous campaign, we were in opposition. So, it was mainly about providing credible alternatives to what the then Mahama government was doing. But we are now in government, so we need to tell the electorate what the state of affairs was at the time we assumed power, what we have done so far, and the plans we have for the future,” he explained.
Touching on the state of affairs at the time the NPP took over power, he said “we need to explain to the electorate the situation of, for instance, agriculture at the time; the state of energy and issues affecting industries; the situation in our secondary schools and how the free education has impacted access, among other issues in all sectors of the economy. And we are going to back what we tell the electorate with data; we will not communicate with them out of a vacuum.”
“In addition to this, the world, including Ghana, is now plagued by this dreaded Covid-19, so we may not be able to have direct contact with the electorate as it used to be in the previous election. And we have to devise effective strategy to use the available appropriate technology to get our message to the electorate,” he added.
Team members
To assist the veteran campaign strategist are Dr Abdul-Hamid Mustapha, Minister of Zongo and Inner Cities Development, as Deputy Campaign Manager in charge of Communications (Messaging); Mr Lord Commey, Director of Operations at the Office of the President, as Deputy Campaign Manager in charge of Mobilisation (Men); while Dr Afua Asabea Asare, Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Export Promotions Authority, is Deputy Campaign Manager in charge of Fundraising (Money).
John Boadu, General Secretary of the party, has retained his previous position as the Director in charge of Operations. Mr Boadu occupied that position during the previous campaign by virtue of his appointment as the Acting General Secretary, while retaining his original position as the National Organiser at the same time. Per the NPP’s constitution, the General Secretary is the chief operations officer of the party. His role in this this years’ campaign is more than Mobilisation, which is seen as a sub-set of Operations. J B, as he is affectionately called, is expected to lead the effort in ensuring complete harmony among the party, government and campaign team.
The National Organiser of the party, young, versatile and dynamic Sammi Awuku, will be playing the role of assisting John Boadu in his operational duties, in the same way he will be assisting Lord Commey in executing his mobilistion duties.
Strong party representation
Asked to comment about members of his team, Mr Mac Manu had this to say: “When I was the National Chairman, Lord Commey was my Organiser and John Boadu was my Youth Organser. Both have excellent organisational and mobilisation skills, and they will be supported ably by Sammi Awuku, our current National Organiser, who is also a solid guy. And for Afua Asabea, she has a solid corporate background and image, which will enable her carry out her work effectively.”
“It is also instructive to note that the party is strongly represented on the campaign team. With the exception of Asabea, the rest are all party officers, current and past. That is very good to ensure that there is unison in the campaign in dealing with the party, government and campaign team,” he added.
Dr Afua Asabea was actively involved in the NPP’s 2008 presidential campaign, roving with then candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his team to all parts of the country.
