Editorial (The Daily Searchlight, 20th December, 2021)
It seems that a theme has come over the ruling New Patriotic. It is a theme that is generally adopted by all the candidates of the party vying for various positions, that if they are elected, then the party would break the jinx of the ‘8’. This is in reference to the eight years that each of the major political parties generally spend in power, when Ghanaians give them the chance at power.
Whilst this is an optimistic view, the Daily Searchlight would like to edge on the ruling party and its membership to exercise a healthy caution. Whether or not a political party gets the chance to spend eight years in power, is largely dependent on the largesse of the people of Ghana. And the performance of the party as a government. Against that background, it is clear that the people of Ghana nearly tossed the NPP on its back and out of government the last time, which is the 2020 general elections. So far, a full year after that horrible experience, the NPP has not done much to demonstrate to the people of Ghana that it has learned any lessons from Election 2020. The near and frightful disgrace of being tossed out of office in just four years, has not taught the NPP any lessons.
So far, what Ghanaians have been regaled with, is that the NPP would ‘Break the 8’.
The latest official of the party join the ‘We Will break the 8’ clamour, is Vice President Bawumia. In Kumasi yesterday, Vice-President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia was confident that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) will become the first political party in the Fourth Republic to break the eight-year power cycle.
Speaking at the annual national delegates’ conference of the NPP in Kumasi on Sunday (19 December), Dr. Bawumia said although “breaking the eight will not be easy”, he is very optimistic that “for the first time in our history we’ll break the eight.”
According to him, the NPP has a superior record as compared to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) hence it is in a pole position to remain in government after the 2024 elections.
The Vice President set out a list of ‘achievements’ by the NPP that made its time in power superior to that of the NDC, based on which Ghanaians would give the NPP a third term in power.
Whilst the claims may be debatable, the undebatable fact is that the ultimate judge of whether the NPP would have a third term, would be the people of Ghana. And so far, it has been complaints galore.
In our opinion, the only way the NPP would have a third term in power, is for the party in government to radically change its conduct in office. And not only its conduct, but the all-important perception of how the party and its leadership have conducted themselves in office.
Ghanaians must see a more humble government, a government that respects accountability, human rights, eschews waste and profligacy and is in tune with the aspirations and needs of Ghanaians.
Until Ghanaians see these attributes in demonstrable manner, ‘Breaking the 8’ may be just a pipe dream. One only hopes that the NPP would wake up from this dream in time.
