CPP MAY SUE GOV'T OVER SEIZED ASSETS

A CPP veteran and minister in Dr. Nkrumah's regime, Mr Kwame Sanaa-Poku Jantuah has disclosed that the party might consider going to court to compel the NDC government to release its assets confiscated after the 1966 coup.Some of the assets confiscated include, the CPP's former national headquarters, which currently houses the Ministry of Information, and the party's offices in Sunyani and Kumasi also housing the Ghana Police Service and the Ministry of Education respectively.Although the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) recommended the deconfiscation of these assets and their return to the CPP, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, which set up the NRC failed to execute the action until it left office on January 7, 2009."If our request fails the party could take a writ to court to secure the release of our properties like we did with the use of the name Convention People's Party (CPP). Remember that the court is the final arbiter and that will be the last resort", he told Public Agenda after a news conference to mark the party's 60th anniversary. "We can prove that it was the CPP that built those structures and not the government; it was the deductions made from party members that were used to build all the structures."Commenting on some political ideologies, Mr. Jantuah, who held various positions in the CPP government, including Minister of Agriculture, Ambassador to Brazil and National Leader of the CPP Youth League, distinguished the CPP from the NDC, explaining that while CPP is socialist while the NDC claims to be social democrat "You cannot have socialism without democracy, hence to combine the two terms amounts to tautology".He lamented the occasional denigration of the philosophy, "property owning democracy" explaining that an essential element of socialism is to ensure that the masses own property, thus he finds no flaw in the concept.In a separate interview, a former MP for Evalue Gwira, Mr. Kojo Armah, said the only way to convince ex-CPP members to return to the fold in this era of freedom of association is for the "party to make itself attractive". He pointed out that politics is about winning power and it is only natural that "people want to associate themselves with the winning side"."We must begin to find answers to questions such as why our campaign collapsed in the run up to the 2008 elections. Either our message was not properly crafted or the leadership did not make the party attractive or there is something wrong which we have not find out." He hinted that the party would be organizing family dialogues to diagnose the past and to confront the future. He reasoned that because of the various divisions with their attendant formation of parties like PNC, NIP, PHP, PCP, CP, and GCPP at one time or the other, "everybody has a position or perception and all these have to be resolved."He said, "for instance, the problem of the PNC is where to place Dr. Hilla Limann in the scheme of an all inclusive united Nkrumaist party. I personally believe that we have to still do with the Nkrumaist tradition and personalities like Dr. Limann would be one of prominent leaders."Addressing the news conference, the CPP Chairman, Mr. Ladi Nylander, called on all party members to act with "a heightened sense of unity and common purpose" to redefine the party and commit themselves to the principles of social justice, self determination and Pan-Africanism; the three pillars which underscore all that the party stands for."We must re-consider the plight of the poor, the workers, the disadvantaged and the youth. We must have to reconnect with our traditional base support. But we must act with discipline and behave as comrades dedicated only to the improvement of the livelihood of the people of Ghana," he exhorted his fellow comrades.Mr. Nylander said it is only the CPP which has a credible programme to "bring the economy back home". He added that if it had won the 2008 elections, the party would have implemented a fast track programme which would have addressed the challenges buffeting the economy. He paid glowing tribute to Dr. Nkrumah and other stalwarts like Kojo Botsio, K.A. Gbedemah, Krobo Edusei. Archie Casely-Hayford, Kofi Baako who made great sacrifices to establish and build the party. Mr. Nylander also eulogized the pivotal role played by Imoru Egala, Krobo Edusei, Nana Okutwer Bekoe and others during the years in opposition.Present at the function were other leading party members such as Dr Abu Sakara, Mr. Mike Eghan, and Hajia Hamdatu Ibrahim-Haruna