MP for Asokwa, Maxwell Kofi Jumah says he has great doubts about the seriousness of the desire of opposition New Patriotic Party to return to power.
He says the party needs to build a massive war chest to prosecute its agenda to win the 2012 elections and therefore expects the party’s leadership to look for means to resource the party, however they chose to impose a paltry GH¢16,000 on party people intending to file for parliamentary seats, (women candidates have been offered a 50 per cent rebate).
The NPP on Monday announced fees and conditions to be satisfied by any of its members seeking to contest its parliamentary primaries scheduled for April 30.
But Kofi Jumah who was speaking on Asempa FM said the times are hard and that the party could be heading for a thrashing at the polls if it intended to raise funds for the elections through membership dues. He disagreed with critics who say the GH¢16,000 filing fees is on the high side, arguing that any person seeking to be elected to leadership position but incapable of raising that paltry amount is not worthy of the title.
According to Kofi Jumah, an unnamed individual in the ruling National Democratic Congress resident in the United Kingdom donated 62 pick-ups to the party “just a few months ago” and said resources will play a key role in the 2012 elections, saying it is “not going to be easy.”
He said the reality is that the party cannot count on its grassroots members to raise even GH¢1 each and the situation demands that leadership make great sacrifices. The leadership of the party, he said, consists of the parliamentarians and those aspiring to be MPs.
Kofi Jumah said a key feature of modern democracy is the ability of leadership to source funds and resource the party machinery, and anyone lacking the ability to so organize and raise GH¢16,000, have absolutely no business in seeking to be elected into leadership.