He said that the philosophy which had been adopted by Ghana’s Fourth Republican Constitution, had stood the test of time as compared to the philosophies of a one party state, dictatorship, the absence of rule of law, state socialism and state ownership.
He made the assertion when he addressed NPP Members of Parliament, national executive members and spokespersons at a seminar organised by the leadership of the party in Accra.
According to Nana Akufo-Addo, the philosophy of the NPP which was built from the ashes of the United Gold Coast Convention, Ghana Congress Party, People’s National Party, United Party, Progress Party, Popular Front Party and United Gold Coast Convention, had always been that freedom was the primary end, as well as the means to development, with the well-being of each and every individual being both the goal and means of development.
He added that the NPP’s philosophy which viewed civil liberties and human rights as conducive to economic growth and intrinsic to the objective of development was the philosophy which was dominant in the world today.
“We believe in empowering the individual to use his or her entrepreneurial initiative to create legitimate wealth and to enjoy security of person and private property. We believe through freedom we can encourage upward mobility for everyone in society,” Nana Akufo-Addo explained.
He added that the NPP chose as its motto, ‘Development in Freedom’ because of the belief that political and social freedoms were both inherently desirable by the citizenry of our dear country.
“Individuals are not free if they are hungry, illiterate, ignorant, homeless and in squalor. Our overriding desire is to enhance the dignity of the Ghanaian. This has been the ideological driving force that has kept the Dankwa-Dombo-Busia family going for more than 60 years.”
He urged the NPP parliamentarians to be guided, at all times, by the NPP’s philosophy which served to create a future Ghana that would serve as a model of progress for the rest of Africa and the world.
“Our job as politicians is to ensure that the state provides the people with a quality environment of law and order, physical infrastructure, social services, sensitivity and quick responsiveness to needs, and a regulatory environment that allows free and fair competition. These are policies that make lives better. These are policies that underpin the NPP’s vision of development,” he added.
The seminar is part of an ongoing process by the leadership of the NPP to further deepen the unity within the entire membership of the party as well as creating a platform for the party to strategise towards election 2012 and beyond.
The seminar was organised to acquaint parliamentary candidates with the philosophy of the party, the vision of the presidential candidate, campaign strategy and the role of parliamentarians in ensuring total victory for the NPP in 2012.
Speakers at the seminar included Prof. Gyan Baffour, MP for Wenchi who spoke on the social economy; the Minority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensa-Bonsu, who appraised participants on the work of parliamentarians; and Kofi Bentil of IMANI who gave a presentation on property owning democracy.
The seminars, instituted by the new leadership of the NPP, are set to be a constant feature as members of parliament, together with newly elected parliamentary candidates and the party’s leadership will meet before parliament goes on recess and also immediately after parliament returns from recess.
Last week, Nana Akufo-Addo met and had dinner with current NPP Members of Parliament who decided not to contest their seats in last month’s parliamentary primaries. The MPs pledged their commitment towards campaigning for the newly elected parliamentary candidates to ensure that NPP retained those seats.
The following day, Nana Akufo-Addo also met and had dinner with current NPP MPs who lost their seats during last month’s primaries.
The MPs reiterated their commitment to working with the newly elected parliamentary candidates in their respective constituencies to ensure the NPP kept a hold on those constituencies in the 2012 general elections.
Original post: