I’ll form first representative government in nation’s history - Alan pledges

The founder and leader of the Movement for Change (M4C), Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, has pledged to lead a government that represents all segments of the country if elected as President in the upcoming presidential election. 

He said the divisiveness in the country’s politics, driven by the duopoly of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), was the major destabilising factor of Ghana’s progress.

Therefore, to overcome this, Mr Kyerematen said there was an urgent and critical need for a new political system that eliminated the current “winner takes all” system, ensured the continuity of the execution of government projects, and avoided the arrogance associated with political power and influence.

“A government of national unity made up of representatives from different political parties, the business community, labour unions, civil society, professional bodies, faith-based organisations, traditional authorities and other interest groups, including traders, farmers, fishermen and artisans among others,” he explained. 

Event

Mr Kyerematen, who is a former Minister of Trade and Industry, was speaking at the launch of the Alliance for Revolutionary Change (ARC), an amalgamation of political groups whose primary purpose is to topple the nation’s political duopoly and offer Ghanaians an alternative government.

It is made up of the Movement for Change (M4C), the National Interest Movement (NIM), the Ghana Green Party (GGP), the Third Force Movement, the Non-Alliance Voters Association of Ghana (NAVAG), the Ghana First Coalition (GFC), the Union Movement (UM), the Crusaders Against Corruption, and the Ghana National Party (GNP) among others.

As part of the launch, the groups signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to legalise the new pact. Prior to the signing, the leaders of the various groups took turns to share their vision and pledged their unalloyed support for the new political entity.

Transformation agenda

Mr Kyerematen, who is the leader of the ARC, also promised to revive the nation’s economy with a six-point agenda of which building a united government was one. He said he would usher in a new type of visionary, competent, accountable, transparent, action-oriented, results-driven and compassionate leadership; implement transformational policies and make the private sector the engine of growth and development.

Mr Kyerematen would also make young people and women the centre of the country’s national development agenda and inspire a mindset change. “Ghana remains the jewel of Africa, the oasis of peace and the shining star of our continent. Let us work together to leverage these positive characteristics and build a prosperous, united and peaceful Ghana,” he added. 

Interests of Ghanaians

The Leader of NIM, Dr Abu Sakara Foster, called on all to rally behind the new alliance and vote for Mr Kyerematen during the December polls because the ARC was the only entity that would prioritise the interests of all Ghanaians and not a selected few. 

He encouraged the youth in particular to vote for Mr Kyerematen, and described the alliance as a gift from the older generation to the youth. Dr Sakara Foster stressed that the two dominant parties – NPP, NDC – had led the country to the brink of socioeconomic collapse, and that the ARC was the only vehicle that could restore and reset the nation. 

“The transformation plan proposed by Mr Kyerematen will be the main driving force of Ghana into a new prosperity for all Ghanaians, not just a few. This is his promise and we will hold his waist and hold him up. That is why you must vote for him as the first independent president of Ghana,” Dr Sakara Foster added. 

The Founder of the Union Government, formerly United Front Party (UFP), Akwasi Addai Odike, stressed that the time had come for a political change because the two dominant parties did not understand the desires of ordinary Ghanaians.

He also stressed the need for a constitutional review that would move governance away from a political system, where one party controlled power because it had become the bedrock of the incompetence and inefficiency of the two major parties.

The Leader of the GFC, Bishop Samuel Noi Mensah, said many Ghanaians were on the verge of losing faith totally in the nation’s democracy because the NDC and the NPP had failed to improve their standard of living.

He said after three decades, people were looking for an alternative that would give them hope of a better Ghana and a leader who would develop a national vision to drive the country to a new era of prosperity, growth and economic stability.