NDC in fresh haggle with NPP over time, venue for militia meeting
The country’s two rival political parties have haggled over the time and venue for bilateral talks over disbanding organised thugs affiliated to them.
Although the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has received an invitation letter from the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Deputy NDC General Secretary, Peter Otokunor, has expressed disappointment, the letter has no time or venue.
It also has no date although the NPP has indicated it is ready to meet any day of this week.
The NDC in a letter to the President, Nana Akufo-Addo, indicated it was willing to meet the NPP “at a venue convenient for the purpose”.
But the NPP has thrown the ball into the court of the NDC. Peter Otokunor says he is disappointed.
He said the unstated details in the letter is another sign the NPP does not see the “urgency” in eliminating the menace of party militias, a source of growing insecurity in Ghana.
NPP National Organiser Sammy Awuku has explained the party left the NDC to fill in the gaps in the letter because it the party “did not want to dictate to the NDC”.
As one of only two political parties to have governed under the 4th Republic, the NDC deserved respect, he indicated.
“We want to treat them as equals…they are not babies,” he told Joy News’ Evans Mensah on Top Story Tuesday.
According to Sammy Awuku, the NPP wrote the letter mindful that the NDC could pull another “theatrical performance” and “shift the goal post again”.
“What if we propose a time and the NDC will say it is not convenient for them?”
The NDC has been accusing the NPP of failing to follow up on the President’s call for the NPP and NDC to meet over party militias.
In two letters to the President, Nana Akufo-Addo, the NDC asked for civil society participation in the talks, an addition the NPP had been unwilling to accept.
The NPP said the two parties are capable of the talks in spite of popular perception of mistrust between the two.
The NPP has signalled it could make concessions to accommodate expanding participation in the talks.
But the governing party wants to first meet exclusively with the NDC and discuss the issue of including civil society groups.
With the official invitation out, the NPP says it is ready to meet at any place even at the NDC Headquarters or the residence of its 2020 flagbearer, John Mahama.
Source: Myjoyonline