Professor Francis Nkrumah, eldest son of Ghana's first President has said that the Nkrumaist movement is in crisis partly because many of those who have assumed its leadership do not understand Nkrumaism.

"They have no commitment to Nkrumaist principles and they continue to espouse neo-liberalism to the embarrassment of Socialists and Pan Africanists," he said.

Professor Nkrumah was speaking at the opening of the Freedom Centre in Accra on May Day.

The Freedom Centre has an office, a library, a reading room and space with a sitting capacity of 40 for social activities and seminars.

It was established by the Socialist Forum of Ghana to promote socialization amongst Socialists, Pan Africanists and progressive forces.

Professor Nkrumah said Nkrumaism had three major tenets- promotion of Pan Africanism, the struggle against neo-colonialism and the transformation of society through the application of Socialist principles.

"You cannot be an Nkrumaist if you do not accept these tenets," he declared.

Professor Nkrumah also strongly advocated the unity of the Nkrumaist movement and said it was imperative for all the fragments to merge into a single viable political party.

The focus of the unity effort, he said ought to be the development of alternative policies which aim at poverty, education and the building of a new society based on the principles of social justice and equality.

"Symbols may be important but they cannot be more important than the urgent need to unite the Nkrumaist political movement under the banner of Pan African and Socialism," he said.

Professor Nkrumah praised the Socialist Forum of Ghana for being steadfast in the propagation of Socialist ideas and urged it to intensify its activities.

Mr Akoto Ampaw, a lawyer and General Secretary of the New Democratic Movement said the opening of the Freedom Centre was an important step in the promotion of progressive ideas.

He hoped that Comrades would be sincerely committed to the principles of Socialism and would avoid the mistakes of the past.

Dr Yao Graham, Coordinator of the Third World Network called attention to the growing crisis in all sectors of society.

Source: The Insight