The Progressive Forces of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) will celebrate the December 31, 1981 revolution in honour of former President Jerry John Rawlings.

The Progressive Forces are made up of several groupings in the party, including the United Cadres Front, June 4th Movement, 31st December Women’s Movement, NYOC, and ACDR.

Mr. Albert Kojo Pinto, a senior Cadre, announced this at a press conference cum memorial service in honour of the late former president who died on November 12, 2020, at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra.  

The programme was on the theme; “Unity of Progressive Forces in the Struggle for Social Justice and Accountability”.

Mr. Pinto noted that “We will do so because we believe firmly that President Rawlings himself would have wanted us even as we mourn to look beyond his individual life and to stay committed to creating a future for our country”.

“He would have wanted in death (as in life) to continue to provide a prism for evaluating national values and national direction. Jerry would have wanted us, in his honour, to begin a retrospective that helps us define the future we must all face without him”, he added.

He added that the revolution was not about Mr. Rawlings' personal or political ambitions but rather a necessary national corrective process, therefore, the need to uphold the principles of probity, accountability, social justice, and grassroots participatory democracy it stood for.

“It was, at the core, a move to restore order and social justice, revive traditional values like integrity and accountability, and revive the possibility of development for all”.

Mr. Fritz Baffour, a leading member of the NDC and a former Member of Parliament for Ablekuma South, expressed joy at the resolve of the Progressive Forces to continue the work and principles of the late former president Rawlings whom he described as an icon.

Mr. Baffour said they were working together to ensure that the principles of accountability, probity, and social justice prevailed in the country.

He said such a vacuum was what their founder came to fill, therefore the need for the Forces to work hard to ensure that Ghana did not return to its past, indicating that they would ensure that his vision was not lost by raising awareness, teaching the young ones and propagating the ideas of the former president.

Mr. Eric Bortey, a founding member of the June 4th Movement also reiterated the need to celebrate the Revolution.

“We have vowed to uphold Jerry’s principles he brought to Ghana politics by celebrating what he has left, by celebrating June 4th and 31st December, we don’t want anyone to recognize us but we will celebrate them because without these principles this Republic wouldn’t have traveled this far”.

Mr. Bortey said Jerry John Rawlings did not die with the principles as he recounted some fond memories of him starting a 40-acre farm at Katamanso stressing that they decided to celebrate him at the place because that was the cradle of the revolution.

Mr. Joesph Nii Laryea Afotey Agbo, MP for Kpone-Katamanso, also eulogized the late former President, saying he was a father and mentor to him and attributed his success in politics to him.