Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen’s Movement for Change has officially rebranded as the United Party (UP), marking a major step in his quest to contest Ghana’s presidency outside the country’s traditional two-party structure.
The rebranding was announced at a colourful ceremony in Accra on Thursday, where Mr. Kyerematen — a former Minister of Trade and Industry — outlined a bold development blueprint dubbed “Vision 2040” under the Paradise Project.
The agenda, he said, seeks to transform Ghana into the economic powerhouse of Africa by the year 2040.
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“The vision of the United Party is to make Ghana the economic powerhouse of Africa by 2040,” Mr. Kyerematen declared. “By 2040, if the people of Ghana, by the grace of God, give us the mandate, Ghana will become a power nation. But can you achieve that if you are divided? No. Can you achieve that without peace? No.”
He emphasized that peace, unity, and inclusion form the foundation of the United Party’s development philosophy. According to him, Ghana’s post-independence growth has largely served a privileged few, a cycle the UP intends to break by ensuring equal opportunity for every citizen.
“What we have been witnessing since independence is that opportunities are open for only a few people. The United Party is going to change that. It is to provide the opportunity for every citizen to realize their full,” he said.
Mr. Kyerematen, who resigned from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in 2023 citing unfair treatment and internal divisions, first launched the Movement for Change with the butterfly as its symbol. The rebranding into the United Party signals what he describes as a new chapter of unity and transformation.
Meanwhile, the party’s Acting National Chairman, Abubakar Boniface Siddique, has rejected suggestions that former NPP members who joined Alan Kyerematen’s movement could be granted amnesty to return to the ruling party.
“We were sacked from the NPP, but now they want to grant us amnesty? We will not go back,” he said to loud cheers from party supporters.
Mr. Siddique argued that the NPP had no moral ground to offer forgiveness when, according to him, no wrongdoing warranted their expulsion.
“What crime did our leader commit? What crime did I commit in the NPP for you to sack me? And today you are telling me you are giving me amnesty? No way,” he insisted.
Drawing an analogy from Islamic marriage, he added: “When you divorce a woman three times in Islam, she’s no longer your wife until kingdom come.”
The United Party is expected to roll out its nationwide mobilisation and policy engagement programmes over the next three years as it prepares to contest the 2028 general elections under the banner of unity, peace, and economic transformation.