Rawlings slams Prez Mills
Accra, August 24,
Ghanadot - Former President Rawlings has descended
heavily on the Atta Mills-led government, describing the
government as lacking the revolutionary spirit to govern
the country, an issue which has caused disillusionment
among Ghanaians.
“The spirit of determination, power and confidence of
the PNDC and the NDC which moved the entire country in
those days is totally missing in this government.
“Failure to deliver public's opinion due
to the type of governing style that we are witnessing
today will be a big blow to the entire NDC
fraternity and I am afraid if we take this to the 2012
polls which the NPP will resort to force to win back
power, then it will lead to antagonism which is not
necessary”.
He said the wrongdoings and misdeeds of
public officials that culminated in the birth of the
AFRC in 1979 and the PNDC on 31st December 1981 were
still rampant today, warning the government to eradicate
the rot immediately.
Mr. Rawlings disclosed that he, along with the entire
NDC fraternity across the length and breadth of this
country, was being embarrassed about the government’s
lackadaisical performance, insisting, the government was
not meeting the aspirations of the electorate. Sounding
like he had been sidelined in the decision-making
processes of the current administration, he accused the
government of making bad decisions since assuming power
on January 7 this year, indicating that it did not look
good for the NDC and the government.
Mr. Rawlings expressed his emotions while addressing the
United Cadres Front (UCF) of the Ashanti region, a wing
in the National Democratic Congress (NDC), at the
Prempeh Assembly Hall in Kumasi on Saturday.
The former President, who looked peeved
throughout his extempore speech, had earlier on held a
close door meeting with the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu
II at the Manhyia Palace. He said the entire country,
including the NDC hierarchy, was not happy with how the
government was running the country. “The party
leadership met two days ago and I learnt they expressed
gross concern about the performance of the government.
But I wonder why they are not making it public and
always waiting for me to say it”.
He also cautioned that if the trend continued then he
would least be surprised if the NDC was booted out of
power in the next polls, saying, he could see from afar,
disaster befalling the ruling party in 2012.
He again warned that if things did not
change immediately for the better, then some of them in
the party would advise themselves, noting that the
government needed to make changes that would reflect the
courage and spirit of the PNDC.
He implored the government to adopt his
(Rawlings’) dynamic leadership style and be bold in
dealing with the bad deeds of past government officials,
stressing, “People treasure justice than wealth”.
He added that the cadre should
immediately rescue the party from some people who to him
were aliens to the NDC, had hijacked the party and were
going contrary to the probity and accountability dictate
upon which the NDC was formed, adding that such people
were gradually tainting the image of the NDC.
Mr. Rawlings seriously warned the hijackers of the NDC
not to try to use money to win key positions in the
party, stressing that he would not sit unconcerned for
them to extend the rot in government to the party.
“They can destroy the government
but they should not bring it into the NDC”, he charged
with a grim face, noting the NPP tried to win power by
using money but they failed and that anybody who tried
it in the NDC would also fail. Channeling his outbursts
at the previous administration, Mr. Rawlings noted that
former President Kufuor presided over corruption, bad
deeds and jailed innocent people without any
justification, wondering why those corrupt officials in
the NPP Administration were moving around freely, eight
months after the NDC won power.
Ex- Prez Rawlings said the NPP inflencial
candidates must not be spared because if they had the
chance, they would deal with NDC members. According to
him, right and wrong were coexisting in the country
which should not be allowed, so he urged the government
to expedite action on dealing with all corrupt men. Mr.
Rawlings cautioned the government not to be happy about
the findings of the Ghana@50 committee, noting, the NPP
members had more evil down their sleeves so they should
move faster to uncover them and arrest all those corrupt
officials of the Kufuor Administration.
Code-mixing broken ‘Twi’ with English, the former
President caused a stir when he described the manner in
which the previous government handled the Issah Mobilah
case as ‘Nkwasiesem”. Popularly known as ‘Mr. Boom’, the
utterances of the former President were received with
wild applause and praises by the charged NDC
sympathizers that had thronged the Prempeh Assembly
Hall. Trying to justify his ‘Nkwasiasem’ utterance, Mr.
Rawlings explained that the government should trace the
commanders that ordered the three corporals to take that
weird action for them to also disclose the government
officials so that justice could be meted out to all
those who were involved in the dastardly act.
Turning his intensive anger on the government once
again, he expressed disappointment in the Atta Mills
Administration, noting, the government was not
performing to the expectation of the populace because
people who to him were not competent were occupying some
ministerial positions. “Some of the ministers do not
even deserve to be part of the NDC, let alone occupy
positions as ministers,” he fumed, adding, these
ministers’ actions were having adverse effects on the
government but they were still at post.
On his part, Mr. Rawlings’ lackey, Kofi Adams, expressed
worry that people like Kofi Jumah walked about freely
and could even accuse the government in spite of his
alleged wrongdoings at the KMA. He lamented that though
the NDC was in power, its supporters were being
intimidated as if they were in opposition, calling on
the government to sit up and act. Among speakers at the
event were Kofi Poku Manu, the Ashanti Regional Minister
and other party faithful, notably former NDC Chairman in
the region, Frank Osei Mensah who used the occasion to
announce his intentions to run for the seat again.
Ghanadot
