NDC Needs Cleansing – JJ

Ex-President Jerry John Rawlings booming yesterday in Accra

Former President Jerry John Rawlings and founder of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) yesterday invoked the spirit of the infamous 31st December 1981 Revolution when he stressed the urgent need for what he called a 'house cleaning exercise' to rid the party of corrupt officials.

He said it was not too late for leadership of the party to go back to the grassroots- to the footsoldiers- and listen to them because 'the level of despondency amongst our support base is largely due to the detachment of our leadership from the people.'

Addressing a large crowd of mainly NDC foot-soldiers at the National Theatre in Accra yesterday as part of the events to mark the 30th anniversary of the 31st December Revolution, the NDC founder decried the manner in which President Mills and members of his administration were running the country with corruption at its highest peak.

'Many in the NDC leadership now believe they do not owe any explanation to the populace,' he said.

On allegations of abuse of office, corruption, malfeasance, incompetence and a host of other vices characterising the current administration, Mr Rawlings said, 'they respond in good measure by accusing the opposition of having done worse things.'

http://www.dailyguideghana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/dignitries1.jpg In other words, Mr Rawlings explained that what they meant was that 'we can afford to make the same mistakes because you started it.'

All this while, the likes of Victor Smith, his former spokesman, as well as Environment, Science and Technology Minister Sherry Ayittey who have all fallen out with the former First Family but were present at the lecture, listened with grim faces as the 'old man' kept firing the salvos.

He wondered why President Mills, a person who served under him as Vice President, would allow such things to go on without concern and surround himself with people who were antagonistic and filled with such greed to make the party he and others toiled so much to bring to power, attract public opprobrium.

According to him, 'there are a number of them who are making their inroads; giving the contracts to the NPP elements all over the place like they are buying goodwill. They are preparing and all sitting and making it seem as if Rawlings, Rawlings, Rawlings.'

He therefore stressed the need for what he called a 'house cleaning exercise' to get rid of some of these corrupt and uncaring government officials who were making the NDC unpopular in the eyes of Ghanaians, and bring in those he referred to as dedicated and committed ones.

'Events in the previous regime and current corrupt officials who should have been investigated and charged have all been let-off-the-hook. The only way out for the ruling government to repair its dented image is to 'clean-out' the mess,' he said.

http://www.dailyguideghana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/konadu_obeng.jpg

Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings and PV Obeng
Otherwise, Mr Rawlings said, 'I don't see what chance they stand.'

He warned that 'any attempt to repeat the theft of 2004 will bring about serious explosion whose consequences will far exceed that of June 4, 1979.'

The NDC founder took the opportunity to advise those who had been calling for unity and thought the way to go about it was for him to keep quiet and support the NDC to win the 2012 election, saying, 'It is not Rawlings who wins elections.'

At a point, an emotionally charged Mr Rawlings spoke his broken Twi, saying, 's3 obue nanu na oyey3 yen a na wa ba ha na won ka kyir3 obia s3 we must respect our founder. You think people can't see through what you are doing…what you are saying?' literally meaning 'when they open their mouths to insult us then you come here to tell us we must respect our founder.'

His comment seemed to be an indirect response to initial suggestions by his former advisor, P.V. Obeng, to probably tone down on the level of his anger and assist the government because he said they cherished and respected him as the founder of the NDC.

Instead, Mr Rawlings said, 'it is the ordinary people of Ghana who win elections. They make choices based on the capacity of a party to listen to them, to accept their role in governance and to pursue an agenda that protects their interests. Those are the ideals Jerry Rawlings and millions of Ghanaians stand for.'

'If Jerry Rawlings represents the NDC then it must be an NDC that represents these ideals,' he emphasised.

For this reason, the former President noted that 'it will be pointless and indeed negative to the fortunes of the party if I acted like a hypocrite in the name of elections and start preaching 'hail the NDC'.'

That notwithstanding, he indicated that 'the time has come for those who have the responsibility of changing the free-fall of the NDC to bring it to a halt and take drastic actions, however late, to re-embrace the ideals that won the party the 2008 elections.'

Even though the NDC leadership asked party supporters to attend the programme, they were conspicuously absent.

By Charles Takyi-Boadu