Mahama not remorseful over Ford ‘gift’ saga – PPP

The Progressive People's Party (PPP), is livid over what it says is President Mahama's failure to accept responsibility for his decision to accept a Ford expedition from a Burkinabe contractor, ostensibly to influence him.

Mahama on Thursday, gave further clarifications on his decision to accept the gift saying, “I don't use Ford, I don't like American cars. I use Japanese cars. Toyota is my car.”

His comments came a day after he challenged persons accusing him of being bribed by the contractor, to head to the court if they had issues with his decision.

“If you believe I have involved myself in corruption, you have the constitutional means to do whatever you want to do,” he said.

Speaking on Eyewitness News, Policy Advisor for the PPP in a sharp rebuttal to the President’s latest explanation,  said the President's comments shows that he is not remorseful for his actions.

“The President is not showing remorse and he is unrepentant.We believe that the president's comment is a blow to the fight against corruption. He adopted his usual attitude of passing of the buck in matters that needed his direct intervention. His Excellency has demonstrated a lack of commitment to the principle of accepting responsibility for his own actions and that of his government. President Mahama has no remorse and is unrepentant, “ he said in a statement.

Mr. Siaw believes the President is “emboldened by the absence of strong state institutions with the capacity and willingness to deal with infractions occasioned by members of the executive.”

“In this instance, the Parliament of Ghana or some members of parliament are refusing to undertake their constitutional duty to initiate or support the call for impeachment proceedings against the President for gross misconduct and a violation of article 284. The parliament of Ghana is empowered under article 69 of the constitution to initiate impeachment proceedings against the President,” he added.

He further indicated that, the PPP will organize a demonstration at Parliament House to press home their demands for the President to be impeached if he is not sanctioned for his actions.

“We expect members of Parliament to live up to their responsibilities and establish timeless principles in our governance processes. The PPP will organize a demonstration at Parliament house if the impeachment process is not activated shortly.”

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana