NANA BLASTS NDC

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The Akufo-Addo campaign team has called the bluff of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), daring the opposition party to drag the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer to the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).

Feeding on a local newspaper publication suggesting that Nana Addo's visit to the United States was laden with abuse of incumbency because he had access to official embassy cars, the NDC quickly jumped on board, throwing its hands into the air without examining the issue.

The main opposition party called for an inquiry by CHRAJ into what it claims is an abuse of incumbency.

Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah, NDC Deputy General Secretary told Joy Fm that the report clearly confirms his party's complaint about abuse of incumbency by the ruling party.

“I am saying that the playing field is not level for all of us. Can you imagine we will go and use state vehicles in Canada and use the hall for fund raising?” he whined.

Elvis accused the media, CHRAJ, religious bodies, and civil society organisations of doing nothing about the NPP.

He said it was possible that state resources were being used to sponsor some activities of the NPP candidate.

However, the Akufo-Addo campaign team condemned the NDC's allegation as erroneous and hogwash, because as it put it, such facilities are open to Ghanaian officials including MPs from both sides of the political divide when these are requested for.

The campaign team as well picked up issues with The Enquirer for peddling falsehood for the sake of doing NDC's propaganda, with report that the NPP flagbearer attended a fundraiser organized by the Whitaker Group, chaired by Rosa Whitaker, otherwise known as Lady Rosa Duncan-Williams, wife of General Overseer of the Christian Action Faith Ministries, Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams.

It described the report about the fundraising which the team allegedly undertook as falsehood and timed to coincide with June 4, the anniversary of the Jerry Rawlings' coup for a certain negative effect.

According to the team, protocol services are extended to all visiting MPs irrespective of their party affiliations, buttressing its position with a recent visit by the Convention People's Party (CPP) flagbearer, Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, a sitting MP who as they put it enjoyed similar facilities.

“We wish to make it clear that Ghana's missions always consider it a duty to provide courtesies to all visiting Members of Parliament who notify the missions of their visit to the United States of America,” clarified a statement issued and signed by Dr Arthur Kobina Kennedy, Chairman of the Communications Committee of the Akufo-Addo campaign team.

Nana Akufo-Addo, Hon Yaw Osafo Maafo and Dr. K.K. Apraku, members of the group which visited the US, are incumbent MPs and therefore entitled to special privileges, according to the Ghana Embassy in Washington DC.

The NPP Presidential Candidate and a number of top ranking members including Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, runner-up at the party's December 22, 2007 congress and Nana Ohene Ntow, General Secretary were in the US for political and other activities.

The group had a meeting with the Whitaker Group, an advocacy group for Ghana domiciled in the US over lunch.

The team asked how Ghana could have attracted $547m Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant from the US if such high level representatives of our government do not take time from other activities to see US officials?

“It is laughable that Nana Akufo-Addo would travel all the way from Ghana accompanied by others to attend a $45-a-person fundraiser where less than 50 people would attend.

Rosa Whitaker had made it clear earlier that the group never organizes fundraising for foreign political candidates,” it said.

The invitation was extended to other stakeholders engaged in Ghana's economic and political development to discuss germane issues about the beneficiary country.

The forum, though secondary to the main one in which he was scheduled to meet NPP stalwarts in the US, afforded Nana Addo the opportunity to discuss economic and political issues about Ghana.

The Whitaker invitation about the event which took place at the Park Hyatt Washington described Nana as “one of the key architects of Ghana's economic and democratic renaissance realized under the administration of President John Agyekum Kufuor.”

Continuing, the invitation added, “while he is generally expected to succeed President Kufuor, this luncheon is not a political event, but rather a discussion with one of Africa's most respected leaders, who will continue to be a force in the region, regardless of the outcome of the election in December 2008.”

Fuming over the allegation of a sort of fundraising from non-Ghanaians, in violation of local laws, the team noted that “regarding the Whitaker Group event, no mention was made of either Nana Akufo-Addo or the organizers or any member of the delegation of finances for the campaign.

Indeed the campaign team is fully aware of the laws of Ghana regarding soliciting funds from non-Ghanaians for political purposes.”

The meeting, it pointed out, was made up of people with investments in Ghana and others on the verge of doing so.

The function, it said, “afforded the presidential candidate the opportunity to explain his vision of transforming the local economy and creating a modern society. That was what happened at the meeting.”

False allegations, Nana Addo's team observed, would not help the course of democracy and would work against the moral duty of responsible people working to assist the electorate to make informed choices in the forthcoming elections.

In a separate rebuttal to the newspaper publication, the Ghanaian Embassy in Washington DC stated that “the usual protocol courtesies are extended to all Members of Parliament on arrival from airports and to all official functions.

Washington mission has in the recent past provided similar services to others, including Hon. Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom in May 2008.”

Explaining further, the Mission stated that during the occasion under review in June 2008, “the visiting MPs were picked directly from the airport to scheduled non-official functions by private people on arrival on June 3, 2008.

The delegation went to many non-official events with privately arranged vehicles.”

On the business promotion event organized by the Whitaker Group, and a panel discussion on Ghana's democratic governance and economic progress organized by the Centre for Strategic International Studies in Washington D.C., the embassy explained that “the two events were not for fund raising and were non-political.

The mission pointed out that “the organizers took advantage of the presence of the former ministers and sitting MPs to contribute to the discussions at the two events to which the Mission had earlier been invited to participate.”

The Embassy explained that records abound reflecting similar support extended to others, their party affiliations notwithstanding.

By A.R. Gomda