NDC spokesman condemns multiparty democracy

Days after National Democratic Congress officials denied and condemned a story carried in The Statesman and attributed to O B Amoah, Deputy Minister for Education and Sports, which described the main opposition party as non-democrats (NDC Are Not Democrats, O B Amoah warns voters- Vol 10 No 38, June 1, 2007), this paper has received incontrovertible evidence that a leading official of the party had indeed advocated a rejection of democracy in favour of a no-party state at a public forum.

Fiifi Kwetey, Propaganda Secretary of the NDC - formed out of the military PNDC – speaking at the inauguration of the Methodist University College, Ghana, branch of the party's Tertiary Institution Network at the school"s auditorium on May 24, disclosed that the PNDC in 1990 wanted to pursue a no party system so people are elected not on party political lines but on their own moral standing. The system, he said, would have made it impossible for "liabilities like Kufuor to become President of Ghana.”

He also repeated the party's threatened rejection of the results of the 2008 election if the law enfranchising Ghanaians was used in next year's election, unless of course, the party won the election.

These comments led Mr Amoah, speaking a week later at the inauguration of the Tertiary Education Students Confederacy of the same institution, to assert that "we" of the NPP, "believe in Development in Freedom and multi-party democracy while they, the NDC are pseudo-democrats."

O B Amoah reminded the students that, "Just last week, the NDC came here and true to their form, some of them were yearning for the undemocratic no-party states of 1981 to 1992. They had eleven years of military despotic rule and the first four years (1993-1996) of virtual one-party system in parliament.

"Yet they started complaining in 1997, when the NPP was the minority in Parliament that their problem was democracy and constitutional anarchy, whatever that means."

Mr Amoah maintained that a little research will reveal that on 20th July 2000, the then President Rawlings publicly complained about his critics being trouble makers who were, the Deputy Minister quoted, "dissipating their energies on the superficial attributes of democracy rather than its substance."

Also speaking at the function, Deputy Interior Minister Kwaku Agyemang Manu said the apparent decision by the country's main opposition party to resort to "takashi is a sign of desperation," warning that the NPP government was ready to live up to its constitutional mandate to protect the people in the face of threats issued by the NDC.

"We have the constitutional mandate and we'll show the NDC we are in government and we are ready and prepared to use our legitimate power to protect the state and the people."

Speaking on a wide variety of topics, Mr Kwetey maintained that "the 1979 and 1981 coups were justified because of the rot and moral decay as is being witnessed today ad challenged the students to do a comparative analysis of the situation then and now.

NDC General Secretary Asiedu Nketiah described the School Feeding Programme as 'turning our schools into chop bars" and said the capitation Grant and the distribution of free bags are just a ploy to throw dust into the eyes of parents.

After leveling a series of corruption allegations against the ruling government, NDC Women's Organiser Ama Benyiwa Doe described the re-denomination exercise as an avenue for fraud since the two currencies would be used side by side for a period of six months, giving the NPP enough time to build on its cash reserves.

Also present at function were NDC Chairman Kwabena Adjei, National Organiser Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, his Deputy Baba Jamal, National Youth Organiser Haruna Iddrisu, Ludwig Hlodge, Margaret Clarke Kweisie, and Elvis Afriyie Ankrah.