'Ghanaians not yet over from your reckless borrowing, haircut, corruption, arrogance of power' — GFL slams NPP

The Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL) has on Wednesday accused the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) of endorsing reckless behaviour among its members, stressing that the NPP's 'Yen Suro Ahunahuna' demonstration on September 23 was a clear endorsement of such behaviour, which includes using social media to insult state officials, traditional and religious leaders.

Mr Abraham Koomson, GFL Secretary General, in an interview with Modern Ghana News, further alleged that the NPP is attempting to protect its members who allegedly looted state resources during their eight-year tenure in government.

He emphasised that any NPP member invited by state security agencies is alleged to have breached the law and faced due process.

Mr Koomson noted that the NPP's attempt to tag state institutions for doing their mandated task is unfortunate. “How can you attack the Office of Special Prosecutor (OSP), which you created during your tenure in government, with your own man at the helm of affairs?

“How can you accuse Lawyer Kissi Agyabeng, the Special Prosecutor, of engaging in political witch-hunting? It does not add up?

“How can you stand in the way of the government recovering from people who committed financial crimes against the people of Ghana? Everyone who occupies state or public office must be accountable to the people lawfully.”

Mr Koomson called on the NPP to learn lessons from its failures, be humble in opposition, and reorganise; “any attempts to continue to legitimise the evil deeds of some of its past leaders will only continue to incur the wrath of Ghanaians.

“Ghanaians are yet to recover from the fallout from the NPP government’s financial sector clean-up, which collapsed many indigenous financial institutions; the Akufo Addo haircut; the fallout from the E-levy; the introduction of obnoxious taxes; the free fall of the cedi; and the arrogance of some party and previous government officials.

“The reckless government borrowing, the passage of the controversial LI 2462 which emboldened illegal mining, the large government size which at the end plunged the nation into its worst financial crisis, and the list goes on.”

Mr Koomson reiterated the call on the NPP council of elders to rebuke and restrain its wayward leaders and members, stressing that “NPP in opposition is becoming reckless and national saboteurs”.

The GFL Secretary General also criticised President John Dramani Mahama’s government for its failure to swiftly prosecute individuals implicated in corruption under the previous NPP government.

Mr Koomson voiced his disappointment over the continued freedom of individuals he claims were central to major financial irregularities during the NPP era: “Now they have the guts to organise demonstrations and the empty boldness to appear on radio and television programmes to speak against the government and spout out lies.”

He said, “Even though I must admit that the wheels of justice grind slowly, the fact is also that justice delayed is justice denied; the government must fast-track the prosecution of all those who stole money from the state.

Mr Koomson urged the government to expedite investigations and ensure that all individuals who deliberately caused financial loss to the state are prosecuted, regardless of their political affiliations.

The GFL Secretary General also commended the police administration for maintaining law and order during the NPP demonstration, stressing, "The exhibition of high professional behaviour even though some NPP elements attempt to provoke them to react is highly commendable."