BETTY MOULD MAY NOT LAST

BETTY MOULD

There are enough reasons that indicates that the beleaguered Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu is on her way out of government.

The latest surge for her resignation masterminded by former Supreme Court Judge, Justice E. K. Kpegah, Today gathered, constitutes a subtle government move to deflect public attention from the fact that the plot is being engineered by Betty's own people in government.

Justice Kpegah last week called on the Attorney-General to speed up the trial of NPP functionaries who have been indicted by commissions of enquiries set up by the Mills' administration. Although Justice Kpegah spoke with the lens of a legal luminary, the political connotation of his call cannot be glossed over on Ghanaians.

The retired Supreme Court Judge has been a known NDC sympathiser even during his stay at the bench, and has not forgiven the Kufuor administration for by-passing him and Mrs Joyce Bamford-Addo to pick their junior, Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, as the Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana.

He thus finds the new NDC administration the most appropriate ground to exact his pound of flesh from the NPP and had expected Mrs Mould-Iddrisu to have commenced prosecution of former government officials under the NPP administration who adverse findings have been established against.

The fire-plot is also being stoked-up by pro-NDC newspapers like the Ghanaian Lens, Daily Post and many others of similar persuasion which obviously are being used by top NDC personnel who managed to convince the President to push Betty to the Attorney-General portfolio to destroy herself.

Mrs Mould-Iddrisu had been an institutional attorney all her life and therefore being pushed into an area of pure advocacy was considered by many as being taken to her waterloo. Yet those who recommended her to the Attorney-General's department would not consider her shortcomings. Indeed it was a way of getting at the woman lawyer who had since the heady days of the NDC presidential nominations, been considered non-supporter of Prof. Mills' candidature. Betty had been a known Rawlings loyalist who obviously supported the candidature of Dr Ekwow Spio- Garbrah for the NDC presidential election.

She herself was highly rated to pick the vice presidential position of the party. Die-hard Mills elements had not forgiven Betty and her chief supporters like former President Rawlings and his wife, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings for the manner the Rawlings denigrated others whose names came up for the vice presidential slot.

Today has it on authority that the anti-Betty Mould-Iddrisu newspapers are being tele-guided in their stance and unfolding events within the ruling party as per the judgment of the papers, indicate that Betty has failed as an Attorney-General and perhaps should resign honourably.

The conspiracy against Betty had been hatched right from the day her name came up for ministerial consideration. Some rugged NDC elements pushed for Betty's candidature for the Attorney-General portfolio at a time the President had penciled her for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In the end the President had to acquiesce to the demands of the hawks in his government. Interestingly most of them are part of the President's kitchen cabinet.

The Justice Kpegah call has a deeper connotation than meet the eye. It is not only to offer the necessary push for Betty to carry out his personnel vendetta, but also to press that failure to do so constitutes a major blot on her performance as

Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, a situation that easily dovetails into the conspiracy plot waged by the hardliners in government since Betty was named the Attorney-General.

Their double-stretched mission is to first use Betty to do all politically dirty jobs which in the process could also expose and jeopardize her political career.

After the submission of the Transitional Team's report to government, it became clear that it would not be easy nailing former officials of the NPP administration and therefore carrying that bidding was indeed a tall order.

Betty filled the bill, the hawks had contended. And it does seem they are realising their heart desire. After more than a year in office, Betty is struggling to commence prosecution of NPP officials who are thought to be corrupt.

Notwithstanding the fact that Betty would first have to be sure of the prima-facie cases against the NPP functionaries before commencement of prosecution, the Mills group would still want her to start with the prosecution, which even proves abortive, would have still dented the integrity of the individuals involved through the court of public opinion.

Ghanaians would have formed their opinions about the affected officials even before judgment would have been passed by the court. But the embarrassment would have been all Betty's. And that is where the political twist in the saga comes in.

Ms Sherry Ayittey, Nana Ato Dadzie although were acquitted by a Fast Track High Court, the political bruises that they received during the period of their trial, in the opinion of many, are still etched in the minds.

As a known Rawlings loyalist, Betty Mould-Iddrisu, like Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, has never found peace since the heady NDC presidential nomination days right to when her name came up as a possible running mate to Prof. Mills in the 2008 presidential elections.

With the alacrity of factionalism in the NDC developing each passing day, it is not known whether the party would record similar bloc-interest in the party's presidential nomination and therefore anybody, especially those from the Rawlings aisle with the potential presidential ambition are likely to be snuffed out before they gain roots.