I’m fed up with Mills -Rawlings

It seems there is no end in sight for the feud between President John Evans Atta Mills and former President John Jerry Rawlings.

The latter is reportedly annoyed with Mills and some of his appointees about the way his constitutionally-mandated entitlements are being handled. Media reports from the seat of government have revealed that the former President is demanding entitlements over and beyond what he is due.

Mr. Rawlings has reportedly requested that his burnt Ridge residence (Ground Zero) be rebuilt, after rejecting the ostentatious Trassaco building which was allocated to him. He is again reported to have requested for special dispensation from the government towards his trips abroad.  Additionally, he is reported to have demanded for two additional hands, as aides to his office.

But, the office of the former President, in a swift response to media publications over Mr. Rawlings' entitlements at a news conference in Accra on Friday, said the retired Air Force officer had not been treated fairly, since 'a lot of what he is reportedly entitled to have not been taken advantage of, right from the year 2000, when he left office.'

The office noted: 'President Rawlings is not in the business of aggressively pursuing his entitlements.' The Director of Communications, office of the former President, Kobina Andoh, told journalists that his boss was fed up with President Mills and his government's rhetoric over his entitlements, and has, therefore, requested that all courtesies due him be withdrawn.

'If for some reason, former President Rawlings' constitutionally-mandated entitlements are now being held to ransom, then we humbly request the government to withdraw all such courtesies,' noted Mr. Andoh, in an emotional manner.

According to him, 'The fact that senior officials at the Castle have subsequently released official files on President Rawlings to members of the media, clearly goes to confirm the level of contempt some members of government have for the former President, and how far they will go to create the impression that because he is getting his so-called entitlements, he has no right to criticise the government.'

Reacting to the offer of the Trassaco building, Mr. Andoh said the former President, upon being notified of such a facility, was emphatic that he was not interested and, therefore, told the government that he (Mr. Rawlings) could still wait a while longer for his Ridge residence, which was burnt on Valentine's Day, 2009, to be rebuilt.

According to him, though the keys of the Trassaco building came alongside the letter, 'no representative of Mr. Rawlings has reported to the premises, and we have not sought the assistance of the presidency for the premises to be inspected and officially handed over.'

Mr. Rawlings, according to his office, was yet to officially respond to the letter introducing him to the Trassaco facility, dated August 29, 2011, but which was received on September 22, 2011.

The delay in responding to the Trassaco facility, Mr. Andoh explained, had to do with the former President's role in finding peace to Somalia's 20 years protracted political dispute.

Mr. Rawlings has been traveling on Somalia-related issues since January 2011, following his appointment by the African Union as its High Representative for Somalia in October 2010.

He is currently in China at the invitation of the Chinese government, The Chronicle has learnt.

Touching on the issue of the special dispensation towards the former President's Somalia-related trips, Mr. Ando explained that the African Union (AU) was not well-endowed financially and, therefore, pays for one business class ticket and two economy class tickets for the High Representative and his entourage, irrespective of who they are.

He said most of Mr. Rawlings' trips are made on short notice, and because of the difficulty in moving between classes in the air, sought audience with the Chief of Staff and requested a special dispensation to support the AU Special Envoy's travel arrangements.

'It is truly unfortunate that an impression is being created that the upgrades being made are part of President Rawlings' entitlements. They are not. As far as we are concerned, President Rawlings is playing a role that does the image of Ghana good, and has the potential of resolving the 20-year-old conflict in Somalia. President Rawlings has not sought any assistance for the issuance of ticket upgrades for non-Somalia related trips,' Mr. Ando stressed.

He noted that former presidents who are appointed to such roles are usually supported by their mother countries, citing the former President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, to buttress his argument.

'Thabo Mbeki, who is also an AU envoy, travels at the state's expense and with a state aircraft, complete with elite national security operatives,' he added.

On the issue of two aides to the office of the former President, Mr. Andoh said those names were submitted at the behest of the government to conform to the number specially allocated to the retired Air Force officer.

'If government has received a list of two additional aides, it is because we were officially notified that there were two outstanding names to be submitted in the category of aides, and we followed procedure by submitting those names.

'If for any reason, government felt it was an anomaly, we should have been duly informed,' said the Director of Communications to the office of the former President.