Interim Management Committee Of The United Cadres Front Of Ghana On National Issues

Ladies and gentlemen of the media, fellow comrades!

I have the pleasure to welcome you all to this important engagement on behalf of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the United Cadres Front of Ghana (UCF-GHANA).

As most of you may well be aware, there have been some differences within the cadre ranks which led to a division dubbed UCF-EAST LEGON and UCF-KUKUHILL. This caused the formation of two national executive bodies with their attendant followings. This situation, needless to say, gave rise to acrimony and rancor within the Cadre Front, over the recent past few years.

However, the ability of cadres to reason logically, comprehend issues in their right perspective and analyze them to arrive at sustainable conclusions, engendered us, cadres, to close our ranks, resolve our differences and are now together as a unified body under an Interim Management Committee (IMC), mandated to organize a congress to elect substantive executives of the United Cadres Front of Ghana.

The first part of our press encounter this morning is to introduce the Interim Management Committee, then proceed to make some comments on recent national developments and subsequent reactions.

The I.M.C is co- chaired by Comrades Kofi Aikins and Shine Gaveh. The other members are Comrades: Rejoice Ahiable, Mercy Akromah, Sammy Donkor, Camillus Maalneriba-Tia Sakzeesi, Edward Aganaboya Mba, Lawson Godro, Charles Afare, Tom Brown, Osei Piesie-Anto and Efanam Nyaku, Secretary to the IMC. We are happy to announce that our party, the National Democratic Congress is, indeed in tune with this development within the cadre ranks, and the venue of this press conference is indicative of the level of recognition accorded the United Cadres Front of Ghana.

Ladies and Gentlemen, let me on behalf of the IMC, once again, thank all our senior Comrades who in diverse ways contributed and facilitated the resolution of our differences. We single out for special mention the Cadres Contact Group. A Y E K O O ! ! ! !

As we have already stated, we have invited you here to also express our concern on issues of national interest which has made us quite restless. We segment them as below stated:

POITICIZATION

Ladies and gentlemen of the media, fellow Comrades. The politicization of everything in this country by the NPP has become of grave concern to many well-meaning Ghanaians. To the extent that motor accidents that occur because of hasty decisions of overtaking drivers, causing mayhem is attributed to the NDC, ‘not’ providing enough ambulances to convey accident victims to the hospital, hence, the death of victims of the Kintampo accident. What Logic!

His Excellency the President, as part of his constitutional obligations renders his State Of The Nation’s address and again, for political gains, the Flag Bearer of the NPP decides to provide a “real state of the nation address”. Suffice it to state that he ended up displaying such ridiculous misunderstanding of the issues at hand. What a shame!!!

The cumulative effect of our over reliance on hydro power in times past and the lack of preparedness for the increasing electricity demands which led to a deficit resulting in Dumsor which was also FIXED by His EXCELLENCY, is also politicized by the NPP as an ineptitude of the Mahama administration. What a joke!!!

GUANTANAMO EX-DETAINEES SAGA
Another issue that has been politicized by the NPP and some clergymen and engaged the attention of the Ghanaian citizenry lately, is the acceptance of the ex-Guantanamo detainees into the country. Some informed/uninformed commentaries have done the rounds on the electronic and social media. Some intellectuals have also dishonestly waded into the discourse, presenting skewed views to project their political agenda. This, to say the least is absurd and must be exposed.

On October 30, 2003, the Parliament of Ghana ratified an agreement with the government of the United States of America on what is now commonly known as "The Non Surrender Agreement". One of the key issues in that agreement which is publicly known now is that American citizens who may be sought by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague, for crimes of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity and aggression – should not be handed over by countries in which they live, who have signed up to that agreement.

Prior to the signing of the agreement, there was a divided opinion between the then majority NPP and the then minority NDC for and against the agreement. The Ghana News Agency (GNA) had the issue reported thus: “Parliament on Thursday by 101 votes to 53 voted for the ratification of the bilateral agreement between the Ghana Government and the Government of the United States, regarding the surrender of offenders to the International Criminal Court. Members of the Minority (NDC) vehemently protested against the Motion, saying it violates the sovereignty of the country and that the country should not cheapen itself just for peanuts.”

It had to be put to vote due to the failure of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Constitution, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs to reach a consensus on the issue because of entrenched positions of both sides. The GNA reported that the Chairman of the Joint Committee, Mr. Joseph Darko-Mensah had told the august House of their meeting with the then Foreign Affairs Minister, Nana Addo Danqwah Akufo-Addo, who gave them details of the agreement. He (Nana) further stated that Ghana had already signed and ratified an agreement known as the “THE ROME TREATY” which sought to hand over suspects for trial on crimes of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity and aggression.

The Joint Committee’s report to the entire membership of Parliament, stressed that Ghana stood to benefit when the agreement is signed and ratified – failure for which Ghana could lose certain benefits from the US government including FINANCIAL SUPPORT and the hampering of the country’s bilateral relationship.

However, the Minority (NDC) on the other hand as reported by the GNA “…disagreed with that assertion, saying the country should on principle not sign and ratify the agreement since it would be COMPOMISING (our stress) its stand on The Rome Treaty it signed. It emerged that the issues contained in the agreement are so important that they should be brought to the public domain for public inputs and that entering into such a bilateral Agreement would mean surrendering the national sovereignty”.

The United Cadres Front of Ghana has observed from media reports at the time that the country was ‘BULLIED’ into signing the agreement by the NPP, and the GUANTANAMO EX-DETAINEES situation, which has sparked the current controversial discussions – smacks of probable inferences that created the environment for the possible consideration of Ghana as a probable destination for the ex-detainees.

Prior to October 30, 2003, when the Agreement was signed, the GNA again captured Hon. Joseph Darko-Mensah in its report as saying that, “To strengthen its position on the issue, the US Congress in 2001 passed the American Service Members Protection Act introducing sanctions against regimes that don’t comply. Compelling the US Administration to suspend all forms of military assistance to countries refusing or failing to sign the Agreement by July 2003, and later extended to October 2003.

“He said it was intimated that Ghana stands to benefit by ratifying the bilateral Agreement especially with military assistance to the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF)”.

The Minority (NDC) stood on a different pedestal, stressing it was a huge betrayal on the part of the Government of Ghana. They further stated that it was also a contradiction to the then two imminent Ghanaian personalities, i.e Mr. Kofi Annan who was the Secretary General of the United Nations and Prof. Henrieta Mensah Bonsu who was then serving as the Vice President of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Ladies and gentlemen, fellow comrades. The above is how far things went and you have all heard the effort the then Minority in Parliament in resisting the signing of the Agreement as against whatever good the Majority saw in that whole transaction. When the minority (NDC) even advocated a general public discourse on it – they were ignored.

Today, those who used their huge numbers in Parliament at the time (NPP) to prevent public participation and input in that controversial Agreement, are faulting government for having accepted the two ex-detainees without engaging the public on it. Those sections of the clergy now making wheezing noises against President Mahama, were no doubt, beclouded by their political spectacles and chose to remain gullibly silent.

We are grateful they have found their voices now. Kudos. !!!!

We cannot end our statement without expressing disappointment in civil society organizations and faith based organizations who have suddenly found their voices. They find it convenient now to contribute to the debate. We condemn such selective attitudes and urge them to display more objectivity in national discourse.

The UCF-GHANA, begs to state that the presence of the two gentlemen does not in itself expose us to terrorist attacks. Rather, political violence in whatever form is terrorism, Those engaged in it should purge themselves off it.

Thank you for your attention.
……………………………… ……………………………………..

Co-Chairman, Comrade Kofi Aikins 2. Co-Chairman, Comrade Shine Gaveh

………………………………………..

3. Comrade Efanam Nyaku Felix (Secretary)