AVOID BEING JAILED … Mallam Issah advises NDC ministers

 
By Bernice Bessey
A former Minister of Youth and Sports in the President John Agyekum Kufuor-led administration, Mallam Ali Yusuf Issah, has advised outgoing National Democratic Congress (NDC) officials to handover genuine documents to the incoming New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration to avoid being jailed.

Mallam Issah, who was jailed over the $46,000 Black Stars bonuses that went missing whilst on assignment to Sudan by the John Agyekum Kufuor administration, indicated that the incoming Akufo-Addo administration’s main focus is to prosecute and jail perceived corrupt officials of the NDC.

According to him, the NPP government would investigate beyond the documents presented to them during the transition to uncover some of the corrupt practices by the defeated NDC officials. “I know these people; all they want is to prosecute people,” he said.

Mallam Issah said though the late Prof. John Evans Atta Mills declined prosecuting corrupt officials in the Kufuor government, after the NDC took over the reins of power 2009, he doubted if the president-elect would follow the same example.

He strongly warned outgoing government officials to be extra careful in hand over documents, because President Mills and P.V. Obeng, who were against witch hunting members in the opposition, are no more to plead on their behalf.

Mallam Issah made the statement when he addressed a news conference in Accra yesterday, on the theme, “The Truth Is Bitter”, to highlight some reasons that led to the defeat of the incumbent government.

The former minister, who joined the NDC after serving his jail sentence, indicated that the number one reason that caused the ruling government to lose to the elephant party was voter apathy.

According to him, Ghanaians didn't vote against the NDC, they only refused to go out to cast their votes for the ruling party.

Analyzing the just-ended elections results, he emphasised that the NPP got an edge over the NDC and other political parties in the country, because there was voter apathy, adding that the NPP added over 400,000 votes to what it secured in the previous election, whilst the NDC lost one million votes.

He said: “It is either the over one million supporters of the NDC died within the four years, relocated outside the country, or simply did not vote. The later must be true; voter apathy!”

Among other factors, which accounted for the NDC’s miserable defeat, according to Mallam Issah, were gross disrespect to the grassroots, explaining that members of Parliament, metropolitan/ municipal/district chief executives and other government appointees lost touch with the footsoldiers.

He also made known the fact that the NDC bit the thumbs that gave them power in 2012, saying that the party ignored the farmers who voted for the party to retain power, by not addressing their needs.

He added that the NDC lost the elections because the party founder, Jerry John Rawlings, was relegated to the background and sidelined from being active in the party.

Mallam Issah reiterated the General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah's call for early congress, and pleaded with the party to sack all non-performing executives, to smoothen the way for them to recapture power in 2020.