Did Rawlings hold back attack on NPP in fiery June 4 speech?

President Jerry Rawlings was so close and yet so far from launching a rare attack on the NPP government led by President Akufo-Addo.

As a King Cobra props itself for a deadly strike, Rawlings prefaced what looked like an imminent attack at the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

The NDC founder said although the first NPP government led by President John Kufuor [from 2001 - 2008] is not as corrupt as this second version led by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

"I know what is going on. I know some of the things they are running into," the former president hinted at possible wrongdoing within the NPP.

And then......he mumbled off a few words to frustrate a hot line-up of sentences waiting to roll off.

"No,no,no...next time", the president bit his lip as the crowd laughed at a timely screeching of the wheels before crashing into the NPP political machinery.

Nonetheless, Rawlings made it pretty clear, the NDC has a responsibility to hold its arch rival, NPP, to account. It is a duty which it must not shelve, he suggested.

"Is it because this NPP government is not behaving like Kufuor did in his time so we think we are okay?"

The President was also clear that to do this work of accountability, the NDC must remove the log in its eyes to gain public credibility.

How big is this log, you may ask.
After more than six years of criticising the past two leaders of the NDC for failing to fight corruption, it is safe to say this log could be pretty big.

Former President Rawlings and the 2016 NPP presidential candidate Akufo-Addo struck an unsual friendship in public with the two seen cosying up towards each other.

Rawlings has described Ghana's new leader as a divine intervention to fight deep-rooted corruption .

“People think I like that man to high heavens. No, but I respect him for certain principles and values and I will continue to pray and I sincerely hope that he stays the track and devote possibly over 30 per cent of his time to fight corruption and corruptible tendencies”, he said last Febuary.

The friendship began before the 2012 elections after Jerry Rawlings fall-out with the NDC become an open secret. Akufo-Addo visited before that election which he lost and visited again after 2016 election which he won.

Akufo-Addo paid the visit to Rawling on December 27 2016 to say 'thank you' some two weeks and odd days after he won the presidential elections.

Needless to say, the NDC has found this patch-up political pact, unsettling.

Story by Ghana|myjoyonline.com|[email protected]