Rawlings: NDC cannot afford to disappoint the people

Former President Rawlings with the delegation in a group photograph shortly after the meeting. You are ministers of the state and you have a duty to serve the people and state of Ghana. You must not join some of your colleagues who will whitewash the situation and say all is well. Please wake up. J.J. Rawlings Former President Jerry Rawlings has said the Ghanaian public is not amused with the performance of the Government so far and the ruling National Democratic Congress needs to do a lot more to revive its image and restore its credibility. He told a delegation of party officials and ministers in Government from the Volta Region who paid a courtesy call on him at his Ridge residence in Accra Tuesday that the low-keyed enthusiasm among the populace is the direct result of the Government’s failure to take the high moral ground of replacing officials in national administration appointed by the party’s opponent. Ex-President Rawlings said given the scant resources at the disposal of the NDC for election 2008 and the resultant victory, the Ghanaian people gave the party a moral mandate to reverse the corrupt rule of the New Patriotic Party and build a more united and prosperous nation, and it would be very unfortunate if the party loses power again in 2012 because of inaction. He said fortunately, there is time for the government to do what is necessary to convince the populace that the change they voted for is a realistic one. The delegation, led by a member of the Council of State, Dr Bernard Glover, included Mr. Modestus Ahiable, former Regional Minister and NDC Regional Chairman; Mr. Joseph Amenowude, Regional Minister and MP for Hohoe South; Deputy Regional Minister Joseph Kwaku Nayan; Mr. Joe Gidisu, MP for North Tongu; Mrs Juliana Azuma-Mensah, Minister of Tourism; Ms Akua Sena Dansua, Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs and Mr. Francis Ganyaglo, Volta Regional Secretary of the NDC who is also the District Chief Executive for Kpando. Others included Mr. Isaac Kotobisa, Deputy Regional Secretary of the party and Ho Municipal Chief Executive; Mrs Bertha Amenuvor, National Deputy Treasurer of the party and Mr. Courage Danku, Deputy Regional Organiser. Ex-President Rawlings said the decision of President Atta Mills when he assumed office, to maintain some appointees and functionaries of the NPP created the unfortunate impression that nothing had changed and emboldened the opponent to perpetuate the very acts for which they were voted out. He said given the nature of the opponent- politically motivated killings with no trials whatsoever, coupled with a general reign of terror- he is not surprised so-called ‘professional criminals’ are terrorizing the people, explaining that a lot of violent crimes are the designs of political opponents whose aim is to discredit the government and make it unpopular. Rawlings said during the twilight of his presidency when about 34 women were murdered in what became known as ‘the serial killing of women’, he rightly predicted that the killings were going to end if the NPP won power because they would have had no justification to continue the killings after achieving their objective. Trademark Killings He said while there was a general feel initially that some nationals of neighbouring countries could be responsible for the killings, it dawned rather late on him what game the political opponent was up to. “They are at it again. You don’t need to be a mathematician to tell who is doing this. This time they have even extended it to foreign nationals who have invested in the country and when they kill, they disembowel their victims and supposedly take body parts to paint a picture of ritual murders. …The investment climate is so undermined,” he said, explaining that had President Mills acted swiftly and early enough, the opponent wouldn’t have been so emboldened to pick up arms to terrorize the people again. He charged the ministers to assert themselves and to bring their individual characters for which President Mills appointed them to bear on the general direction of governance, encouraging them not to stay mum when things go wrong but to speak out and restore the sanctity of the party. “You are ministers of the state and you have a duty to serve the people and state of Ghana. You must not join some of your colleagues who will whitewash the situation and say all is well. Please wake up.” He also urged the ministers to support and consult one another, explaining that if they unite and work as a team, they would realize they have solutions to the challenges facing the country within themselves. They must also consult their colleagues who held their positions before, because they are knowledgeable in a lot of areas and situations that must be dealt with and which do not require a reinvention of the wheel. Dr. Glover and Messrs Ahiable and Amenowde variously thanked former President Rawlings for his counsel and said the party would eternally be grateful for his encouragement, resourcefulness and forthrightness, urging him not to hold back his observations of the party as it seeks to grow from strength to strength.