Mills’ Invite To Kufuor Was Mere Populism – Balado Manu

NPP Member of Parliament for Ahafo Ano South, Hon. Stephen Kwaku Balado Manu, has pooh-poohed the close-door meeting between President John Evans Atta Mills and his predecessor, John Agyekum Kufuor, describing it as mere populism.

He said President Mills intentionally invited Mr. Kufuor to score political points and portray to Ghanaians that all is well between him and his predecessor. According to him, ex-President Kufuor, being the gentleman that he is and for the sake of diplomacy, accepted the invite in spite of how the Mills’ administration had treated the issue of his emoluments.

President John Evans Atta Mills on Tuesday, February 23 held discussions on matters of mutual, national and international interest with Mr. Kufuor behind closed doors at the Castle, Osu.

The rarity of the occasion saw people from various political divide reading their suitable meanings into it. This is perhaps the second visit by Mr. Kufuor to the Castle after he left office in January 2009. The first was when President Barack Obama of the United States visited the country in July, 2009.

Speaking on e-TV’s Breakfast TV Newspaper Review, Mr. Balado Manu said it was hypocritical on President Mills’ part to invite the ex-President to a meeting after having denied him of his deserved privileges when he had dutifully served the nation for eight years.

“This nation must be serious and populism must end. This invitation is populism that is how I see it, to portray to Ghanaians that Mills is on good terms with Kufuor; but I cannot accept that. Kufuor of course is the number one gentleman we have in this country, so he will be diplomatic; but he is a human being and he must be worried except that he wouldn’t come out in public and be shouting as others would have done,” he fumed.

The NPP MP sarcastically sought to find out from the Mills’ Administration how they expected Mr. Kufuor to get to the Castle after denying him of all his constitutionally mandated privileges.

“How did President Mills expect Kufuor to get to the castle, was he to walk when they had taken away from him all the vehicles and where were they expecting him to come to the castle from when he has been denied of a constitutionally mandated house to lay his head?…If God had not blessed Kufuor with a house after serving the nation, he would have been in his hometown, so how would he have honoured the invitation which was given at a short notice?” he asked rather angrily.

Hon Balado Manu pointed out that it did not take then President Kufuor two years to provide former President Rawlings with his deserved constitutionally mandated privileges, but two years down the lane, nothing is being done about his (Kufuor’s) ex-gratia.

He accused the Ishmael Yamson Committee formed by the Mills’ administration of causing financial loss to the state, claiming the committee came up with no meaningful report.