‘They are concocting all kinds of stories against Nana’ whilst others have ‘compromised themselves along the way for fear of losing their jobs’, he said.
This, according to him, was the reason why many have sought to make open declaration supporting President Mills, to secure their jobs as Ministers, DCEs and other appointees.
Mr Rawlings made these comments when Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, one of the three individuals contesting the upcoming primaries of the party, went to formally inform him of his decision to run for the position and asked for his blessings.
According to the former president, he had had cause to tell President Mills that ‘blind loyalty to you does not help’.
He said he could not imagine why they in the NDC, with people he described as having ‘sane conviction, intellectual prowess etc strong-solid people who are not buyable, who stand on the foundation of conviction and truth’, are not making way for others to produce three-fold the number of aspirants produced by the NPP in its flagbearership contest, creating the impression as if the NDC does not have men.
He said he was glad that people like his wife and Spio-Garbrah were standing up to be counted.
‘If the performance had lived up to expectation…you and I wouldn’t be here,’ he said, while accusing the Mills administration of poor performance, saying that Mills and his people will have themselves to blame.
He stressed that the underhand dealings being undertaken by Mills and his cohort would eventually destroy the NDC as a party if they did not put things right.
‘The use of intimidation and money by anyone or any of the candidates in this party or to attempt to win this congress will cost us the 2012 election.
‘This is a party that has always won its battles on the foundation of conviction, on truth, values, ethics.’
He believes Mills and his people had messed up the economy since the country was not supposed to be where it is today.
‘Where we are is going to lead to defeat and the sooner we begin to change gear, we begin to do things differently, with the right changes, the better will be our chances.’
Mr Rawlings wondered whether Mills and his people were deliberately paving way for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to return to power.
‘To what extent have some of us compromised ourselves that we have to be behaving this way?’
He said the NDC today, led by President Mills and his praise singers, was totally different from the original NDC which he formed and nurtured into a political institution. ‘NDC was built out of a value system, conviction, truth.’
That, according to him, was how the party survived the days of the June 4 revolution, 31st December PNDC regime and the two elections they won but not by intimidating or bribing people.
‘Don’t we realize that this is what will be destroying…the noble values of this party and yet that is the very weapon you need to win your next election,’ he said.
He could therefore not fathom why the current leadership of the party wanted to make democracy a ‘sellable, buyable things just like some of the court houses where justices are for sale.’
‘That is a road to disaster and it will not sit well with the masses, the vast majority of the people of this country. Â Â Continued…Â Â Â
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