John Boadu
The
ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) says the opposition National Democratic
Congress (NDC) is reinventing their ‘dirty’ strategy of throwing
unsubstantiated corruption allegations against NPP appointees just to win back
power like they did in 2008.
According
to the NPP’s General Secretary, John Boadu, the NDC in 2008 shouted
‘corruption’ against the NPP but the allegations were never proven and said
that this time around, the ruling party would not sit down for that to happen
again.
“The
NDC’s campaign of falsehood and mischievous political intent really fails the
test of serious and purposeful governance,” the General Secretary said at a
media briefing yesterday and pledged that “the NPP will this time around expose
the NDC and not allow them to get away with it.”
“God’s
love for Ghana allowed us this moment to be able to do a side-by-side
comparison of a serious speech that has already changed Ghana, and a
content-free, values-free ad hominem flight of bombast that threatens to undo
all the gains we have made in the effort to become a law-abiding country,” he
said in reaction to the NDC’s response to President Akufo-Addo’s speech on corruption
on Monday.
He
said “the NDC is a party that is too weighed down by its own poor history. But
we can’t afford to let this poor history become Ghana’s destiny.”
According
to Mr. Boadu, “Whilst the President acknowledges the presence of corruption,
past and present, and demonstrates concrete steps towards sustainable lasting
solutions, the NDC prefers smoke and mirrors, shouting as loudly as possible in
the unrealistic hope of gaining doubtful political capital.”
He
said the time had come for Ghanaians to critically weigh the governance styles
of the two parties, and to lead the public crusade for good governance with
open government, as championed by the President.
Mr.
Boadu stated that the President’s commitment is to the Rule of Law as the only
legitimate and viable means of conquering systemic corruption in this country,
adding that “no amount of short-term mudslinging and exaggerated claims of
corruption being levelled at every incidence of mishap in governance can sway
his resolve to be impartial, fair and focused on institutional means of
fighting corruption.”
The
NPP also questioned the moral right of the NDC in talking about corruption when
the facts point that this government has done better than the NDC’s government
under the John Mahama administration.
“The
NDC sends mixed signals. Any action taken drives them to demand even more extreme
action. Per their approach, the President should be judge and executioner on no
evidence other than their politically motivated screams of corruption,” he
said.
“Indeed,
the NDC’s superior craftsmanship of state-sponsored corruption was well described
in a pithy way by the phrase ‘create, loot and share’. We saw in this time
infamous judgement debt schemes where monies were deliberately budgeted in
order to create judgement debts, loot the budgeted monies and share the looted
monies,” Mr. Boadu added.
The
NPP also questioned the rationale behind the NDC using a press conference held
by a man (Asiedu Nketia), who as chairman of a state corporation, Bui Dam,
awarded to himself contracts and now “fancies himself as corrupt enough to be
considered as running mate to a candidate, who, one week
before leaving office, signed off 75% of Ghana’s bauxite to his younger
brother” to refer to the president as running a ‘family and friends’
government.
“The NDC has no record to compare to the above. They accuse the President with a vague notion of state capture, hinting at some of the President’s appointees being from his family. That accusation is so puerile we need not go into the family cabals that have run the NDC for years including but not limited to former president now Candidate Mahamas’ family, the late President Mills’ family, the Awhois, Tsikatas, Moulds, Ocrans, Tettehs, Sawyers and many others who populated and continue to populate influential spaces within the NDC.”
By Nana Kwasi
