The Behaviour Of Rawlings Towards Cadres Of The Reform Movement In 1999.
The battle cry of the Reform Movement comprising the cadres who constituted the foot soldiers of the revolutionary organs of yesterdays 1982 – 1999 was Professor Mills, the then Vice Present should make it possible for the other people to feel that he wanted competition, and if he rolled on it, he would have become such a strong guy for our support. But was Professor Mills the one who imposed himself as a sole flag bearer of the NDC in 1996? No, it was Rawlings who did that. There was Reform I which consisted of the young radical cadres including this writer who later pulled out with the entire cadres of the then Adansi West District with Obuasi as its capital because our senior cadres were all paid their Ex-gratia awards and we had NONE. Reform 2 consisted of the BIG MEN of the then ruling NDC government of President Rawlings, retired civil and public servants who had their secret meetings at Tema because they could NOT come out openly to support the cadres but they donated monies. Apart from the BNI, National Investigations Committee (NIC) officials, SFO officials, we had the Counter Intelligence Unit (C.I.U) officials, sniffing for information nationwide and hunting for the Reform cadres. The cadres accomodated the BIG MEN because they were role models and people who believed and thought like the cadres. The Big men in Reform 2, who were incumbent Ministers of State MPs, also added their voices by saying that Professor Mills has been sky rocked from OUTSIDE the party to hijack the year 2000 presidential ticket, more so; he has a lawyer and 98% of Ghanaian Lawyers did NOT support the cadres as they boycotted all the Public Trabunals in 1982 to 1983describing them as Kangaroo Courts with the late Lawyer Obeng Manu Senior insulting the cadres that they had NO DESTINY in life. Cadres were riff-raffs and the never – do – wells in society amidst unprintable remarks. If Professor Mills went through all these hecklings, occusations and condemnations to finally become the President of the Republic of Ghana why should Rawlings turn round to openly insult his own chosen begotten son in public after using the Security Agencies to dump several cadres in cells and military guardrooms because of Professor Mills flag bearership in 1999? Does he think he will get the support of his cadres again this time? It is capital NO, we therefore apologise to the President of the Republic of Ghana on behalf of Ex-Presiedent Rawlings. If anything at all, Rawlings is also tasting the fruits of a determined purely civilian dictatorship he created and so he must comport himself and rather shelve his alleged bitterness to enable his only begotten son to focus on his Better Ghana Agenda for 8 years. President Mills has suffered humiliations, hecklings, direct insults, underminings, mockery and was even written off as a FAILURE in Ghana politics, so if he has won the 2009 elections, he must be allowed to enjoy the fruits of his Honest Hard Labour from 2000 – 2008 when he suatched power from Nana Akuffo Addo through the ballot box after the NPP spent $47 million dollars on the 2008 elections. President Mills is now a Senior Cadre and Leader of the Party, he has passed through the mill for 9 years that is why he is called Mills.
I therefore use the pages of this paper to caution the later day saints in the NDC who under-rate the intelligence of cadres in the party to think twice before opening their mouths to condemn the cadres and if they fail to do that and continue to provoke cadres, we shall fight back since we are the Foundation and Landlords of the NDC Party. Rawlings must NOT CRY over spilled milk at all. With this factual explaination, who is Really A Rawlings Boy in the NDC – Is it Mills or the Cadres? President Mills is now the No. 1 boy of Rawlings followed by the Cadres before the party supporters so what are people really talking about?
This script is a de-classified document from the files of a Senior Cadre which has been released to the media in other to set the records straight because Rawlings must NOT think that he can make and un-make a Preaident like he did in 1999 by always insulting his own sole candidate he nominated in 1996 and turn round to tell Ghanaians that the President is a “Konongo Kaya”. It will never work because cadres will carry President Mills in a Wheel Chair and put him in an eroplane and campaign in 2012 if the President cannot walk across the country. I suicerely believe this is the stubborn truth and it was Rawlings who taught cadres to speak out boldly on National issues and damn the cousequencies and this is exactly what I have done. Those governement appointees who always fall over each other to insult Rawlings for no apparent reason must Resign Enblock if they Hate Rawlings beause he is a gem and must be presserved as well as his wife. We must NOT insult our Leaders e.g. the Sitting President and his Vice as well as Rawlings. Is anybody listening? I shall return.
Aluta Continua!
Clement Sangaparee – Municipal Organizer
United Cadres Front
Obuasi
THE CADRES LEFT NDC IN 1999 TO ORGANISE THE REFORM MOVMENT WHICH BECOME THE NATIONAL REFORM PARTY.
THE NDC MUST NOT COMMIT POLITICAL SUICIDE – FINAL PART.
The NDC cadres said they acquisced in the sky rocketing of Professor Mills from OUTSIDE THE PARTY to become the President’s running mate in 1996 because the NDC party at that time had enoug controversy on its hands.
The cadres pointed out that the political formore generated by President Rawlings ill – fated Vice President Arkaah was sufficient for duy other pain in the heart to be stomached. During the heat of the 31st December Revolution in 1982 the then PNDC Chairman, J. J. Rawlings made a statement at Tema that in case of any eventuality at that time, Goosie Tannoh were to step in his shoes. It was ONLY Goosie who behaved honourably during the events that led to the formation of the NDC. In 1990 it became clear that the revolution and the pervasive powers it conferred on its activites would cease in 1992 when constitutional rule was to come into force where upon some of the revolution’s front liners came up wish the idea of transforming the revolutionary apparatus into a political pary.
The then chairman Rawlings told all the proponenets of the idea that they should show their readiness to meet the prerequisite consistutional provisions and also commitment to the party idea by first resigning from their workplaces. Out of the lot, it was ONLY Goosie Tannoh who resigned as Financial Controller of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).
Goosie Tannoh’s 2000 Presidential dream was short circuited by internal wranglings in the NDC that manifested in court actions aimed at seeing constituency and Regional party positions being taking by democratically elected party men presude to the party’s last congress in Sekondi. When the cadres realised that party positions were being allocated in the homes of District in Accra, they gave Goosie Tannoh an utimatum to leave the NDC and lead them in a New Party or find himself alone. Goosie could not ignore that utimatum because the cadres were the footsoldiers constitute an advance party in political campaigns cadres were the people who killed the snakes before parliamentary candidates come to cut the heads of the snakes.
Political parties should provide avenues for growth by allowing democratic norms and principles to guide their own parctices. Dissent and intra-party competition is one of the surest vehicles for party rejuvenation it enhances the party’s chances of attraching virile membership, weeds out sycophancy and stiffles tyranny. By 1999, the NDC under President Rawlings had driven a huge nail in the coffin of democratic discipline and this was led by the former National Treasurer and Attorney General Dr. Obed Yao Asamoah who always ordering people who wanted to contest the various positions in the party from Regional and National positions. Four of such examples were John Willian Aggekum who was asked to dump his Naional Organizer ambitions which led to a demonstration against Obed Asamoah, Nana Boateng Aboraa was asked by the same Obed to make way for Jacob Baba in reckoning for Deputy General Secretary. Mr. Aboraa complained bitterly but to no avail and so it happened to Squadron teader Clend Sowu who solemnly declared just as it happened in 1994 in Kumasi, if one found himself in a situation where he wants to serve in a group, but people think other wise, then he has to step down. His dreams of becoming one of the NDC’s six vice chairman had been shattered. The then Eastern Regional Women Organizer, Madam Faustina Offei gave vent to her frustrations and stated thus “What we are saying is that we want TRUE DEMOCRACY, but how democratic was the NDC under Rawlings and Obed Asamoah in 1999? Both of them were dreaded democratic dictators having used the cadres to wim power from 1992 to 2000 after having used them and dumped them. President Mills has given appointments to most leading cadres in his administration, why won’t cadres throw thir weight behind him to achieve his Better Ghana Agenda? Dictatorship caused the NDC in 2000 and the two dictators were Jerry Rawlings and Dr. Obed Asamoah and it was the later who imposed several unpopular parlimentary candidates in the constituencies in 2000 and we lost power because the arrogance, agreed and even disrespect to the cadres who made the party what it is today was too much to bear and cadres were fed up with their dictatorship.
Incidentally, Dr. Obed asamoah was voted out at the NDC Regional Congress in Koforidua and he complained bitterly of dictatorship
