Ghanaians will take you serious if you punish your appointees for corruption - NDC to Akufo-Addo

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), has slammed President Nana Akufo-Addo over his position on corruption and how he has dealt with the canker.

Addressing the media on Tuesday, General Secretary of the party, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah said unlike former President Mahama “who launched investigations into reports of corruption, put his own appointees on trial leading to some convictions , took steps to retrieve monies and cancelled some contracts and carried out far-reaching reforms of some government programmes to rid them of corruption, Mr. Akufo-Addo believes rather in the preservation of his tainted government hence will do anything to shield himself and his appointees even where incontrovertible evidence of corruption exists.”

The chief scribe went on to state that “the records show that President Akufo-Addo is yet to show the level of courage demonstrated by his predecessor in the fight against corruption. He lacks the will, temperament and the courage of his convictions to take any far -reaching steps.

All the talk of incorruptibility on account of age and his life experiences are only artificial creations designed to clothe him in borrowed garb while he presides over the biggest heist in Ghanaian political and governance history.”

He said the party was happy Ghanaians have expressed their outrage at the ruling government over the number of scandals recorded, a situation they believe shows citizens were not happy.



“We are encouraged that the people of Ghana have demonstrated their revulsion and outrage at the President’s deceptive and combative rhetoric yesterday when they expected a sober and reflective presentation high on substance and measurable steps to weed out the spectre of corruption which has completely overwhelmed the Akufo-Addo government.

That anger is a clear signal that the patience of Ghanaians is wearing thin and unless a dramatic change in the posture of the President is witnessed, we could be in for very gloomy times,” he added.

He said: “We urge all Ghanaians to continue to rise up in condemnation of the intolerable levels of corruption being practiced by the President and his cabal of family and friends. Only a strong and unambiguous signal to President Akufo-Addo and his government can reverse the current drift of the country into an abyss of corruption and total collapse.

We have the power to cause a change in the destiny of our country by refusing to surrender the public purse to a marauding gang of looters who present the façade of incorruptibility.”

In the view of the NDC, “If President Akufo-Addo wants to be taken seriously in the fight against corruption, he must immediately take steps to bring an end to the unparalleled nepotism and cronyism he currently practices and overhaul his government which has been so badly tainted with corruption. He must cause credible and independent investigations into all cases of corruption and take punitive action including prosecution of his appointees found to have engaged in corruption.



Only then can he come to the table with clean hands to facilitate a genuine discourse on the way forward on tackling and defeating corruption. At the moment, his words on corruption are hollow and his claims on the subject completely devoid of any moral value.”

He continued: “Ladies and gentlemen of the media, corruption may the dominant these days, but let me touch on some unfortunate comments made by the President in relation to press freedoms.

We note that you must have felt very sad yesterday when the President sought to belittle and trivialize your genuine fears and concerns arising out of the gruesome murder of your colleague, Ahmed Suale, and the threats and attacks you have come under at the hands of NPP operatives.”

“We deeply regret that lack of concern and insensitivity on the President and his attempt to dismiss to your fears. As father of the nation, he should be offering comfort, guaranteeing your safety and taking action against the goons behind these heinous acts.

We in the NDC can assure you, that you will have our firm support in your quest to hold governments accountable. As some of you have attested to publicly, you enjoyed a climate of tolerance and cooperation under the NDC government and we promise an even better relationship under a future NDC government in 2021 and beyond,” he concluded.