Mpiani Replies Rawlings

… Allow Yourself To Be Respected!

Ex Chief of Staff Tells Former President After 31st December Attacks On Kufuor

Obviously distraught by former President, Jerry John Rawlings’ vituperations spewed during the recent anniversary held in commemoration of the December 31, 1981 coup d’eatat, former Chief of Staff in the erstwhile New Patriotic Party (NPP), administration, Mr. Kwadwo Mpiani, has called on the latter to allow himself to be respected by Ghanaians.

Mr. Mpiani told this paper in a telephone interview yesterday that, “No matter what, he is the former president of this country and he needs to be accorded the needed respect he deserves, but by his conduct I only hope and pray that Rawlings will allow himself to be respected by Ghanaians.”

The NPP guru averred that since 1979, former president Rawlings had said nothing new about his stand on others - that with the exception of himself, any other person is a thief, corrupt and should not be allowed to live.

“Rawlings has said nothing new since he came to power in 1979. Everybody is a thief except himself, and sometimes I wonder why such a person should be allowed to always talk the way he does,” wondered the former Chief of Staff.

On Rawlings’ naked allegation that former President Kufuor was out there to destroy the army, Kwadwo Mpiani contended that if there was anybody to testify on which government destroyed the army, it would be the army itself, therefore anybody who cared should contact the army for them to testify to this fact.

“As far as I remember,” Mpiani revealed, “It was during Kufuor’s time that the salaries of the soldiers in the army were increased; their allowances for Peace Keeping were also increased, so what is he talking about? As I said earlier, I only hope and pray that he will allow himself to be respected.”

Former president Rawlings was On Deecember 31st at his notable best venting invectives at the erstwhile NPP government and his own party that the NDC has a slim chance of retaining power in the 2012 elections as a result of the slow pace of President Atta Mills in his art of governance.

Mr. Rawlings intimated that the extent to which corruption had become endemic was alarming as a result of the incumbent government's unwillingness to deal with corrupt past government officials in the Kufuor administration.

Mr. Rawlings further described President Mills as a leader unaware of activities in his own government, citing for instance that, the Chairman of the Council of State, Professor Kofi Awoonor, made an appointment without the President’s knowledge, yet when his attention was drawn to it he only expressed worry.

Jerry Rawlings charged Professor Mills to assert his authority and act resolutely to meet the aspirations of Ghanaians, including investigating some “high profile murder and corruption cases.”

The NDC, according to former President Rawlings, was created from the conscience of a nation and not from a party, and advised government officials to desist from fighting the NPP with money. “You think you can take them on money for money? You will lose,” he observed.