NPP criticises President?s June 4 address

ON Saturday, June 3, at the El-Wak Stadium Ghanaians witnessed another divisive outburst from Chairman or President Rawlings. For 20 years, he has subjected us to these rantings that are designed to set one Ghanaian against another. In this instance, he tried to whip up resentment in the Armed Forces against civilians.

For the last 10 years, we have seen Mr. Rawlings constantly trying to resurrect the terror of his early years by threatening that more blood will flow. We would like to state for the record that we are not in the least intimidated by Mr. Rawlings? outbursts, and the threats issued therein. Our attitude has been to work for peace and stability for our nation. We have endured the provocations, the threats, intimidation and insults of Mr. Rawlings for the last two decades. We have had enough. We will continue to work for peace. We will continue to work for a change of government through the ballot box but we are fully prepared to defend our principles and dignity. We repeat, we will not be intimidated. It is important also to state that Ghanaian soldiers are not oblivious to the lies, the polarisation of our society, and the attempts of Mr. Rawlings to pit Ghanaians against each other. We are confident that any attempt by Mr. Rawlings to incite the soldiers against the civilian population will backfire.

As he approaches the end of his term, President Rawlings has looked around him to see what will be his legacy: He sees failure all around him and so searches for scapegoats; he looks for others he can blame when he should look on further than to himself in ?in his cloth?. President Rawlings promised the people an end to corruption and economic exploitation, probity, accountability and transparency. He has been in government for almost 20 years, the longest by any Head of State since independence. For 11 of those years, he had no opposition whatsoever. For further four, he had a Parliament that had only two voices out of 200 questioning his actions. For these last three, he has had a large and automatic majority in that Parliament. If, with all this, he has not been able to achieve what he set out to do, then he should leave the scene and allow others to try to tackle the huge problems of this country.

He came to eradicate corruption. He has failed to do so. He himself has admitted that his government is the most corrupt this country has ever had, so much so that he embarrassed all Ghanaians by asking the Queen of England to help him to control it. Yet he also, perversely, claims to have done more against corruption than any previous head of state. What has he done? Very little; a few minor functionaries have been relieved of their positions. Meanwhile, his ministers against whom adverse findings were made by Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) were whitewashed and allowed to leave the scene with whatever illegal money they had made. A district chief executive (DCE) built six houses within six years, set up a dance band to entertain himself. He was relieved of his post only because NDC cadres protested his blatant corruption.

Pentrexx against whom adverse findings were made in the matter of the Keta Sea Defence Wall has up till now made no restitution. Let us ask him and the Vice-President Mills what happened to the findings of the inquiry into stadia contracts popularly known as ?Abon Woha?. No action. The list of unpunished, uninvestigated, indeed tolerated corruption is long and reaches close, very close to him. He promised economic emancipation. Today, there are more people out of work than ever before and every year we fall further back. In his 20 years, we have seen this country that was attempting to industrialise turn into a retailing, colonial economy. Today, more than 40 per cent of our population live below the absolute poverty line as defined by the statistical service. In agriculture, the mainstay of the economy, he has failed. No wonder we import $100 million worth of rice in a year.

The gap between the rich and the poor has widened. it is just that there are new rich people today. Those who wore afro Moses (sandals made of lorry tyres) just a few years ago now wear Pierre Cardin Suits. President Rawlings talks about the police being severely handicapped. Who is to be blamed. If President Rawlings knew that the police did not have enough resources, why did he choose to buy a wasteful presidential jet instead of things the police need to do a better job? A government has to make choices. It makes those choices according to its priorities. The NDC has obviously had the wrong priorities and so made the wrong choices. You can lament that you were not able to do more but if like President Rawlings, you have failed on all your major promises, blame yourself, not others. Especially so when you have had 20 years in which to succeed.

Ghanaians have learnt from past mistakes. They know that the blood that was shed in 1979 was shed for nothing. We all know now that success comes from quiet perseverance, thoughtfulness and hard work. Each doing what each must. A President?s job is to run the government, not to dig the gutters. So we are no longer impressed by macho, revolutionary slogan shouting. We all want to get on with what has to be done. This country is peaceful because we have been blessed by an opposition that sees no merit in destroying the country to save it; we are blessed by a peace loving, hard working people. The time has come to give our people the government they deserve. One that will allow each to strive for success and applaud that success. One thing President Rawlings has been good at is dividing the country. Turning one against the other.

A leader?s job is to unite his or her people. President Rawlings unfortunately seeks to rule and not lead and so he seeks to disunite. Divide and conquer has been his constant motto. He has sought to turn tribe against tribe and continues to seek to turn the military against the civilian.

It won?t work. Ghanaians have all seen through him. Where are the soldiers he used before? Let us answer. Some are dead, more are in exile. Certainly, very few of them, if any, have their children in schools outside the country and none has Jacuzzi baths in their houses. Let us not forget that as civilians suffer so also do soldiers. We all go to the same market. The people around President Rawlings, his ministers, his party members, should tell him the truth.

? General Kotei, Rear Admiral Amedume, Air Vice-Marshall Yaw Boakye and Col. Felli were executed for tribal balance. These sacrifices were in vain. There is no need for threats of more bloodshed, civilian or military.

? The country is tired of shouting. What we need now is a period of real peace and an environment in which we can work.

? President Rawlings has failed not because he did not have the opportunity and not because some people disagree with him and oppose his ideas. He should not seek to blame others. He has had more than a fair chance to succeed.

? No one is after him. The best thing he can now do for Ghana is to look at America?s retired presidents, Senghor of Senegal and Mandela of South Africa and learn from them. There is much that he can still do with his life. He should go and do it in peace. The NPP will not seek vengeance and will not pursue a vendetta. President J. A. Kufuor and the NPP will be too busy rebuilding this country to look backwards.

? Address read at a press conference by Mr. S. Odoi-Sykes, National Chairman of the NPP.