Prez Mahama Dares Nana Addo

President John Dramani Mahama has answered the corruption taunts of Nana Akufo Addo, saying he is not corrupt and that if the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flag bearer is convinced he (Mahama) is corrupt, he should provide evidence to that effect.

Speaking at the 2012 Manifesto launch of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) at Ho, which drew a large crowd from all the towns in the Volta Region, President Mahama said he was prepared to make himself available to any investigative institution for a probe into any corruption claim against him.

“I am prepared as President of this country to appear before anybody, any institution to be investigated for corruption,” President Mahama, stressed.

The NPP flag bearer on Wednesday, claimed that it was easy to appreciate why Ghanaians were having doubts about President John Dramani Mahama’s commitment to fighting corruption, saying it was because of his involvement in at least, the two most controversial international transactions he led.

Nana Addo named the two transactions as the $10 million STX Housing deal from Korea and the purchase of the Embraer 190 Jet and the accompanying $17 million hangar from Brazil.

Apart from these, the NPP has also been trying to link President Mahama to his brother’s company, Engineers and Planners claiming albeit falsely that the President was involved in an effort to have Merchant Bank fraudulently sold to a South African bank, so as to write off a GH¢57 million loan procured by the company.

But President Mahama, dared the diminutive NPP flag bearer and his party to make the evidence of corruption ready to substantiate his taunts, describing the claims without evidence as an “irresponsible behaviour”. In apparent reference to the NPP the President said they should be “responsible” enough to “go to the appropriate institutions and have those allegations investigated and punished.”

“Corruption is going to be high on the agenda of government in terms of fighting it and so we are going to push through the Freedom of Information Bill and make sure it is passed by Parliament,” he said. “When serious political leaders and political parties hold press conferences and make unsubstantiated allegations I think that is a very irresponsible behaviour.”

“If you are a responsible political leader or political party, if you think somebody has indulged in corruption there are appropriate institutions that you can go to and have those allegations investigated and punished.

“So I throw a challenge to those parties and those leaders of political parties that are making those unsubstantiated allegations that if they truly believe that I have been involved in corruption, they should go to the appropriate institutions, make a report, I’ll appear there and I will defend myself,” President Mahama stated.

President Mahama insisted that people who have allegations of corruption against him especially political leaders should be ready to substantiate their claims because in fairness he would not accuse anybody of corruption when he has no prove to that effect.

He underscored that he would understand serial callers and ordinary people making calls into political programmes on air, and unsubstantiated corruption allegations against others, but he deems it irresponsible on the part of political party leaders to hold press conferences, accusing others of corruption when they are unable to substantiate such baseless claims.

On education the President indicated that his government was very much concerned with the human reason development of the country.

And for that matter his government would increase accessibility to education, provide scholarships and build a strong foundation at the basic level by ensuring that more kindergarten teachers are trained to provide kids at that level with the requisite skills that would enable them do well as they progress.

Meanwhile, the NPP’s main December 2012 polls campaign message is to provide Ghanaians with education at the Senior High School (SHS) level, a venture whose prosecution in terms of financing, provision of infrastructure and teachers has been shrouded in false figures and ambiguity.

He said NDC would build a university in the Eastern Region.

The NDC founder, Jerry John Rawlings, who was present, asked President Mahama to put his foot down and deal with elements in the party, whom he described as “old evil dwarfs”.

Mr. Rawlings said “there is nothing more oppressive than when a political leader refuses to see the actions of negative elements around him.”

“In the same vain there is nothing more rewarding than when a political leader begins to see the negative actions of these people,” he said.

Former president Rawlings said he was delighted to have seen that the current President was on top of issues and addressing problems within his government.

Former President Rawlings said: “It means there is hope. I believe our president is beginning to see for himself the actions of these same old evil dwarfs.”

“I know what has been going on behind the doors and that is why I am sharing this with you,” he added.

Ex-President Rawlings called on NDC supporters to throw their weight behind President Mahama.

“Your President needs help and we must pray to God to give him the courage and strength to do what he has to do,” Rawlings stated.

At a lecture delivered at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Nana Akufo-Addo said although President John Mahama had promised a sole commissioner to thoroughly examine the judgement debt and negotiate settlement, Ghanaians were just expecting that the government retrieved monies which had been paid to some people without any justification.

Nana Addo, pledged to support and provide anti-corruption institutions such as Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Economic and Organised Crime Organisation (EOCO), the Financial Intelligence Centre and the Ghana Police Service, with greater financial resources to recruit, train, engage and retain more of the technical personnel to be able to investigate and educate against the menace.

Regarding the controversial ‘Woyome-Judgement Debt Saga’, Nana Akufo-Addo said the NDC communication team had tried with difficulty to seek non-existing equalisation of the “criminal behaviour” by claiming that all governments paid judgement debts.

He claimed that in the first four years of the NPP administration, when he was the Minister of Justice and Attorney- General, and Mr. Yaw Osafo Maafo, the Finance Minister, less than GH¢4 million was paid as judgement debt, while the NDC, in its first term, had paid a whopping GH¢642 million, close to the GH¢678 million that his administration, if voted into office, would spend in improving facilities, teaching and learning at the various secondary schools in the country.