Rawlings Cautions Gov’t Officials

Former President Jerry John Rawlings, the founder of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has cautioned officials in government against “ostentatious lifestyles” that would expunge the confidence the people of Ghana reposed in them in the last 2008 general elections.

The founder was particular about the lifestyle of some NDC members of Parliament, government officials and party functionaries and urged them to be prudent in managing the resources of the nation to deepen the honour the party has been enjoying over the years. He entreated them to uphold the values and the principles upon which the party was founded to show Ghanaians the true meaning of ideals of social democracy of the party.

The former President was emphatic, stressing, “Members of our party who are in Parliament and other leadership positions need to thread carefully as they manage national resources on our behalf. We cannot afford to live ostentatious lifestyles while the economy is in tatters and many cannot make ends meet.” He explained, “our people need a sense of confidence that the socio economic development of this country is being tackled with a sense of equity and an understanding that we all have to share in the national cake.

The founder of the party gave this admonishing in the fiery address he delivered at a rally on Friday at Kasoa Old Market in the Central Region. The rally was to climax the activities marking the Party’s week, long commemoration of the 30th anniversary of 1979 June 4th uprising. The uprising was one of the historical events when the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council made up of only junior officers le by about 31 year old flight Lieutenant J. Rawlings, of the Ghana Armed.

Forces rose up and overthrew a corrupt Military junta to sanitise the top brass of the Armed Forces. The uprising which received spontaneous acclamation countrywide was dubbed: house cleaning exercise”. It lasted for three months after which they handed over power to an elected civilian government headed by Dr. Hilla Limann.Touching on the ongoing oil extraction projects he said: We are currently going through the process of producing oil on commercial basis. God willing, this will serve as major developmental take-off for Ghana at a time when cocoa and gold no longer serve as the hens that lay the golden eggs.

The oil discovery comes with its own attendant problems and we have to be wary of oil multi-nationals committing us to contracts that delay the benefits of this national resource for decades. A thorough re-assessment of all contracts signed with international oil companies and a complete disclosure of the benefits to the country is what the people want. Sale of lands within the oil ‘catchment areas has to be regulated and policy instituted to ensure that indigenes within these areas gain meaningful employment and receive requisite training so they can participate in ongoing oil extracting projects.”