Rawlings: Criticism Of Govt Is Nothing Personal

Former President, Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings says his criticism of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) government is nothing personal but a result of the latter¹s inability to pursue the agenda the electorate voted for.

He said: ³I will be doing the people of Ghana a great disservice if I look on unconcerned as matters take a turn for the worstŠWho says I have not attempted on numerous occasions to voice my feelings candidly and forcefully in private?²

Delivering the Guest of Honour¹s address at the climax of activities marking the Tagbaza festival of the people of Anlo-Afiadenyiba in the Volta Region on Saturday, the former President said: ³When I speak I do not speak for myself. I speak for the suffering masses who, though not expecting magic overnight, also see no light at the end of the tunnel because the status quo the NPP left behind is intact!²

Flt Lt Rawlings called on the people of Anlo-Afiadenyigba to strive to protect natural resources such as the Keta lagoon which provides them food security and economic activity.

Read the full text of the former President¹s address.

ADDRESS BY H. E. FLT LT JERRY JOHN RAWLINGS, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA AT THE TAGBAZA FESTIVAL OF ANLO-AFIADENYIGBA ­ OCTOBER 9, 2010 Mr. Chairman, Dufia Togbi Kadzahlo, togbi oo, mama oo, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:

Thank you for offering me this opportunity to come home to grace this year¹s Tagbaza festival.

I wish to commend Dufia Togbi Kadzahlo and the people of the Anlo-Afiadenyigba for putting together such a wonderful ceremony, which portrays the rich culture of the region and Ghana as a whole.

It is significant to note that the festival is celebrated in veneration of the Keta Lagoon, which provides economic sustenance for the people of this town. The lagoon, I am told does not allow anyone to be poor unless that individual chooses to be poor.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have to be thankful that we are endowed with natural resources such as the Keta Lagoon, which is a major source of food and economic activity for our people. We must not forget however that we have to strive hard to protect these resources from negative practices that will reduce their ability to sustain our food security and provide other economic activity such as salt winning and irrigation for our farms.

Most of our water resources nationwide have been poorly catered for in the last few decades leading to many of them not being a healthy source of fish or potable water. So while we undertake these annual festivals to venerate the Keta Lagoon we have to desist from polluting it.

Ladies and gentlemen, enhancing Education is paramount if we have to sustain and improve the socio-economic development of Anlo-Afiadenyigba and the country as a whole.

In rural Ghana we have for far too long taken education for granted and assumed that it is the preserve of the economically well endowed in our society. Many of us send our children to school without bothering to monitor and support the education process through adequate parental guidance and monitoring. More importantly let us not shirk our traditional responsibility of maintain strict discipline at home.

Our children can only be properly educated if parents complement the roles of teachers and town and municipal authorities also support the provision of adequate infrastructure for the provision of quality education.

It is commendable that you have chosen to use today¹s celebration to launch an educational endowment fund. I enjoin all citizens of the town and beyond to contribute generously to the fund and counsel the managers of the fund to manage it wisely and prudently so it can be used to improve the quality of education here and in turn accelerate development locally and beyond.

Ladies and gentlemen, let the cultural significance of this event be a guiding light to all. Some of us have totally forgotten our roots and attend such ceremonies more for political expediency than a true desire to bond with culture and our indigenous past.

In our native continent Africa, because we have deliberately and for corrupt reasons failed to transfer the integrity of truth and democracy expressed in our native culture into our acquired foreign language, we have ended up denying the integrity of truth and spirituality in the foreign language as well as our own.

The acquired language has opportunistically been used to avoid incorporating the wisdom, the sense of integrity and democracy in our traditional culture into our adopted Western form of constitutionality. Whilst Western constitutionality and elections ensure Western democracy, we use our constitutionality and elections to not only undermine democracy but to also perpetuate authoritarian rule. We use the outward trappings of constitutional rule and elections to give a false impression of democratic and responsible leadership.

Under such terms, the colonial language can only distort the true value of our cultural and spiritual inheritance. In place of upliftment, we defile our own culture and spiritual beliefs. Rather than add to our heritage, we inadvertently remove value from our heritage by allowing the limitations of colonial language to reduce our great traditions to a travesty of themselves.

Togbi oo, Mama oo, what can be greater than compassion, honesty, accountability, mutual respect and trust, inclusion and noble and fair judgement? These fine traditions that give dignity and security to our people must be protected, whatever the language in use.

I enjoin you as protectors of our tradition to endeavour to work with our local political authorities to ensure that true cultural values are infused into all decisions that affect, the social, political and cultural development of our country.

The richness of our culture is right there ­ waiting to bring out justice, accountability and integrity. This is what made the 31st December Revolution such a great success. It brought out the finest in modern history. People had been yearning to live the spiritual elegance in themselves.

The 31st December Revolution brought the best out of Ghanaians. True democracy, freedom and justice were alive even in the absence of a constitution. Ghanaians had had a taste of various governments ­ socialist, capitalist, so-called multi-party democracy, single-party system, coups, counter coups ­ none of which made them feel a part of the promised self-government till the outrage of June 4 ushered in the 31st December revolution which restored the sense of security, the sense of participation, the high sense of productivity ­ noble qualities that seemed to have been lost.

Ladies and gentlemen:

It is with deep pain that I say that we have allowed the euphoria and political adrenalin that greeted the uprooting of the NPP to dissipate because we have wasted precious time in investigating and re-investigating the corruption and atrocities that were the hallmark of the previous government.

What is the quality of democracy where there is no justice or justice is delayed? Can we call it democracy? Without the cleansing effect of justice wherein lies the value of the constitution and the real values of the NDC party?

As a party in power we have failed to inspire. My criticism of the government is nothing personal. It is a result of its inability to pursue the agenda the electorate voted for.

I will be doing the people of Ghana a great disservice if I look on unconcerned as matters take a turn for the worst. A few have chosen to malign and vilify me for my public criticisms of the government. Who says I have not attempted on numerous occasions to voice my feelings candidly and forcefully in private? Some who should know better have chosen to sponsor the distortion of the achievements of the revolution and portray it as a failure. These ungrateful people today find themselves in positions of authority because the revolution nurtured them and gave them opportunities.

When I speak I do not speak for myself. I speak for the suffering masses who, though not expecting magic overnight, also see no light at the end of the tunnel because the status quo that the NPP left behind is intact!

Because we have failed to correct the wrongs of the past they have now become emboldened and Kufuor can look into Mills¹ face and accuse him of corruption.

Today some members of the judiciary are hiding behind judicial independence to embarrass government in cases where commonsense should tell them this is black and not white. Rather they have become colour blind because everybody has seen that the government has failed to seize the moral high ground.

This is not an infringement on the judiciary. It is a criticism of the manner they have abused the moral fibre of the institution so much so that many are beginning to wonder if it is an estate of the realm or an opposition force?

For Ghana to revert onto the road to recovery we as a people have to wake up and tell the government freedom is of no use without justice. That is why we elected them into power. Do not leave it to me. It is your sacred duty to yourself, your family, your community and your country. I am not calling for lawlessness. I am calling for empowerment - every single member of the electorate has a responsibility to help government to succeed or fail. If you choose not to criticise the obvious in the name of protecting the party or some personalities, you would be doing more harm than good.

Togbi oo, mama oo, distinguished guests; ladies and gentleman I wish to once again extend my congratulations to you for honouring me with this invitation. I pray that this year the Anlo-Afiadenyigba will be blessed with abundant harvest, peace, development and prosperity.

Thank you.