Rawlings takes on ‘corrupt’ NPP appointees

Former President Jerry John Rawlings has bemoaned the fact that some NPP appointees are still in office when corrupt allegations have been levelled against them.

In a keynote address delivered at a conference of cadres and activists of the revolution in Kumasi on Saturday, the former President while counselling the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to tread carefully in some of its actions, also took time to take on some NPP appointees stating that they should not be in office when serious corruption allegations had been made against them.

He mentioned the Board Chairman of the Ghana Water Company who was still in office at a time when serious allegations had been made against him over inflation of contractual figures and called for his interdiction pending the outcome of thorough investigations by the relevant investigative institutions.

Touching on the Ghana Immigration Service, Flt Lt Rawlings also questioned the appointment of the current Comptroller when allegations levelled against him years ago had not been officially investigated. He said though a court has ruled that he should be reinstated with his benefits after the Service failed to investigate the allegations within a reasonable time frame, no effort had subsequently been made to interrogate the issues and bring final closure to the allegations of irregularity and misconduct.

He said the Comptroller should have nevertheless instituted a probe to exonerate himself and identify those who were culpable in the alleged Chinese visa scandal. He called for a competent team to be put in place to investigate the matter however late in the day.

The appointing authority, he stated, can appoint some of the numerous highly-qualified senior officers of solid integrity while the pending matter is thoroughly investigated.

"If the Armed Forces is on the march to ensure that officers comport themselves with the highest of standards, there is no reason or excuse for the other services not to do the same."

"Any crooks and/or personnel in positions of authority exposed by institutional investigations as having been corrupted by the power and authority they wield, must be thrown out and treated with the contempt they deserve, before such institutions imbibe their deformed characters."