"Suicide bombers" run wild in NDC

Accra (The Statesman) 24 April 2002 - In Palestine, however, deplorable their methods may be, suicide-bombers seem to have a cause, which is to claim back their lost territory – a land to which they have a legitimate birthright.

But, can the same be said of the leading opposition party here in Ghana? On Tuesday, the Statesman’s editorial aptly described the crisis in the National Democratic Congress: “It is as if a significant arm of the party is seeking Martyrdom, however, senseless, by operating as suicide bombers through the corridors of the nerve-centre of their own dilapidating political enclave.”

The people raining terror on the very existence of the 10-year-old political party are made up of supporters on each side of the two most powerful personalities in it, Dr Obed Asamoah and Jerry Rawlings. While the Umbrella tears itself-apart with spokes flying at each other and punching holes in the very structure it is there to support, the Elephant looks down at the pantomime with an I-told-you-so grin, and the Cockerel and others look up with expectations of vacancy and grandeur.

The front-page of Tuesday’s Crusading Guide, a paper whose editor has called for the NDC to be placed on divestiture, re-affirmed the depth of the conflict within the party and the recklessness of both protagonists to destroy each other, showing the two sides slinging missiles at each other.

Former Vice President J.E.A Mills arrived in the country over the weekend and walked straight into the crossfire, looking for shelter as allegations over how funds used for his cause in the 2000 elections were handled are also thrown in. For the former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, the debate over the status of her 31 December Women’s Movement seems to have been closed by the almost official confirmation that it was and certainly is part of the NDC campaign machinery.

Startling revelation contained in “NDC which way forward? The case for Dr Obed Asamoah,” a document explaining the state of the NDC during and after the 2000 elections and why aspiring chairman Asamoah should not take the stick for the party’s current miserable state, offers the counter-attack.

Displaying a list of Atta Mills praise groups like Atta Mills Fans’ Club, Mills for President, Atta Mills Brotherhood and Atta Mills Brotherhood International, the authoritative document questions the level of transparency and accountability in the finances and operations of these groups.

“While every Pesewa spent on the Veranda Boys and Girls Club was accounted for, the Ways and Means committee, there has been no accountability or transparency in the finances of the various Atta Mills organisations,” it quipped. The document, which paints a gory picture on the NDC’s finances for the last general elections campaign, plants Nana Kondau’s DWM firmly on the list of organisations financed by the NDC, to advance its electoral fortune and interests.

“If because we lost the elections one is questioning its relevance,” referring to the Veranda Boys and Girls Club, what about other organisations such as the 31st December Women’s organisation…?” The Former First Lady’s DWM is currently undergoing identity and credibility crisis; fighting tooth and nail to be classified in the league of NGO’s after years of sharing the power and glory with the NDC.

Spio Garbrah recently described life in opposition as “hell,” with massive betrayals and deserting by those who benefited from the party when the going was good. On Tuesday, he said on radio that Dr Obed Asamoah, the NDC veteran, is free to leave the party.