The integrity of Mills is not the issue - JJ

Former President Jerry John Rawlings, has observed that the comments he made about President John Evans Atta Mills integrity during the Brong Ahafo Region @50 awards ceremony in Sunyani, was a wake-up call to the government.

He said it was a means to ask President Mills to respond to the problems facing the country.


Flt. Lt. Rawlings noted that he had worked with President Mills and that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) "will never appoint someone without integrity as its Presidential Candidate or Running Mate".


"Integrity is unfortunately not enough to manage a country. It is the ability to uphold a sense of probity, accountability and the strength and urgency of one's sense of justice that defines an incorruptible NDC leader," he said.


A statement issued by the Office of Former President Rawlings in Accra on Tuesday quoted the former Head of State as saying: "Many are now quick to equate the NDC to the NPP (New Patriotic Party) because of the media posturing created by my criticism of government and the wrangling within the NPP following the lurid confessions and exposures by one of their own."


The statement said "when asked if the NDC was not becoming just like the NPP, former President Rawlings said that was not possible".

"Those I have been critical of are people who are not true party faithful, having failed to support the party when it was out of government or members of periphery parties, who having realised they cannot win power are also attempting to parasite on the Presidency".


"When I mention their treachery I refer to their lack of understanding of the NDC's ideals and the need for President Mills to purge his government of such people because majority of them are opportunists and cannot be allowed to dilute the sanctity of the party and its leadership," President Rawlings said.


President Rawlings said comments about President Mills incorruptibility should be relegated to the background as a lot more was expected of him.


"Ghanaians want to see swift justice. When I mention speedy justice, I do not mean people should be arrested indiscriminately and thrown into jail. I mean every effort should be made to investigate the many wrongs that were perpetrated in the immediate past."


"The family of the late Issah Mobilla and many Ghanaians are still waiting for proper investigation into the death of their lost one. Is it not an indictment that in spite of the available information indicating that there were one or two officers and politicians involved in the arrest and torture of Mobilla, no officer or politician has been arrested aside the lower ranks who were used to perpetrate the callous crime, being used as scapegoats?," President Rawlings asked.

"These are the injustices that create mistrust and animosity between the ranks and their officers and by extension to governments. Justice has to take its course but what is going to be the quality of this process, when the real truth has not been established through a credible and unquestionable investigative process?


"We cannot be seen to be adopting the shoddy investigative process of the NPP in seeking justice. No military or security service survives on a weak sense of justice. A strong military or security service survives on a strong sense of justice.


"The quality of justice has been deformed again. The quality of justice has suffered serious deformity. Making justice a secondary matter is an endorsement of the wrongs and the crimes that were committed by the previous regime.


"It is great to be bold and incorruptible. What will be the use of these qualities if they do not carry the power and conviction to fight injustice as both Jesus Christ and Mohammed did?


"If justice is not restored into the fabric of our foundation, economic gains that may be made will continue to dissipate into the wrong hands and perpetuate the social and economic suffering of our people," President Rawlings said.

Asked why he had shown individual interest in constituency and regional elections taking place within the NDC, President Rawlings said he had every reason to be interested just like every member of the party.


"Our party is a party that believes in loyalty and duty-mindedness. I have noticed attempts to use money or coercive state machinery to intimidate delegates to vote in a certain direction. We survived the malice of President Kufuor's NPP. Can we survive the malice of our own treacherous ones?" he asked.


"I will continue to show interest in the party and work hard to restore its hard won integrity. Those who are hell bent on creating problems better look elsewhere to impose their devious agendas," President Rawlings warned.