Govt On Top Of Security Situation — President

The President, Mr J. A. Kufuor, has given the assurance that the government is on top of the security situation in the country and will not allow anybody to employ mischief to reverse the democratic successes so far achieved.

Speaking to the Ghanaian community in London on Saturday, the President allayed fears of a possible political turmoil before, during or after the December elections.

Reacting to issues concerning political conflicts and tension in the run-up to the elections, President Kufuor said the government would not remain aloof for any individual or group of people to reverse the successes achieved by the country in its democratic experience so far.

He pointed out that the government, with all the political power and control over state security apparatus at its disposal, would not use intimidation and violence to win the elections, nor would it allow anybody to do so in the country.

The political landscape in the country has recently been dogged by pockets of infraction of the law, causing anxiety among sections of the public over the likely outbreak of violence in the country during the December polls.

President Kufuor asked the public to calm their nerves, since the government was committed to ensuring fair and violence-free elections, and gave the assurance that the government would respect the will and decision of the people in transparently conducted elections.

He alluded to an emerging political development in other parts of Africa which, he explained, was the strategy used by people who were not too sure about winning elections to begin to preach violence so that in the event of violence at the end of an election they would tell the world, “We told you so!”

In a frank talk, President Kufuor said nobody should have any illusion about the capacity of the government to act swiftly and decisively to check any security breach when the situation arose and, therefore, asked Ghanaians to continue to carry out their legitimate businesses in peace and in accordance with the law.

He said the government would continue to conduct its affairs peacefully, adding that it expected all organised groups and individuals to do the same to ensure fair and violence-free elections.

He said the government knew what it was doing and noted that as a result, countries such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Germany had bestowed honours on the country by inviting him on state visits.

President Kufuor said he had heard of all the cruel and angry criticisms and unpleasant remarks made by some individuals against him and his family, as well as the government, but he had decided to ignore them in order to remain focused on his duty of ensuring the security and development of the country.

He said he had kept calm watching the political barometer with very keen interest and said the country had held peaceful democratic elections since 1992 without resorting to the use of violence to win power.

The President said he did not think that Ghanaians hated one another so much that they would resort to violence because one person or group of people wanted to win power at all cost.

Rather, he added, it was some individuals and groups who were putting fear in the public, creating the impression that the elections were a matter of life or death.