Former President Jerry John Rawlings
Former President Jerry John Rawlings will address the gathering during the 39th anniversary of the June 4 Revolution at the Madina Social Welfare School Park in Accra today in what appears to be another bomb dropping.
He is expected to use the occasion, which is open to the public, sympathizers of the June 4, activists and civil society organizations, to address a myriad of issues, not excluding corruption.
Mr. Rawlings, who indicated last Thursday that he had more on his chest, had promised to address the greedy acts that members of his National Democratic Congress (NDC) perpetuated against Ghanaians during their tenure.
The former President has in the past months, since the NDC lost the 2016 general elections, lambasted the leadership of the party for engaging in various acts of corruption, including vote-buying.
This has pitted him against some elements in the party, who are not satisfied with his public criticism of the rank and file of the party, John Mahama and his appointees.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has been at the receiving end of most of those comments in recent times.
Speaking at the June 4 Revolutionary lecture series at the National Theatre last Thursday, Mr. Rawlings indicated that there are acts committed by members of the NDC while in power that he has not revealed.
He described members of the party as greedy and selfish, saying they are part of the reason for the “poverty” in Ghana today.
The former President said the party thwarted his efforts to develop a parcel of land for people in the Volta Region, which has historically supported the party.
He vowed to further expose the NDC come June 4 at Madina Social Welfare Centre.
This year’s celebration is under the theme, “Re-organising Towards The Core Values.”
Other speakers at the event will include Chairman of the NDC, Kofi Portuphy, Dan Abodakpi, Fritz Baffour, Samuel Nuamah Donkor, Ebi Bright and Lawrence Lamptey.
Mahama’s Presence
It remains to be seen whether former President Mahama, who boycotted programmes that Mr. Rawlings attended would be present at the anniversary today.
Mr. Mahama’s decision to avoid meeting Mr. Rawlings at events is seen by some as his way of showing his supremacy in the opposition NDC.
It appears the two former Presidents do not want to share a common platform; as the two are always avoiding each other at NDC programmes.
The latest of such events was the June 4 Revolution lecture series organised at the National Theatre last Thursday.
All the NDC presidential hopefuls were in attendance, except Mr. Mahama who was inexplicably absent.
Previously, Mahama had told his supporters to attend such events, but on Thursday, he was conspicuously missing, with no apparent reason.
The lecture, which was chaired by former Vice President, Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, was attended by Joshua Alabi, Ekwow Spio Garbrah, Dr Kwabena Duffuor, Benjamin Kunbuor and Sylvester Mensah, who are seeking to lead the NDC into the 2020 presidential election.
1979 Revolution
Rawlings, in the 1979 revolution, led a group of junior officers and men of the Ghana Armed Forces in an uprising against the then Supreme Military Council (SMC II) regime led by General F.K. Akuffo.
The move was motivated by a desire to stem the scourge of corruption that had allegedly engulfed the country leading to a virtual breakdown of the economy.
Three months later, the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), led by Rawlings, handed over power to an elected government led by Dr Hilla Limann.
