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How A Bogus Reconciliation Bill Was Rushed Through Parliament

Thu, 3 Apr 2014 Source: Sangaparee, Clement

When the NPP won the general election on 7th December, 2000 and formed a government on January 7th 2001. President Kufour behaved as if his predecessor (J.J.Rawlings) was violently overthrown in a military coup de’tat. There was a Cabinet Agenda against former President Rawlings and his entire cabinet Ministers, MMDCEs’ Regional and Constituency Executives of the NDC and All CARD BEARING MEMBERS OF THE NDC Nation wide between2001-2008 and Kufour’s main aim was to ban the NDC from existing as a political party through threats and constant political intimidations forgetting that the NDC was born out of a very popular revolution. It will be recalled that some few NPP/MP’s razed the Partisan Reconciliation Bill through by a VOICE VOTE which did not form a quorum for passing the Bill. The then Minority NDC members led by Hon. Alban Bagbin pointed out to President Kufour that the Bill was passed in Parliament without the required quorum but Kufour plugged his ears and proceeded to sign it in to law which was unconstitutional. The Bill had made Ghana more divided than it was contrary to his statement that his “NPP government was listening more and more to the people”. It rather listened more and more to ONLY CARD BEARING MEMBERS OF THE VIOLENT PRONE NPP period, and not all Ghanaian between 2001-2008, the NDC managed to survive all the threats and intimidations by the NPP because the party was born out of a revolution and we (NDC Members) were 100 miles far ahead of the political cannibals leading the blood soaked NPP. You see, Reconciliation is about Forgiveness, but that was not the case at all in 2003. The idea and exercise of Reconciliation was debated by Civil Society groups, the Center for Democracy Development (CDD) National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS0, The Catholic Bishops Conference, The Trades Union Congress (TUC), The Christian Council of Ghana, and statesmen like Mr. K.B. Asante, Rev. Dr.Aboagye Mensah, Dr. Mensah Otabil and many others had all recommended the extension of the time frame of the Reconciliation Bill to March 1957. In Parliament, the NDC MPs also insisted on a 1957 commencement year, but all the pieces of advice were thrown out by Kufour’s NPP government with the full support of his Senior Minister J.H Mensah and Justice Minister Nana Akuffo Addo whose attitude reflected a person with PERSONAL, instead of National Interest in the Bill. It was rather a National Revenge Bill and a Bogus Reconciliation Bill in Ghana. Their statements on the essence of the Reconciliation exercise, and the target period clearly indicated their party’s Agenda for a vendetta, witch hunting and a political tool for setting scores in their impossible attempt to destroy the NDC totally. Why were Nana Akuffo Addo and J.H. Mensah so vociferous as far as the Reconciliation Bill was concerned? It will be recalled that two most horrendous acts of political madness happened during Dr. Busia Progress Party regime. Thousands of Nigerians who were born in Ghana and whose parents were also born in Ghana and who knew NO COUNTRY other than Ghana were FORCED out of the country under an Obnoxious act called the “Aliens Compliance Order, and deportees were caged paraded in the streets and chased out of the country. Thousands lost their properties and buildings which were taken over by Progress Party Supporters. Dr. Busia moved his Progress Party headquarters into one of those properties at Okaishie-a Suburb of Accra.

ADUM STORES

All the Adum Stores in the Central Business District of Kumasi in the Ashanti Region were owned by the Aliens including Lebanese, Indians, Malaysians and Nigerians who were chased out of the country in 1969 by Dr. K.A Busia to make their journey to the UNK NOWN-that is the main reasons why Nana Akuffo Addo and J.H. Mensah had a vested interest in the time frame of the Reconciliation Bill. If the time frame was moved back to cover the whole of Ghana’s post independence era, Mr. J.H. Mensah was a Finance Minister in the Progress Party government of 1969-1972, he would have to testify before the Reconciliation Commission about both the Aliens Compliance Order and the illegal dismissal of 568 Civil and Public Servants by Dr. Busia called “Apollo 568”. Nana Akuffo Addo, whose father was a Ceremonial President in that regime, was also bent on protecting his matrilineal integrity. Look at them

Is anybody littering? I shall return when the need arise. I am done ‘Jaanbie Iwail” Alluta Continua!

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Clement Sangaparee

United Cadres Front

Obuasi

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All Media Houses

Accra/Ghana

e-mail clementsang@yahoo.comm

Columnist: Sangaparee, Clement