PRESS RELEASE BY NPP-USA – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PLEASE
PRESIDENT MILLS IS INDEED CORRUPT
In a feeble attempt to refurbish the sagging image of President John Evans
Atta Mills as a hypocrite and corrupt politician, the NDC branch in the USA
posits some porous arguments in a rejoinder that appeared on Ghanaweb on
December 30, 2010. The fact is that the National Democratic Congress has
used reverse logic ever since its inception. It begins with the word
‘Democratic’ in its name. The party is in fact so “democratic” that despite
its numerous members, one person runs the whole show, and is in fact the one
who appointed John Evans Atta Mills as his successor in the famous Swedru
Declaration.
Further, the party’s slogan is “Unity, Stability, and Development.” In
truth, everything it does seeks to disunite Ghanaians, destabilize Ghana,
and reverse her development. This is a party that does exactly the opposite
of what it says it will do, or what it says it has done. If its leader,
President John Evans Atta Mills, therefore, goes out of his way to suggest
that he has declined several offers of bribe, we have to suspect that the
opposite is in fact the case particularly since he refuses to name the
culprits despite being a law professor.
The NDC-USA, which by the way so named itself to copy NPP-USA (it was
previously called North America Coordinating Council of NDC), rather than
joining law abiding Ghanaians to urge the president to reveal the names of
those who have clearly violated our laws by offering him bribes, is
expectedly endorsing their Masters’ penchant for relying on circumstantial
evidence to make their shameful assertions. Their logic explains why they
are referred to as “Team B.”
Among their many fallacies, they write “events have clearly revealed
President Mills as a paragon of these virtues.” What events? Other than
staged scenes and complaints no more conclusive than hearsays, not a single
iota of evidence has been submitted to substantiate President Mills as
virtuous. This is the same Mills who as Vice President oversaw our nation’s
largest, proven case of corruption in the Mabey and Johnson bribery scandal.
Mills was also there when the Scancem corruption scandal took place. In this
scandal, the Oslo-based multinational cement company, through a conduit,
funneled money into the coffers of the NDC two months before the 2000
general elections. Remember Mills was the NDC presidential candidate at that
time. The evidence include a letter dated October 13, 2000 authorizing the
transfer, a bank statement confirming the transfer, and a signed handwritten
letter from a former NDC Minister to the National Chairman of the party
confirming the receipt of the money. A virtuous Vice President Mills should
have resigned, or as candidate condemned the bribery. Rather he condoned the
corruption as he is today.
Fast forward to 2009. No sooner have members of President Mills own staff
been assigned their respective offices did they begin to distribute amongst
themselves farm tractors that were bought and paid for by the Kufuor
administration to be distributed to farmers. Further, The Castle, which is
the seat of our government, was turned into a used car dealership with the
inventory source being illegally seized cars from our two harbors. Yet the
NDC would have the rest of us believe that “rectitude and incorruptibility
in leadership may be incomprehensible or alien concepts for NPP-USA.”
So let us look at the facts. The NDC has produced two presidents. Their
first was Jerry John Rawlings. Until his ascent to national leadership, he
was so destitute that he used to buy “yokegarri” (garri and beans) on
credit. He had no history of business or tenured employment. Yet after his
stint at national leadership, he is a multi-millionaire with mansions,
speedboats, race horses, and the likes. Mathematically it is clearly
impossible for him to have acquired all these assets relying only on his
emoluments. In contrast, the one president that the NPP has featured was a
businessman and a practicing attorney prior to becoming president. He also
owned a completed house in which he lived throughout his presidency. After
his presidency he returned to live in the same house that he owned prior to
becoming president.
At the same time, we have a sitting president in Atta Mills who has no
history of property ownership prior to entering national leadership. Now let
discerning Ghanaians decide which of these individuals more likely enriched
himself through corrupt means. Remember that wealth does not merely drop
from the sky, and that explains why John Evans Atta Mills could not develop
his family’s land all this time until he became president.
But the NDC-USA has a good point. President Mills is not the only working
member of his family. Jeez, why did we not think of that? Obviously, other
members of his family earn income as well – right? But there is one little
problem with that assertion. These are old people who have obviously been
working their whole life. So why did it take just the time of their
sibling’s presidency for them to all-of-a-sudden have enough money to
develop a land that has laid bare for decades?
It is not surprising that the members of NDC-USA do not understand the
simple logic thematically entrenched in the NPP-USA article. That explains
why they would write: “In the article, the NPP-USA actually claims that,
‘anyone can take bribes, and complain about the offer and how it offended
him’. Based on this premise, they actually conclude, that because President
Mills in a meeting with US officials is revealed to have complained and
expressed outrage about attempts to bribe him, he must have something to
hide.”
The aforementioned rejoinder misses the points we raised in our earlier
article. The thrust of NPP-USA’s article is that pious expressions of
indignation alone cannot fight corruption. As a lawyer by profession,
President Mills should know that attempting to bribe the President of a
country is in itself a serious crime. Therefore, instead of talking about
attempts to bribe him, we challenge him to name those involved and to allow
the law enforcement agencies to prosecute them. That is how to fight
corruption and deter would be bribe givers and takers. Refusing to reveal
their identities is a loud indication that he actually condones the corrupt
practice or is a beneficiary of it.
* *
On the issue of drug trafficking, the NPP inherited an active drug trade
from a president who himself used drugs, and was known to acknowledge
revenues from drug trafficking as advantageous to the NDC’s re-election
potential. Any suggestion that drug trafficking in Ghana began in 2001 is
simply a fallacy. The NPP fought drug trafficking via the rule of law, which
means it did not enjoy the drama of SWAT team standoffs that make the news.
In fact evidence exists of numerous drug traffickers including Kwabena
“Tagor” Amaning and Alhaji Issa Abbass who were jailed through due process
by the NPP, but who have been inexplicable released by the Mills
administration.
Today drug trafficking is combated merely by mouth by this NDC
administration. For example if the President is aware that members of his
cabinet are already compromised in cocaine trafficking, why is he shielding
them? It is a fact that the NDC has a long history of trafficking hard drugs
through diplomatic channels. If President Mills wants to tackle this
historic canker within his party, his hypocritical, see no evil, touch no
evil approach will not help him. Why are members of his staff, that he knows
are compromised, still working for him if he was indeed serious about
fighting the drug menace?
* *
Let us be serious. President Mills conforms to the traditional NDC tendency
to say one thing and do exactly the opposite. A man who was revered as
“Asomdweehene”, (king of peace) in opposition has presided over violence and
anarchy as President. A man who pledged to be the” father of all’ has turned
to be the father of only NDC foot soldiers. The “father-of-all” has also
proven to be a vindictive leader who never forgives anyone who contests him
for political power. Even in his own party, he has effectively ostracized
Ekow Spio Garbrah, for having challenged him for the NDC nomination in 2008.
Further, the “father-of-all” could not control his vindictive demons in the
interest of the nation to invite the leader of the largest opposition party
to witness the nation’s first oil pump because the latter challenged him in
the 2008 elections. Is this the NDC’s paragon of virtue?
President Mills and the NDC have established a clear pattern of reverse
logic. They say one thing, and do the exact opposite. This has earned them a
reputation of deception. To that end, why should Ghanaians now believe that
if President Mills and the NDC go out of their way to project their
anti-corruption stance, the reverse is not the case? NPP-USA insists that
President Mills is guilty of complicity of corruption, and that is why he
has so far refused to reveal the identities of the culprits.
* *
