The National Chairman of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr. Kwabena Adjei, has bemoaned what he describes as the dangerous level of corruption and greed among the current government appointees overseeing the affairs of the country.
The Chairman of the NDC was speaking at an expanded Volta Regional Executive meeting in Ho last Sunday December 29, 2013, sources close to the NDC and present at the meeting confirmed this to DAILY GUIDE.
According to the National Chairman, the level of greed and corruption currently in the country could be described as the worst since the beginning of Ghana’s Fourth Republic. The Chairman who was so furious about the development noted that the current appointees by President Mahama were so greedy and corrupt that they had forgotten the party activists who supported them to get into office.
He noted that they were only concerned about enriching themselves and their relations, leaving every other person, particularly party foot soldiers to their fate, only to return with handouts to gain their assistance when they need them.
The outspoken Chairman of the ruling NDC did not take himself out of the equation, noting that all appointees were guilty as charged, “including me”.
This, he said, had to stop and needed an urgent paradigm shift else the party risked losing power come 2016, to the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP). The meeting, which was fondly called NDC Volta Caucus, was held at the residence of the Volta Regional Minister, Nii Laryea Afotey-Agbo. It was chaired by the Speaker of Parliament, Right Hon. Edward Doe Adjaho and presided over by H.E. Dan Abodakpui, Ghana’s former Ambassador to Malaysia.
The tension of the meeting heightened when Dan Abodakpui interrupted the Chief of Staff, Prosper Douglas Bani, who was commending President Mahama for giving the Volta Region a fair share of appointments in his administration. He cited himself, the speaker, ministers, board members and heads of other state institutions.
H.E. Abpdakpui, who seemed unenthused by the appointments, reacted that the appointees did not reflect the true identity of the region and quizzed where some of those appointees were when he and many others were campaigning and getting into the mud to build the party: “Who knows them [appointees]?…What have they done for the party?… Where were they when we were working for the party?”
He wondered why die hard party members who had made many sacrifices for the party over the years would be side-stepped for others who were unknown to party members, even at the top and particularly at the grassroots, to be appointed.
His comments received a huge endorsement from many of the members at the meeting, particularly the constituency executives and MPs present.
Prosper Bani, who was practically new and apparently having his first face to face meeting with the party hierarchy in the Volta Region where he hails from, looked dumbfounded and down spirited as his facial expression gave him away.
One of the sources noted that “the Chief of Staff looked so embarrassed and miserable when Dan Abodakpui was speaking. He could not talk much after that.”
Mr. Bani also assured the members that he would ensure the President fulfilled all his promises to the region.
The Speaker of Parliament called for peace and a unified front in overcoming the challenges that plague the government and the country as a whole. The Volta Regional Minister, Nii Laryea Afotey Agbo, gave a situational report on the region in the year under review.
The meeting also discussed the election petition, pending biometric elections, funding of party activities, unemployment, particularly for party members and regional party office building project. Others were the snail-paced eastern corridor roads, the district hospital and new Senior High School projects as well as the University of Health and Allied Sciences, UHAS among others.
Also, present at the high-powered meeting were Ministers and Deputies from the region, Members of Parliament, Municipal and District Chief Executives in the region, NEC Members from the region, Regional Executives, Council of State Members from the region and five representatives from all 26 constituencies in the region.
The meeting which started around 11:00 am, ended at about 2:00 pm and was followed by an end of year party.
