Press Conference on ex-President Jerry John Rawlings

Ladies and gentlemen, today’s press conference is unique. It is unique because, as a government this administration has tolerated many, many effusions of former President Jerry John Rawlings. Indeed the former President has made so many of what have come to be called “boom” speeches that we are in danger of becoming quite used to them.

Recently however, some of these statements by the former President have taken different dimensions bordering on tarnishing Ghana’s hard won international image and damaging the tender psyche of some of our younger nationals. Some of the statements even risk damaging the reputation of some highly respected personalities in our country who are held up as icons, not only locally, but internationally as well.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we feel that these are important enough reasons for us today to depart from our usual position of not countering these “boom” statements and make a formal response. Today, we would like to take the issues that have been raised on various platforms in Germany, the UK and at Offinso as well as in ex-president Rawlings’ own residence and give some reactions to the major issues.

WAS RAWLINGS PLANNING A COUP?

Ex-president Rawlings has denied ever planning a coup, but what response could anybody expect from him? Of course, it would have been strange, if he actually admitted this. Ex-president Rawlings is known in this country as a serial coup-maker involved in three coups, one of which failed. In 1979, he handed power to the late President Hilla Limann.

Thereafter, all his actions and statements indicated that he was planning a coup, but whenever he was asked, he swore to high heavens that he never was involved in anything of that nature. But, ladies and gentlemen we all have the history of Rawlings’ second coming, which brought in the PNDC era, to guide us.

Those of us who can remember, know that he is a serial coup-maker.Ex-president Rawlings has earned the reputation of delivering a “boom” speech threatening a coup every time he has a problem with the government.

From the experience of the Limann era he has always made such statements to prepare the ground for what he knows to do best - organise a coup!

Nobody in this country, who has had the experience of Rawlings from 1979 to date, or who has made even a cursory study of Ghana’s history, would make the mistake of believing that given the chance, the ex-president would not organise another coup. The pattern has always been clear.

In any case, President Rawlings has made it categorically clear that he doesn’t believe in the democratic process as we are experiencing now and this is a position he has never repented from. In fact, despite his loud protestations and denials of intent, during his discourse in London, he made a categoric statement.

He said and I quote: “If the lies, atrocities and corruption that has bedeviled the Kufuor Government in Ghana continued, there will be a coup to arrest the injustice going on” This, my dear friends, is what Rawlings is reported to have said in answer to a question by one Nana Sefa Twum of Kasapa FM in London. The question stands: Who was going to organise the coup d’etat that he spoke of?

Former President Rawlings has said that President Kufuor accused him of having solicited for funds in the Middle East to organise a coup. This we find very strange indeed, because in his speech, President Kufuor never mentioned a country or a region where Rawlings has gone to solicit for funds. This reaction seems to be part of his usual tactics to divert attention from the real source that he is seeking help from.

What President Kufuor said was that Ex-President Rawlings was seeking for funds from an “oil-rich country.” There are oil-rich countries in North America and South America, West and Central Africa, the Indonesian Peninsula and the Middle East.

Is it the case of someone having eaten the head and brains of a baboon and having nightmares? Unfortunately this is a most disingenuous attempt at trying to generate conflict between Ghana and the oil-producing countries in the Middle East who are very friendly to Ghana and have been very supportive of Ghana’s developmental-efforts.

Again, calling on military commanders to “call this government to order” is nothing short of inciting them to rise against the government and creating chaotic conditions to serve his interest. Fortunately, the military leadership have come out, unequivocally, to reaffirm the services’ continued loyalty “to the state and government of the day just as it was loyal to the former president and his government during the period of his administration.”

The Ghana Armed Forces have also appealed “to the former President to stop drawing it into the political utterances that appear to be the order of the day any time he has a bone to pick with the government. He should allow the military to do its work as enshrined in the constitution of our dear country just as it did for him in the past.”

IS KUFUOR BEING WHITE-WASHED BY THE WEST?

Former President Rawlings has also accused western powers and the western media of white-washing President J. A. Kufuor, who he sees as a corrupt president.

Ladies and gentlemen of the media, all the world leaders hold President Kufuor in high esteem, not just President Bush and Mr Blair.

Most world leaders who have met President Kufuor admire and respect the President and having seen how, in a short period of just about six years, he has been able to turn Ghana’s economy around, instituted respect for human rights and observance of the rule of law and has deepened democratic rule in Ghana.

World leaders see the strides made in all facets of the life of Ghanaians, such as the drop in inflation and interest rates, the rise in our strategic foreign exchange reserves, the stabilization of the cedi, the enjoyment of freedom of speech and association, the absence of harassment of political opponents, etc and are convinced that President Kufuor must be firmly on the right track.

Above all, most people wonder how a developing country, could offer free school fees to primary school pupils, start the process of giving one hot meal a day to primary school pupils, offer free bus-ride for primary school pupils and the elderly, as well as institute a National Health Insurance Scheme that gives affordable and equitable medical care to patients. These are the hallmarks of a developed country and not a developing country.

No doubt, President Kufuor’s good policies and programmes have earned him and Ghana, the Millennium Challenge Accounts (MCA) of which Ghana is the highest beneficiary; total debt relief from our development partners and is now among the few African leaders consulted by the G8 on African and developing world matters.

HAS KUFUOR COMMITTED ATROCITIES?

Let me emphasise that under this administration, ladies and gentlemen, there have been no political detainees in our prisons, no kangaroo courts such as the Citizens Vetting Committee and the Tribunals during the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) era and no journalists being thrown into our prisons for either speaking their mind or publishing what they believe to be true. Can we honestly say that Mr Rojo Mettle-Nunoo will be walking free and sleeping in his bedroom if it was ex-President Rawlings that he insulted on radio during the PNDC/NDC era?

On the contrary, ladies and gentlemen, under the regime of former President J.J. Rawlings, political detentions, intimidations including, arrests, beatings and public caning especially of women some of whom we stripped naked for allegedly hoarding goods or selling them above the “controlled price,” as well as what was described by Mrs. Rawlings as “identification haircuts,” nation-wide curfew spanning 3½ years and even murders were the order of the day – all resulting in what became known as the “culture of silence.”

During the PNDC era which Ex-President Rawlings led, over 146 people went missing or were murdered. Ladies and gentlemen, those people, those Ghanaians, our brothers and sisters are still missing. Again, during the Nation Democratic Congress (NDC) era over 30 women were serially murdered under very mysterious circumstances.

Ex President Rawlings’ wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, during a demonstration and in the company of the former IGP, Peter Nanfuri, claimed that the cases of the serial murders of women had been solved except seven. What did her husband do about this stunning revelation? And yet this is the man who rather accuses President Kufuor of atrocities.

Indeed, it is the NPP government, which on the assumption of office, took stringent steps to investigate these heinous crimes and has prosecuted Mr Quansah who is in prison today, for the murders of eight out of the over 32 women. For the rest, we are still waiting for ex-president Rawlings to name the 14 so-called Ministers who killed the women or is he still waiting for his “Chemical Interrogation” first?

In 2000, ex-President Rawlings, who was traveling to the Volta region had an accident on the motorway with a Nissan Urvan bus being driven by one Mr Charway. The driver and his mate, who absconded, were later arrested. Later, they died under very mysterious circumstances!

Lest we forget; these were not imaginary, but real tragedies that happened to real people. If you turn your attention to the slide show which is playing on the wall, you will see the visual evidence of some of the atrocities that we seem to have so soon forgotten. All these things took place under the ex-President who now turns round to falsely accuse others of atrocities. Wasn’t it the same ex-President Rawlings who literally “supervised” the beating of his own opponents within the NDC which led to the resignation of ex-MP Kofi Asante and Dr Obed Asamoah who have now formed the DFP? One can ask, ladies and gentlemen, where does former President Rawlings get the moral right to make such unfounded allegations of atrocities against President Kufuor?

CONTROL OF FOREIGN MEDIA

We find it very strange indeed that Ex President Rawlings could think that CNN and the BBC, as well as all foreign media are under the control of this administration. For the avoidance of doubt, this government does not control even Ghana’s own state media, let alone such international establishments as the CNN and the BBC.

This government remains committed to the constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of speech, of expression and the independence of the media from state control.

It is for this reason that one of the very first actions we took was the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law. Subsequently, the Kufuor administration has ensured the passage of the Whistle Blowers Act and, currently, the Right-To-information Bill which is about to go to Parliament.

My dear friends of the media, this is again in direct contradiction to what pertained under the PNDC and NDC, when the media was controlled and gagged by both subtle methods, such as withdrawal of newsprint, and refusal to issue licenses, as well as direct violence, destruction of equipment, arson, @!#$-bombing and the detention of journalists and editors like Mr Kugblenu, Mr Thommy Thompson, Mr Mike Adjei, Kweku Baako, Haruna Atta and many others.

ALLEGATIONS OF CORRUPTION

On corruption against President Kufuor, let me start by contrasting the ex-President who, at the beginning of his reign, freely and openly confessed that he was so “broke” that he had to credit “yoo-ke-gari” and had to steal seats from an air force plane for his sitting room as his furniture.

This is very different from the current opulent life-style that was shown in “Ovation” magazine recently. His many exotic dogs (which are very expensive to maintain), his riverside resort at Sogakope, his speed boats, the house in the UK where his family were staying in Dublin, Ireland, the payment for the maintenance and education of his children abroad which he claims are being financed by friends, the purchase of four 4-wheel bullet proof vehicles which he cleared from the Tema harbour by paying over ¢500 million cash as duties as well as his expensive Jaguar vehicles, one driven only during the day and the other driven only during the night, and now finally, his new house which is the talk of the town at Adjirigaano.

I don’t know how many toilets are in that Adjirigaano house or the riverside resort, but this is the same man who said it was a crime to be fat and to have more than one toilet in your house.

The Akans say that if the frog comes from under the water to tell you the crocodile is dead, you don’t challenge it. Dr Obed Asamoah, at the launch of the DFP last Saturday, is quoted to have said “if as Head of State or member of government you cannot acquire state assets or wealth, you cannot gobble up state assets under the cloak of an NGO or any other organisation. This is conflict of interest par excellence”

Who does not know that Mrs. Konadu Agyeman Rawlings and 31st December Women’s Movement under the cover of Carridem Development Corporation bought Nsawam Cannery, Ghana Brick and Tile Company, GNTC, Kanda, GNTC Supermarket, Dansoman among others?

We are also aware that under the cover of Mrs Konadu Agyeman Rawlings 31st December Women’s Movement together with International Generics Ltd purchased the former Star Hotel for one billion cedis and instead of developing it into a modernised hotel of not less than 200 rooms as has been signed into the agreement with the DIC, decided to demolish the entire hotel and build expensive residential estates for sale. The same thing happened to what is now known as the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel where an ECGD credit line was used to purchase the property and subsequently sold to SSNIT. As we speak now, $250,000 of the purchase price of Star Hotel has still not been paid.

COCAINE

It is surprising that former President Rawlings, under whose administration, the United States (US) 1999 report on narcotics said 300 cases of illicit drugs, including cocaine, had gone un-punished between 1994 and 1999, could dare to accuse this government of peddling in drugs.

The same report did point out that Ghana was increasingly becoming a hub for drug-trafficking in West Africa and indeed his wife Nana Konadu did complain that during a visit to the UK sniffer dogs were set on her. What was the action of his government in any of these?

Mr Frank Benneh, a Diplomat in the Ghana Embassy in Switzerland was arrested for selling cocaine in the Embassy. The government of Ghana under President Rawlings invoked Diplomatic immunity to prevent him from being prosecuted in Switzerland. The promise was that he was going to be prosecuted here. He never was prosecuted. Why?

It was also during ex-President Rawlings’ era that cocaine, worth over £60 million from Ghana was busted in London, and 3 people including a Mr Jack Darko and a Dutchman, Theo Van der Laan were jailed for 21 years. This is the case that Mr Kwesi Pratt traveled to London to give evidence that the exportation of the cocaine was actually sponsored by President Rawlings’ Government. Was Kwesi Pratt telling the truth?

On the contrary, President Kufuor’s government has set in motion, a process to curb the drug menace by setting up a committee of inquiry under a Supreme Court Judge to investigate all aspects of the drug problem. The committee has submitted its report to government and the appropriate measures are being taken on the Committee’s recommendations. Government’s actions, as far as the drug menace is concerned, has been very robust and transparent indeed. Obviously, the international community appears to be pleased by what we have done and the UK government is sending down sophisticated equipment and personnel to help in the fight against the drug menace.

This is a clear testimony that this government is sincere in fighting illicit drug trafficking and its transparent efforts are being appreciated by the international community. The NDC’s record in fighting drugs can never be compared to that of the NPP.

EX-PRESIDENT RAWLINGS ACCUSED PRESIDENT KUFUOR OF FAILING TO PAY FOR HIS WIFE’S MEDICAL BILL AND THEY HAD TO GO TO PEOPLE BEGGING

Part of ex-President Rawlings’ problems with President Kufuor started soon after the hand-over in 2001, when Rawlings and his wife went to Switzerland and instructed the Ambassador to release $30,000 for her treatment. Ghana’s Ambassador in Switzerland then politely asked that permission be sought from President Kufuor first to enable him release the money. The Rawlingses refused to ask the President for the release of the money, and rather, insisted that the Ambassador release the money to them on ex-President Rawlings’ own authority.

The poor but diligent Ambassador politely refused and the Rawlingses were too proud to come to Kufuor. You and I are aware that under the constitution, the ex-President is entitled to be housed, and given an office, to be on his salary for the rest of his life, to be medically treated at the expense of the state together with his family. In addition, he is to be sponsored on holidays every year and to be given at least two vehicles with drivers and security men fully paid for by the state.

These are privileges he never accorded ex-President Limann who died in a pick-up truck on his way to Korle-Bu for treatment and Nanabanyin DeGraft Johnson, Vice President in the third republic who also never received these entitlements. In the case of ex-President Limann he was even detained for one and a half years after the coup by ex-President Rawlings. Former Vice President Arkaah also did not get these entitlements.

The problem with the Rawlingses is that they have been too proud to tell anybody about their sickness and to ask for treatment paid for by the state.

Meanwhile, the Government of President Kufuor never hesitated to pay for the medical treatment of the late Justice Annan and even a current NDC MP.

EX-PRESIDENT RAWLINGS ALLEGED THAT UN SECRETARY-GENERAL MR KOFI ANNAN COMPLAINED TO HIM ABOUT THE CONDUCT OF THE JUDICIARY IN GHANA

Isn’t it rather unfortunate that ex-President Rawlings is trying to bring Mr Kofi Annan, this distinguished son of Ghana, the world’s No. 1 Diplomat, shamelessly into partisan politics in Ghana? We believe that people should ignore these remarks. How do you describe the judiciary which acquitted Kwesi Ahwoi and Nana Ato Dadzie in the $20 million Quality Grain scandal for lack of evidence as corrupt?

Did Kwesi Ahwoi and Ato Dadzie bribe the judiciary to be acquitted and discharged? How do you describe the same judiciary which acquitted Sherry Ayittey in the GREL case and Mr Joojo Bruce Quansah, editor of “The Palaver” newspaper as corrupt? Again on the contrary, ex-President Rawlings is worried about his wife’s case involving the purchase of Nsawam Cannery Ltd. which is currently before the courts, and he is afraid the wife may go to jail hence this statement in which he ropes in Ghana’s No.1 International Icon, Mr Kofi Annan.

It is rather ex-President Rawlings who had a penchant for intimidating Judges when he was in power. It is on record that ex-President J.J. Rawlings’ own Attorney-General during the PNDC era, and former judge of the Supreme Court, Mr Justice J.E.K. Aikins gave evidence before the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) that at a meeting with judges of the superior court at the Castle, he berated them for giving independent judgements, and even yanked off the walking stick of one of them who was dependent on the walking stick, in a bid to intimidate and humiliate him.

To conclude, let me give you a very relevant quotation;

“Unfortunately, ladies and gentlemen, there are some Ghanaians who take delight in any negative thing which befalls our country, and even in inventing bad things where they do not exist.

These are the people who will pick up and publicize any negative report on Ghana, highlighting and even exaggerating any aspects, true or not, which reflect badly on our country.

Some Ghanaians even delight in giving their country a bad name with salacious stories and nasty comments and in broadcasting it as widely as possible despite the political stability and the social progress made by the government.

Ladies and gentlemen, the only reason seems to be that they see any negative thing, whether it is a choked gutter, a period of drought or an indiscipline public officer, an opportunity to attack and undermine this government even at the cost of damaging our national image. They care less even if government officials may be innocent, so long as what they say and write contribute to damaging the image of government as a means of serving their myopic political ambitions.

My fellow Ghanaians, I do not mean to say that patriotic citizens should be full of automatic praise even when it is not due. Constructive criticism is necessary. Balanced and honest appraisal is necessary if we are all, government and citizens alike, to improve upon our efforts to make Ghana a country of which we can all be proud.

But for some of our own people to portray our country as nothing but filthy, corrupt, incompetent, unsafe, dishonest etc. is a very serious disservice to every decent and patriotic Ghanaian striving to do his or her best”.

Ladies and gentlemen, I deliberately did not attribute the quote before delivering it to you. This quote surprisingly is what ex-President Rawlings said to school children at the Independence Square to mark the 41st anniversary of Ghana independence and reported fully in the March 7, 1998 issue of the Ghanaian Times:

When he was in power he gave a completely different advice to Ghanaians, but out of power he is doing exactly the opposite of what he advised other Ghanaians not to do! As for the remarks that ex-President Rawlings made against Archbishop Palmer-Buckle, Dr Mensa-Otabil and Maulvi Wahab Adam, the least said about them the better. These are people whose reputation cannot be assailed by ex-President Rawlings.

Finally, ex-President Rawlings stated and I quote “some of us must occasionally do some self examination and if it is not good enough we should consult the appropriate specialist just to assess whether we are ok.” I believe ex-President is perfectly right here and that we all agree that some of us need to see the appropriate specialist. Some of us. Thank you.