NDC Can't Run From Mabey&Johnson - Vitus Azeem

Anti corruption Campaigners believe that an attempt by the NDC Party to dissociate itself from the latest Mabey & Johnson bribery scandal which implicates some former and current government officials may not wash. They say it will be difficult for the NDC to extricate itself from the scandal because the individuals mentioned in the affair are prominent key players in the party who held sensitive positions in government. The NDC has tried to de-link itself from the massive bribery scandal in which the British Construction Company disclosed in court documents that it succeeded in influencing several officials of the Rawlings led government in the 1980s and 1990s. In a statement signed by Party Chairman Kwabena Adjei, it says �the NDC as a party has never received funds from Mabey & Johnson and that records available do not reveal receipts of any such funds from the UK Firm.� In response, however Mr. Vitus Azeem, of the Ghana Integrity Initiative says it is difficult for the NDC to wriggle its way out of the mess. �It�s difficult to separate the party from the individual because if you are a member of the ruling government and you do something that is untoward, chances are that people are going to link it to the party.� He said. President Mills, who happened to be the Vice President at the time of the alleged bribery, has swiftly instructed the Attorney General to look into the allegation and determine his line of action. But Vitus Azeem says it is important that government adopts a neutral posture in investigating the matter. He told Citi News that an independent commission of inquiry will help erase perceptions that the investigations would be compromised by the government.