NPP Reacts To Rawlings� June 4th Speech

Below is a statement released by the New Patriotic Party in response to comments made by former President Rawlings at the 32nd celebration of the June 4, 1979 uprising at the Jubilee Park in Kumasi on Saturday June 4, 2011. NPP REACTS TO JUNE 4TH SPEECH The New Patriotic Party (NPP), last Saturday the 4th of June, listened with interest to the comments by Ex President Rawlings at the 32nd commemoration of 4th June 1979 in Kumasi. As usual, the Ex President sought to attack the reputation of Ex President Kufour and the NPP. Mr. Rawlings stated last Saturday that the NPP stole huge sums of money for campaign in the 2008 elections but failed to win due to the NDC principles of honesty. The question that arises is how did the NPP win the 2000 elections when the Ex President Rawlings was in power and also in 2004? He also stated that attempts to bring Miss Giselle Yatzi to Ghana has been thwarted. It is worthy to note that the NDC in the last five years or so have threatened and tried to bring Miss Yatzi down to testify against Ex-President Kufuor to no avail. We ask what is so difficult about bringing one woman to Ghana over a five year period. Ex-President Rawlings also stated that Ex-President Kufuor had amassed so much wealth that he could finance the NPP campaign for 2012. We reject the assertions of corruption alluded to President Kufuor and his government by President Rawlings and demand comparative public auditing of both the Kufuor and Rawlings� governments to assess which grew governance of the nation in terms of social and economic performance. He also accuses President Mills of failing to prosecute NPP officials he accused of corruption. Ghanaians will remember that in the run up to the 2008 election the NDC incessantly accused the NPP of corruption. These accusations included the stealing of Ghana�s gold reserves and the publication of huge personal bank accounts of NPP members. These allegations have proven to be wild, reckless and irresponsible. Whilst some NPP officials are in court, it would be very difficult to prove such wild, reckless and irresponsible allegations to secure conviction. President Mills gleefully accepted and repeated these allegations in the run up to the 2008 elections. Ex-President Rawlings is therefore surprised about the Mills-Mahama Government�s inability to prosecute after gleefully making these allegations. The chickens have come home to roost for the NDC government. There are still legitimate questions for Ex-President Rawlings. After coming to power in 1982 on the slogan of probity and accountability, the PNDC insulated itself from probity and accountability and imposed a culture of silence on the country. At the end of eleven (11) years of Rawlings� PNDC, he smuggled indemnity provisions into the 1992 Constitution. So why Ex-President Rawlings is shouting probity and accountability when he has indemnified himself from same. After becoming civilian President from 1993-2000 President Rawlings presided over systematic corruption resulting in scandals such as the Mabey and Johnson and GHACEM bribery scandals, the exoneration of ministers found culpable by CHRAJ, the Gwarzo USD 5million allegations, the non-transparent sale of state properties to NDC members including his wife (Star Hotel, Nsawam Cannery etc), the USD 600m proceeds from Ashanti Goldfields, fees for his children in expensive schools abroad, the Juliet Cotton USD 22 million scandal and many more. We leave answers to these questions to the better judgement of Ghanaians. After presiding over the most inhumane and repressive government in Ghana�s history, the ghosts of his numerous victims seem to be giving Rawlings no rest. Signed.....