Rawlings Shared Waakye - Agyenim Boateng

Still smarting from the devastation of last Saturday�s humiliating rejection of his wife by National Democratic Congress (NDC) delegates, ex-President Jerry John Rawlings has been accused of sharing meals- rice and beans, called �waakye� in local parlance- to woo delegates on the eve of the Sunyani congress. The accusation leveled against the ex-president was fired by James Agyenim Boateng, Deputy Minister of Tourism, in response to one from the former when he said money was shared to delegates not by President Mills but others whose names he did not disclose. Mr. Rawlings, with a touch of sarcasm, expressed gratitude for the generous per diem, as he put, it doled out to delegates the previous night. He was however quick to add that he could assure all that the money neither emanated from him nor the President. In a quick reaction, Mr. Agyenim-Boateng, a former radio presenter, sneered at the ex-President and remarked that he too shared �waakye� to delegates on the eve of the voting to influence them, as he (Agyenim-Boateng) mounted the commentary box for the state broadcaster-GBC- along with Stan Dogbe, a presidential aide. The Mills camp was said to have bribed the delegates in exchange for the overwhelming endorsement which was described by Kofi Adams, aide to Mr Rawlings, as choreographed results. Kofi Adams said the Nana Konadu campaign team would make its case public via a press conference tomorrow at a yet-to-be-announced venue. An abrasive flurry of accusations and counter-accusations has dominated the post-Sunyani watershed election for a flag-bearer for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) held last Saturday. Ex-President Rawlings was earlier said to have doled out an amount of GH�20 and a meat-pie to each delegate from the Greater Accra Region after an engagement with them at his Ridge Residence in Accra, ahead of the congress. NDC Hijacks GBC Professional anomalies were noted in the conduct of the ruling party�s congress, with the state broadcaster letting go its hold on commentaries to Deputy Minister of Tourism Agyenim Boateng and Stan Dogbe, in breach of the GBC standards. On such Outside Broadcast programmes, since this government took over, Nii Odartey Lamptey of the GTV business desk had been anchoring the live events, but this time around, the NDC insisted on having their own men do the commentaries and their request was obliged, much to the chagrin of observers and the professionals at the state broadcaster.DAILY GUIDE has also gathered that even after generous discounts given to the ruling party, GBC, the state broadcaster, is yet to receive payment for the services it rendered for the party�s two congresses in Tamale last year and Sunyani over the weekend. A source whispered to Daily Guide that �even the cost of the service we rendered them during the Tamale event of the party is yet to be paid.� Attempts to verify this proved futile as top officials of the broadcasting house could not be reached. In a quick reaction, Sammy Awuku of the NPP Communication directorate has condemned the action of the ruling party and warned that the largest opposition party would not tolerate such abuse of incumbency, especially in an election year. In his reaction, Mr Agyenim-Boateng claimed he was asked to run the commentary and he was unaware about whether payment had been made to the state broadcaster or not.