Demand accountability from government..... Rawlings Ghana News Agency , 20/11/2009
Former President Rawlings
has charged National Democratic Congress (NDC) faithful
to be courageous in demanding accountability from the government.
He said there was no need
for them to complain about unfulfilled promises without courageous attempt to
confront government.
Speaking to NDC
constituency chairmen drawn from 22 constituencies in Accra, Former President
Rawlings said he was aware that there was a lot of discontent by the ordinary
party supporters.
"They think you
constituency chairmen are comfortable. Unfortunately you are also in the same
situation as they are," the former President said.
A statement issued in
Accra from his office, said the constituency chairmen sought audience with the
former President to express misgivings about the break in communication between
the party and government.
They were particularly
concerned about the failure of the Presidency to accord them audience despite
repeated requests and said it was dampening the mood in the party.
The spokesman for the
group, Magnus Anyetei Sowah, constituency chairman for La Dadekotopon, said the
supporters had spent years working to return NDC to power but unfortunately the
synergy between government and party had totally broken down.
Sowah said the Ga
constituencies had played a big role in returning the NDC to power and it was
unacceptable that they were being ignored in such a shabby manner.
He mentioned how some
members of government had threatened them not to speak publicly about their
disenchantment or face their wrath.
Former President Rawlings
said he noted fundamental mistakes right from the onset of the Mills
administration and publicly pointed them out to ensure that matters did not
escalate but unfortunately nothing had been done about it and rather some had
been trying to insinuate that he harbours presidential ambitions.
"We have brought people into our midst
who are unknown to the party, people we do not know. If we do not wake up to
correct the mistakes I will not have anything to do with the party. I have died
so many times for the party, been humiliated both locally and internationally.
"Let us wake up and
take our destiny into our own hands. When we won I thought I could retire and
write my memoirs but I am not being allowed to. I've suffered humiliation,
assassination attempts, and abuse and now I am facing the same with my party's
government?
"We seem to be afraid
to write the wrongs of the past and now the criminals of the past government
are emboldened and many have entrenched themselves in the military and other
sensitive's institutions."
Former President Rawlings
said it was very unfortunate that issues of electoral fraud that
nearly cost the NDC the election last year had not been brought to the fore
even though there was enough evidence to expose it. "Do we not understand
politics?"
The former President said
it was important to make wise choices during the ongoing constituency and polling station
elections to ensure that only people who genuinely cared for the people were
elected. "We should not allow this party to be destroyed by any
self-seeker," he cautioned.
Earlier a group of former
Parliamentary candidates drawn from Greater and Ashanti also called on the former President
to express similar sentiments of discontentment with the party's failure to
accord its faithful courtesies and audience.
Their spokesperson Augustus
Kweku Eshun said the government and party
leaders had failed to take stock of how the victory was achieved
noting that some policies being currently implemented were unpopular with the
people and could affect the fortunes of the NDC in 2012.