Mills is presiding over a corrupt government - Konadu

Former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, who is contesting Prof John Evans Atta Mills for the flagbearership position of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), believes the President is superintending over a corrupt government.

"The people have not seen any improvement in their lives and there is massive corruption all over the place," she said.

Apart from that, she noted that President Mills has not been able to deliver on the numerous promises he made to the Ghanaian electorate prior to the 2012 elections which saw him becoming President of the Republic, since areas like Accra, the capital city, are still reeling under acute water shortage whilst the electricity situation has worsened.

Nana Konadu, wife of NDC founder ex-President Jerry Rawlings, made these observations in an interview with the Africawatch magazine, which appeared in the magazine's latest edition.

Furthermore, the former First Lady said, "Our party members are bitterly complaining about the direction the party and the country are taking, and no one listens to them."

She said the entire party structure of the NDC has collapsed, from the constituency to the national level.

In spite of this, what seems to gall her the most is the fact that "officials and ministers are today calling the footsoldiers that got us elected a nuisance".

Asked whether this is part of the reason her husband, Mr Rawlings, continues to make what many consider to be incendiary statements on national issues, Konadu's answer was: "Naturally, because of the way my husband relates to the ordinary people, they come to him to complain about the direction the country is going, and he tries to articulate these frustrations."

Initially, she indicated, "he tried to use the party's internal communication systems to voice his concerns, but no one listened to him. That explains why he went public.

"If some things in the country are going terribly wrong, we do no one a favour by burying our heads in the sand and pretending otherwise. The country will pay dearly if we don't collectively let our leaders know the true position of things. We have come a long way and we should do our best not to allow the situation to deteriorate to the bad old days. That explains why he (Rawlings) occasionally voices his concerns," she said.

When asked what she is going to do differently when elected, since many Africans appear disillusioned about their leaders, Mrs Rawlings said, "Our (the Rawlingses) track record in government clearly shows that we can be different".

Wherever she goes on the continent, she indicated, people approach her to express appreciation on how she, her husband and then NDC administration managed to transform Ghana for the better.

"We did it before and we clearly can do it again," she stressed.

Asked what kind of presidency she looks forward to when eventually elected to become President of the Republic, Konadu was emphatic: ".a presidency in which Ghanaians will once again be very proud; a presidency that will fight corruption, ensure accountability and probity at every level of government."

A Konadu presidency, according to her, "will be a presidency that trusts Ghanaians enough to carry them along in all its developmental efforts. My presidency will strive to ensure that no child's future is jeopardised by the circumstance of their birth. Mine will be a presidency that will promote and ensure social justice."