I Get Government Contracts - Rawlings’ Boy Confesses

By Larry-Alans Dogbey

Ex-President Rawlings’ “Traitors and Enemies” speech has landed his spokesperson in trouble as he has been forced to reveal he goes about the corridors of power, lobbying and getting construction contracts from the Mills administration to execute.

Mr. Kofi Adams revealed how he alone got three huge contracts from government, which he did not execute himself but gave out to others to perform because he didn’t have a construction company to do the contract.

He mentioned three locations, namely: the Greater Accra Region, specifically within the Kpone-Katamanso Constituency; the Central Region and one other place, which he refused to name, where he got such contracts for execution.

The confession by the suspended Deputy General of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) comes in the wake of reports within the party and corridors of power that Mr. Adams has been using Mr. Rawlings’ name to cream contracts which he sells to contractors at outrageous prices.

Reports available to The Herald also have it that on most of his missions to lobby for some of these contracts, Mr. Adams invariably ran down Mrs. Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings as incorrigible, and having teamed up with ex-Kumasi Asante Kotoko Football boss, Herbert Mensah, to incite Mr. Rawlings against President Mills and cause disaffection for his government for an eventual defeat at the December polls.

Meanwhile, The Herald has learnt that Mr. Mensah and Mr. Adams have not been on talking terms for some time now, as a result of Mr. Adams’ constant badmouthing of the ex-Kotoko boss, who has also vowed to teach Mr. Adams a lesson.

Presidential Staffer and Director of Operations in the Office of the President, Nii Lante Vanderpuije, yesterday gave a hint of Mr. Adams’ activities on Radio Gold, without directly mentioning Mr. Adams’ name.

He, however, asked Mr. Rawlings to look within his household to see the real traitors he mentioned in his speech, marking the 30 th Anniversary Ceremony of the 31st December Women’s Movement.

Mr. Vanderpuije said he could count as many as four mouthwatering contracts from various districts assemblies which have been awarded to the person within the Rawlings household, and insisted he would make them public.

Mr. Adams, who was later called by Radio Gold to react to the issues raised by Mr. Vanderpuije, admitted he had indeed lobbied for contracts, especially clearing of “schools under trees”, from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GET Fund), but gave them out to people to execute.

Mr. Vanderpuije revealed that Mr. Rawlings had since 2008 being scheming to have Prof. Mills removed as the Presidential Candidate of the NDC.

He recalled how the ex-president once stormed the Kuku Hill Campaign office of then candidate Mills, called him and others into a meeting and for no reason insulted all of Mills’ lieutenants for their support for the current President.

Mr. Koku Anyidoho, Director of Communications at the President’s office, had to walk out of the said meeting in protest, since he could not stand Mr. Rawlings’ tantrums against Prof. Mills, Mr. Vanderpujie disclosed.

He wondered why all loyalists and friends of ex-President Rawlings invariably turn their backs on him. “How is it that one person can lose all the people who loved and worked for him? Is it because he poses himself as a saint and others as bad people? Everyday he is chastising people who disagree with him. Why? Is he saying he is the only noble person in Ghana? ” Mr. Vanderpujie asked.

He questioned why Mr. Rawlings would not allow the Mills government to have peace to continue the good it had started.

According to Mr. Vanderpuije, under President Mills, lots of people who became destitutes and homeless after the NDC lost power in the year 2000, have now gotten jobs and are able to fend for themselves, their families as well as pay school fees of their wards.

He mentioned one such person as Amanor, who works in Mr. Rawlings’ office and, who over the years had nowhere to lay his head, but upon the coming into office of the Mills administration, now has a place to sleep with his family.

He debunked assertions by former President Rawlings that members of the 31st December Women’s Movement have been neglected by the government saying, “I know about 38 women of the movement who have been enrolled under the school feeding programme in the Ashanti region.”

The Presidential Staffer, who had earlier spoken on another radio station, said many members of the party had spent their time, resources, reputation and sacrificed their jobs over the years to support the party, but are now being called “greedy bastards”.

“It is simply not fair for people who have sacrificed their lives for the NDC to be called greedy bastards and traitors. I am disappointed in Rawlings. Some of them lost their lives, others maimed and the others who can help too are being called greedy bastards and traitors” Why? he asked in exasperation.

Mr. Vanderpujie, who is also the NDC parliamentary candidate for the Odododiodoo Constituency, disclosed that he had wept all night because the sacrifices many had rendered to the party should not have been requited with a traitor tag.

”I wept after hearing former President Rawilings calling some of us traitors. In fact, if not for something, some of us would have quit the NDC now. We will not quit, rather not quit but look to the God Almighty”, he declared.

Mr. Vanderpuije stressed that henceforth, some of them in the party would no longer tolerate “the unfair criticisms” meted out to the Mills government by the party founder. “Rawlings thought me positive defiance and I will stand for the right thing”, he added.

He said Rawlings had betrayed all the people who had followed him through the trenches over the years. ”Rawlings has betrayed all of us who followed him so many years ago. Some of us were willing to die for Rawlings but look at what he is doing to our future today.

“NDC is our future, and we will forever protect it, so we will fight anybody who tries to destroy it. We the young men have fought for the party and will never sit unconcerned for one or two people to destroy it. Never,” he asserted.

Mr. Vanderpuije said though Rawlings and the wife founded the NDC, they could not run the party alone, “but had to do it with the help of other people so they should not think that the party still rests on their shoulders”. We wished Rawlings would have sat back, advising us on how to go about the party, but now (he is) working against us. No way, we will not allow it again.”

The Operations Director at The Castle noted that if it was the wish of the Rawlingses that the NDC should lose the 2012 elections, that would not come through because the Lord who helped Mills to win the 2008 elections is still alive.

He dispelled claims by the former president that people like him (Rawlings) helped Mills to win the 2008 elections, saying “It is the work of the Lord, so those who think it was their effort should sit back and see the heavy victory in 2012. Whether they like it or not, we will win the 2012 elections.”

“I am not a greedy bastard; nobody in government is a greedy bastard as well. If we want greedy bastards in this country, we can identify them one after the other,” he claimed.