JJ jabs NPP: Where are the men of integrity?

Former President Jerry John Rawlings has questioned the moral uprightness of the largest opposition party in Ghana, the New Patriotic Party, over their failure to stand for the truth and speak against the rot perpetuated by the erstwhile Kufuor government.

Mr. Rawlings in a statement released to mark the 35th anniversary of the June 4th uprising said the NPP cannot be considered a viable opposition if they cannot confront the rot their party left behind to rebuild their party’s image.

"Where are the men and women of integrity in the NPP and why have they gone silent about some of these obvious violations of their era. What are they afraid of? How can they be a viable opposition if they cannot confront the rot their party left behind as a basis of repairing their party’s image?"

The NPP not too long ago, have been termed as a sleeping opposition party by Prof. Kwame Karikari, who thinks their seeming disinterest in putting the NDC government on the right path and also providing alternatives does mirror a picture of a strong and vibrant opposition.

But Mr. Rawlings believes the NPP needs to first start by speaking against the rot that happened in their government under Kufuor to uphold their integrity and save the image of their party. He accused the erstwhile Kufuor government of engineering the economic challenges the nation faces today and the continuous breakdown of the moral fiber of the Ghanaian society.

He said the people of Ghana accepted the revolution because they saw the need to correct the wrongs that were going on in the country, ensuring that corruption was punished and perpetrators made to pay the price for their actions.

"The aspiring revolutions of June 4th and December 31st were in the interest of the people of Ghana and as much as we regret some of the revolutionary excesses arising from the people’s rage or the heavy price corrupters were made to pay, these were a direct consequence and reflection of the people’s anger at the level of political and economic depravity at the time," he said.

35 years ago, June 4 1979, a group of junior officers rebelled against the ruling military government of the day - the Supreme Military Council (SMC) led by the late Lt. General F.W.K. Akuffo.

The SMC was overthrown in a mass revolt of junior officers and men of the Ghana Armed Forces led by Captain Boakye Gyan from the 5th battalion Arrakan Barracks.

Following the uprising, an Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) was set up under the chairmanship of Flt.-Lt. Jerry John Rawlings. The AFRC with time metamorphosed to become the People’s National Defence Council (PNDC) then the National Democratic Congress (NDC) with Mr. Rawlings as the founder.