HON. MOSES ASAGA (MP) STILL SLUMPS PRESIDENT ATTA MILLS AT KONGO RALLY

Kindly place on your reputed ghanaweb as an article for future leaders to learn lessons. Intention behind this article and subsequent ones is to monitor indiscipline of people in leadership position. Thank you very much for yr cooperation in the past and for the future. John M.

The Member of parliament for Nabdam constituency in the uupper east region appears not to have taken note of his disrespect for the President, H. E. Atta Mills from withdrawing his nomination prior to the parliamentary vetting last February. Information reaching the national capital from our reporters confirmed that at a rally to climax his face-saving of shame and bragging the MP in a local proverb to his hired supporters from Bolga and Tongo stated in Kongo and around the constituency that "when a father is wrong and beats his child, the child only cries but cannot tell the father in his face he is wrong". What is the inference and implication of this proverb? By this proverb the MP implies that he was right in working on the End of Service Benefits payments to MPs, former President, former vice-president etc under the NPP govt. No wonder the MP went on to say that he has behind him eminent persons like the former president and the vice president (Kufuor and Aliu) who respect and honour him but castigated Dr. Tony Aidoo and co.

What we think people got wrong in the Asaga saga is that focus has been on the constituitionality of the ESB. This was noted when at various radio progrrammes some NPP leaders like Ohene Ntow General Secretary of NPP, Gabby of the Danquah Institute and Arthur Kennedy as well as Malik Kweku Baaku Jnr of the New Crusading Guide kept commenting that Hon Asaga did no wrong and was just used as a scape goat. This has been strange to some of us. Did these people listen and did they look beyound the surface of the matter and did they sit back to explore or introspect Prez. Mills's preventive-is-better-than cure disciplinary action against his own MP.

Prez Mills did not withdraw Asaga's nomination on the grounds that the ESB was constitutional or unconstitutional. Prez Mills withdrew Asaga's nomination as a preventive disciplinary measure on the grounds of DISRESPECT for his PRESIDENTIAL INSTRUCTIONS and nothing more than that. Its unfortunate the NPP leaders and Kweku Baaku misled the public on the purpose and reasons for the Prez's actions. One needed to understand Koby Acheampong and Dr. Tony Aidoo very well, even though Asaga villifies them all over.

Prez Mills certainly knew what the implications were, regarding the ESB but the propaganda that emanated from his own NDC and by extension the NDC-CJA demonstrations had put him in a corner and as an elder and seasoned politician he needed to handle the matter with tact; as he needs to hold down to things in the NDC and the public political score points. Don;t forget Prez Mills also has interest to slum down the NPP govt; as the other NDC agenda has been to portray the NPP govt as corrupt and insensitive to the plight of Ghanaians.

Prez Mills as President of Ghana knew he had given orders nation-wide on payments by MDA and had stated clearly and very simply that he would look into the issue of ESB for the previous govt and parliament and therefore payments were blocked until a review was carried out. It is this review that by extension has constitutional implications but not his presidential instructions or ordeers of holding on to Payment of ESB until further notice. So why is the Hon. Asaga not wrong for gross disrespect for the Prez's instructions. The MP in his lame challenges on radio against Prez Mills claimed that there was a second memo of instructions from the Prez ordering payments of ESB and that it was only against the issues of 6 cars to Prez Kufuor, $1m foundation money and not the cash payments to MPs. To date has anyone seen that second instruction memo? then the same Asaga contradicts his claim by stating that he had pressure from his own NDC MPs......

With this distinction made we advise the NPP gurus and other radio commentators to always listen well and try to discipher clearly issues at stake and not to mix up issues with broad matters they stereotyp. These radio comments are what motivate the MP Asaga not to still oblige to his disrespect to the Prez but to still be looking at the issue of - what is constitutional. President Mills dropped Asaga for DISRESPECT/DISOBEDIENCE TO PRESIDENTIAL INSTRUCTIONS and not whether ESB is constitutional or unconstitutional. Asaga should apologise to the President honourably and stop blaming the Prez and Dr. Tony Aidoo and co.

From: John Mensah, member of Crusaders for Human Rights and Freedom and Future Leaders Discipline. jmensah12309@yahoo.com