NDC Raises Suspicion Over Reconciliation Commission

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called for immediate corrective actions to erase the suspicions and fears that the party has about the National Reconciliation Process.

The NDC has long believed that the reconciliation process has a political objective and not intended to reconcile the people.

In a memorandum to the National Reconciliation Commission, the NDC raised issues about the commission’s perceived failure to abide by the rules of natural justice and allowing alleged victims to narrate one-sided stories.

The NDC says ''certain events and occurrences at the commission have given us considerable disquiet and heightened our suspicions and fears''.

The memorandum signed by General Secretary, Dr Josiah Aryeh cited some of the events at the commission which needed immediate attention as

• Perceived failure to abide by the requirements of the rules of natural justice.
  
  
• Suspected failure to conduct any or adequate investigations before conducting public hearings, which have caused considerable embarrassment not only to the affected state officials, but to the Commission itself.
  
  
• Permitting alleged victims to tell one-sided self-serving tales which have put them in the best of lights whilst putting their alleged perpetrators in the worst of light among others.

The NDC referred to cases which had been heard by the commission and wondered why the victims were not asked certain pertinent questions.

The memorandum for example wonders how the commission believed a lady by name Mary Allotey who said that she was tortured during the AFRC era during which ?25 million in a chop box representing her weekly sales was taken away by some unidentifiable soldiers.

''Two facts only should send the alarm bells ringing in the minds of the Commission members as to the credibility of the Lady’s story: Weekly sales of ?25 million in 1979 must have represented the annual turnover of the biggest supermarket chains in the country''.

The memorandum says ''unless the lady was thinking in today’s terms it is difficult to imagine that a Makola woman could be making that amount in a week''.

It also wonders how the ?25 million could have fitted in a chop box considering the fact that the highest currency denomination at the time was ?10.

The memorandum also made reference to specific cases involving Captain Baafour Assasie-Gyimah and former Director of the BNI and former IGP, Peter Nanfuri, which the NDC says was not handled properly.

The memorandum regretted that the two people were not invited to respond to allegations of torture made against them during the AFRC era.

''When Naval Captain Assasie Gyimah (rtd) protested in writing to the Commission, the Commission’s response was that ‘this was the result of an administrative error, which is regretted''.

The NDC says it has composed a team that stands ready to discuss the matters raised in the memorandum as well as any other matters related to the remit of the Commission at the Commission’s convenience and if it so desires.