Hotel Kufuor: JJ Comments

JJ tasks Parliament Probe Kufuor & family

Sekondi, July 11, 2005 -- The former president and founder of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings has called on parliament to investigate President Kufuor and his family over the acquisition of ?Hotel Kufuor? to unearth the truth surrounding the purchase.

The former president, who was making his first public comment on the hotel saga, said the acquisition of the hotel is a serious matter that must not be swept under the carpet but be properly investigated, especially looking at the fact that it was his government that jailed some innocent Ghanaians for alleged corruption.

Speaking to about 25 NDC supporters after attending a funeral in Sekondi last Saturday, Ex-President Rawlings noted that when President Kufuor and his government assumed power, they preached zero tolerance for corruption to the whole world but today, Ghana is witnessing the worst form of corruption.

He regretted that though they themselves are corrupt, they had the audacity to jail what he described as ?innocent Ghanaians.?

He claimed when he was in power, his government was able to tackle corruption which everybody could testify to, but the opposite is the case today.

According to the former president, in its attempt to perpetuate itself in power, the NPP government is now trying to corrupt the morale fibre of the Ghanaian society, which he said is very dangerous.

Mr. Rawlings whose speech lasted for a little over three minutes, called on Ghanaians to resist this attempt since corruption leads to the suffering of the people and undermines democracy.

He thanked God that Ghanaians have now seen the difference but called on the supporters not to lose hope about the future of the country.

Former President Rawlings further told the noisy supporters who insisted that he spoke to them that, corruption and development can not move together if we are to see the proper development of the country and called on the people to speak against all forms of corruption.

Rawlings, who was accompanied by his wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, the Western regional chairman of the NDC, Nana Alex Asamoah, his special aide, Mr. Victor Smith, and Col. (Rtd.) Kaku Korsah, former Sekondi-Takoradi metropolitan chief executive, was in Sekondi to attend the funeral of the mother of his Lebanese friend, Mr. Hozafied Riad.