Konadu Pounded

Former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, whiles speaking recently to a group of women from 25 African countries participating in the Milead Fellowship International, which seeks to empower women with skills for leadership, said Ghana is one of the most expensive countries to live in at the moment. But a government official (name withheld), in a sarcastic response, told The Catalyst that Mrs Rawlings has to understand that the Mills-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) government needs the peace of mind to reduce inflation to match her Sunyani record of 3.1% and that will certainly make the country less expensive to live in by her standards.
The source said “Gov't needs the peace of mind to reduce to reduce inflation to her Sunyani record of 3.1%”
Mrs Rawlings, a contender in the just-ended NDC flagbearership contest in Sunyani recorded the worst form of political defeat by gaining a paltry 3.1% as against his counterpart President John Evans Atta Mills who garnered a whopping 96.9%.
Our source said Mrs Rawlings' comment, unscientific as it is, has characteristically been latched onto by elements within the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), who have made it their best political meat to chew on over the past week, but said government is unfazed by her agenda to undermine its efforts at ensuring a better Ghana which is yielding positive results for those who have eyes to see.
Mrs Rawlings also said at the forum that the declining inflation rate should not be the basis for determining how well the economy is doing, stressing “I believe the economy can be run differently.”
Our source said even though this coming from the former First Lady and failed flagbearership contender is not surprising, it is important to remind her that those institutions which matter, both locally and internationally including the good people of Ghana, value the massive push the Mills government is giving to the Ghanaian economy.
The dominant opinion of many people who spoke to this paper indicates that Mrs Rawlings is on a vendetta against the NDC as a party and government for the 3.1% humiliation meted out to her at the Sunyani congress. The opinion has it that the former First Lady will not budge and that she is determined to further undermine this government by way of revenge on the party for her shameful Sunyani verdict.
Former President Rawlings, other opinion suggests, is in a difficult situation right now. A source close to the former President told this paper over the weekend that he is in a fix, owing to Mrs Rawlings' inconsiderate attitude.
The source said the former President did all he could to rein in his wife and talk her out of the race ahead of Sunyani but she remained adamant, having seen her contest of President Mills as an opportunity of fulfilling her dream of seeing women rise to the top, and to lead that crusade by example, but which unfortunately has taken a visible parochial dimension.
“My prayer is that Nana Konadu will sooner than later realise the harm she is doing to the image, reputation and legacy of her husband,” said Kofi Benson, a civil servant who resides at Banana-Inn, a suburb of Accra. He said Mrs Rawlings must realise that former President Rawlings is bigger than her Ridge household and that even though he is her husband, he belongs to the larger community outside of Ridge.
As expected, the party should come together as one after congress and forge ahead in unison to battle the aggressive NPP in the 2012 elections. But that obviously is not what Mrs Rawlings wants.
Your authoritative, The Catalyst stated in a publication days before congress that for President Mills to reconcile with a woman of the calibre of Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings after the congress, he would have to go more than the extra mile.
Her FONKAR/campaign team served notice soon after congress that they will be back. From all indications, they are back with venom in their mouths.