General News of Tuesday, 24 March 2009

Source: GNA

Mills urged to come out boldly on former President Kufuor

Accra, March 24, GNA - The Minority in Parliament on Tuesday said there had been disturbing developments in the last few days relating to former President John Agyekum Kufuor's use of government property for his office and the use of specific cars after leaving office.

They said few people had questioned the use of these facilities and national security apparatus had joined in the debate. They contended that a group calling itself Ga Adangme Youth had also at a press conference insisted former President Kufuor vacated the said premises immediately because it was situated on Ga land.

Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Minority Leader, who read out a statement at the foyer of Parliament at a press conference, said: "The question is: is this group acting on its own volition, or are there some sinister political forces behind the call."

The Minority Leader said long before former President Jerry John Rawlings left office, he had acquired for his use and that of his family some government property and had taken away a number of cars.

"Yet former President Kufuor would not be allowed to keep these three cars pending the implementation of the Chinery Hesse recommendations. Is it the inference from these developments that the Chinery Hesse recommendations would never be implemented?"

"What hypocrisy and double standards are at work? one cannot help but suspect that there is an orchestrated campaign to vilify and persecute former President Kufuor," Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said.

"We call on President John Evans Atta Mills to quickly get a handle on these matters and restore sanity into this unseemly situation and make a bold declaration on the use of the office accommodation by former President Kufuor and the immediate replacement of the three retrieved BMW cars with vehicles of the same standard," he added.