Resettlement of Rawlings, Cabinet examines proposals

The government has set up a Cabinet sub-committee to study the proposals for the settlement and entitlements of ex-president Rawlings within the confines of the Green Street Report.

The Committee has been mandated to see how best the former president can be housed.

Minister for Information and Presidential Affairs, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey disclosed this to the “Evening News” in Accra in reaction to the allegations made by Dr. Tony Aidoo on GTV last week that the former president has not been fully settled 10 months into the administration of the NPP government.

Government says in spite of the delay to provide all the entitlements of the former president, “he is not being denied any facility that would make his life comfortable,” the minister said.

According to Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey, the former president has almost every facility that makes life comfortable at his disposal although the state is yet to officially provide facilities due him.

Considering the state of Ghana’s economy, the resettlement issue had become a dicey one, which had to be dealt with cautiously. However, government says it will move swiftly into action to implement the recommendations of the Committee once it is submitted.

The Presidential Affairs minister noted that the delay was not deliberate as being perceived in some quarters and assured that “all will be well soon.”

President Kufuor before being elected as president of Ghana stated emphatically that Rawlings would be the only living head of state and would be accorded every respect due him as a statesman. The government says this would be upheld at all cost without any compromise.