Use proper channels for investigation- NPP official

Sunyani(B/A), Sept. 4, GNA - Mr. Anthony K. Kusi, Brong-Ahafo Regional Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), on Friday condemned the manner and procedure used by some state institutions to invite officials of the NPP administration to answer questions on issues pertaining to their conduct and activities while in office. "The way they invited people for questioning seemed more of using military tactics rather than civilian approach," he said and cited the case of Mr. Asamoah Boateng, former Minister of Information and others as an example.

"When the NPP was in power we did not invite any municipal or district coordinating director for questions as the NDC is doing. Although Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata, Mr. Victor Selormey of blessed memory and Mr. Dan Abodakpi were incarcerated during our time, they were all found guilty by a competent court of jurisdiction," he added. Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Sunyani, the NPP secretary said the way the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) invited certain members of the NPP government for alleged wrongdoing and misconduct was uncalled for.

Mr. Kusi said such actions by the NDC only smacked of political witch-hunting and personal vendetta and that had the dangerous tendency of breeding divisions among the people, and undermine efforts to stabilize democracy in the country.

"Future governments will be tempted to adopt similar methods to victimize and criminalize their political opponents," he stated. The NPP secretary noted that the NDC government "may mean well in seeking to consolidate the country's democracy and enhancing transparency and accountability by such efforts, but they may be painting the wrong picture as such methods seemed more intimidating, harassing and implicating, apart from tarnishing the hard won reputation of such individuals.

"I had a similar experience two months ago. It was a Friday and I was on a bus from Accra to Sunyani when I received a call at around 2300 hours from someone who claimed to be an official of the BNI who wanted to speak to my regional chairman. But the chairman was outside the country. He refused to identify and introduce himself when I demanded, but asked me to report to the headquarters of the BNI in Accra the following morning. How can this be when I had already started this long journey and was mid-way through and would arrive at dawn," he queried. Asked whether President Atta Mills was truly living by his much touted rule of law mantra?" He answered that there was nothing like rule of law in Ghana today and referred to a catalogue of recent violent clashes and cases of assault among a group of NPP and NDC thugs, which took place in Sankore in Asunafo South Constituency of Brong-Ahafo.

Mr. Kusi said in those cases all the suspects were walking freely in the streets of Sankore as no prosecution had taken place. "In one of these cases, a saloon car of one Kwaku Kyere, an NPP activist, was smashed by the thugs, one Saturday in November 2008. His car tape, mobile phones and cash sum of GHC1,500 were stolen. Although some arrests were made at the beginning no prosecution took place on this case and the suspects went free.

"Beyond all possible imagination is the fact that the police in the district have continued to lie on the airwaves as to the real state of affairs at Sankore. Although Sankore has a police post, issues pertaining to these thugs are always referred to the district headquarters for action, which always affords the thugs enough time to beat and destroy before running to their hide-out," he stated. The Regional Secretary appealed to the police to avoid taking sides on issues into which they have not delved, and called on the President to call to order appointees found to be using their positions to trample upon the rights of the people they are to serve.

Mr. Kusi appealed to the law enforcement agencies to ensure that law breakers were dealt with to serve as deterrent to others and for peace to prevail and urged NPP members and sympathizers to stay calm and avoid falling into trouble fomented by their opponents.

Touching on the setting up of a commission of enquiry into the activities of the Ghana @ 50 Secretariat, he said the government had the authority to set up the commission to investigate alleged acts of wrongdoing, but the commission was obligated to use proper channels in its modus operandi.

"We expected that a team of auditors would be commissioned instead by the President of the Republic to independently scrutinize the Ghana @ 50 celebrations and the findings made available to the President for final action to be taken but this wasn't so. We do not like the idea that a group of persons come in and mismanage affairs of government no matter one's political affiliation but we expect the right thing to be done," he stated.