Corruption deep in NDC - Rawlings

Former President and founder of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), Jerry John Rawlings, has expressed worry over the level of corruption in the ruling government.

“The corruption that is going on is so deep. Some aspects of these corruptions are literally holding your national resources to ransom by just a handful of people. I'm not here to poison your minds at all”, he said.

He wondered why the NDC had done little to avert the situation and yet was ready to turn a blind eye to it for fear of the opposition NPP.

According to him, if the situation could not be salvaged in the last three years, what was the guarantee that it would be curbed in the future.

Former President Rawlings made the observations in Ho yesterday at an emergency meeting of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs headed by the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State, Togbe Afede XIV.

The former president and the chiefs held a closed door meeting after he addressed the house.

Queen mothers were highly represented at the meeting. Mr. Rawlings, during his address, sought permission to step down from the high table to enable him to speak freely as he wanted.

He walked and looked directly into the eyeball of the chiefs and queen mothers as he expressed his feelings.

“There is no doubt in my mind that this competition is going to be between the NDC and the NPP. The question I'm asking is that are we, because of our fear and nervousness of the NPP or the opposition, so worried about what could happen, to the extent that we are prepared to forget everything that we may have done wrong just so that we can stay in power?

“And if we stay in power what guarantee? What can you do to ensure that you can clean up the corruption within your own party machinery within your own government?

“You could not do it in your first year, you could not do it in your second year, you could not do it in your third year?

“These handful of people are consolidating... they are holding your party and they are holding the economy of this nation to ransom. This is what is going on. This is the problem that we face”, he lamented.

“The emergence of John Mahama has also added a spark to the governing party and therefore reduced the old fear and anxiety; in other words, he has brought on board the possibility of also wining the election”.

That notwithstanding, he wondered why there was anxiety and fear in the governing party about how much chance they stood in the forthcoming election and added that the demise of the late President Mills had brought some hope for a victory.

“It became a very stressful situation for most of us, however, divine intervention created a great deal of goodwill for him (Mahama) on his (Mills') demise and also public sympathy also served a fine purpose in helping to ignite the hope within the party”.

He was hopeful that the ruling government would spend more time in killing the level of corruption and injustice and insecurity, first from within its administration, party and later throughout the country to restore the dignity of the NDC and lasting goodwill.

He stated that the current pressure and the suffering of the masses due to corruption and injustices were becoming overwhelming.

“If you mean well to want to fight corruption, if you are not going to devote 30, 40 percent of your time to fighting corruption from within your own government, you will fail”.

That, according to him, would give the NDC government the moral right and capacity to investigate other corruption practices in previous administrations and serve justice to all Ghanaians.