Former President Jerry Rawlings says criminals are monopolising political power in Ghana.

“…Some of the criminals in this society are actually promoting their criminal children into politics, into political power”, he said Thursday at his residence in Accra.

According to him: “…When I watch the extent to which some of these characters are promoting their children and how some of them lie like their fathers on TV screens, I worry a lot”.

Mr Rawlings burst forth with his concerns when the winner of TV3’s Ghana’s Most Beautiful pageant paid a courtesy call on him.

The former Military leader used the opportunity to – for the umpteenth time – lash out at his successors for doing little to fight corruption.

“This country has been pushed into a dark tunnel by – is it the second John – made worse by the other John and I was beginning to wonder if the fourth John can get us out of that dark tunnel”.

All of Ghana’s Presidents in the fourth Republic since 1992, including Mr Rawlings, are called John.

He said: “As I watch TV, I never felt so sad; something to do with the depth of irresponsibility to which some aspects of this country appears to drown into”.

Mr Rawlings bewailed the situation where the youth and virtually everybody necessarily have to compromise themselves before gaining access to opportunities in the country. “No no no no no no, a nation doesn’t grow that way”, he said.