General News of Friday, 7 June 2002

Source: Network Herald

I Don't Need Post - Tony Aidoo

Former Research Director of the NDC Dr. Tony Aidoo who has been stripped of his position declared at last Tuesday ‘s public lecture to mark the 23rd anniversary of June 4 that “I don’t need a post to speak for the NDC”. Apparently referring to reports by the media that he had been angered by the take over of his position from him by party officials, who claimed that his term of office is over, Dr. Aidoo said, “I am for the NDC today and tomorrow”.

He alleged that although public sector workers received their pay slips last week, they had not been paid because there was no money in the banks. The controversial outspoken party member said, “ after clearing the ghost names there is still no money to pay workers.”

The NPP according to him accused the NDC administration of overbloating government payroll but “at least five of Kufuor’s nephews are in his office. earning $5000 a month.” adding that only 6.8% of government revenue had been allocated for development .

Delivering his paper on the topic, ‘the relevance of the June 4 Uprising to democracy in Ghana’, NDC MP for Lawra Nandom Dr. Ben Kunbuor was of the opinion that the NDC did not keep faith with the ideals of June 4 over the last years that is why the party lost the 2000 elections. He said ‘we failed to understand that we were now living in a world of cybernetics in which virtual reality could be created over television screens.”

Mr. Kunbuor warned that there are tougher days ahead of the NDC because as he put it “fighting conditions for political survival has changed dramatically.”He referred to June 4 as a process that cannot be stopped but disrupted .

The NDC MP said there had attempts by some people to re-write the events leading to June 4 describing it as selective memory or forgetfulness but pointed out that those who had sincere intentions would write as historians not chroniclers. The occasion was also used to show party members who thronged there in their numbers the film on the Aveyime Rice Project.