General News of Monday, 16 April 2018

Source: todaygh.com

NDC resumes attack on Rawlings after Mahama’s advice

Former President John Rawlings Former President John Rawlings

Barely a week after admonishing supporters of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) not to insult the founder of the party, former President Jerry John Rawlings, some kingpins of the NDC have defied the orders of former President John Dramani Mahama by using a non-member of the party to attack him (Mr. Rawlings), Today can report.

While addressing NDC members last week at the party’s Unity Walk in Wa in the Upper West Region, Mr Mahama asked party members to refrain from insulting Mr. Rawling “even if they disagree with his views”.

“I want to talk about our Founder. You might not like something he says or an action he is taking. You might disagree with his views but do not insult his person”, Mr Mahama was reported to have said.

But it seems his advice fell on deaf ears as the enemies of the former first family of the party are bent on destroying Mr Rawlings’ credibility hence reengaging the 2016 presidential candidate for the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), Dr. Henry Lartey, to malign Mr Rawlings and make him a public ridicule.

Our sources said, shortly after the Wa Unity Walk, the power brokers in the NDC contacted Mr. Mahama via telephone to, first advise Mr Rawlings to stop making the party and its leaders unattractive by always denigrating them in public, else they will also continue to make life hell for him before he dies.

“If he (Rawlings) stops this nonesense behavior where any least opportunity he gets, he attacks us, then we will also respect him as our founder. But if he wants us to suffer and remain in opposition, then we will also not allow him to rest”, the sources said.

The GCCP leader, in an interview last week Friday with Rainbow Radio in Accra called on the Special Prosecutor, Mr. martin Amidu to, investigate Mr. Rawlings over alleged corrupt practices which occurred under his regime.

He challenged the Special Prosecutor to question Mr. Rawlings whether he has 15 percent shares in the Ghana Rubber Estates.

“He (Rawlings) should answer the questions I have asked him about the Abacha cash. ‘’How did his (Rawlings) wife buy the Nsawam Cannery? I am told they have 15 per cent shares in Ghana Rubber Estates, is that true? How come the Black Star Shipping Line was sold? I petitioned CHRAJ for the man to come and respond but he did not respond. So I would want to appeal to Nana Akufo- Addo to use the Special Prosecutor to investigate Mr. Rawlings”, he said.

According to him, the NDC’’s founder should be probed to answer these questions.

“The Special Prosecutor says he will not spare anybody and I will entreat him to go to the top and start with Rawlings. He should follow the Brazilian example because they’ve gone for Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva a former president and jailed him,’’ he stated.

Dr. Lartey also asked the Special Prosecutor to question Mr. Rawlings over what happened to the remaining alleged £30 million loan from the initial £31.5 million that was issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland to International Generics (for which Mrs. Rawlings was the primary benefactor through a ‘frontman’ named Leon Tamman) under the British Export Guarantee Facility for the construction of La Palm Hotel and Coco Palm Hotel?

Aside that, he also questioned if it was true that the Rawlings’ were transporting gold to Switzerland on a regular basis?

And this was not the fist time Dr Lartey had questioned the credibility of former President Rawlings.

It will be recalled that in the run-up to the 2016 elections Dr. Lartey petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) to investigate the NDC’s founder over some $2 million he allegedly received from the late Nigerian leader, General Sani Abacha.

Dr Lartey in an interview at that time with Kasapa FM labelled Mr Rawlings as “Junior Satan” over the continuous lies he (Rawlings) peddled in the said scandal, insisting that Mr Rawlings perceived integrity on corruption issues was misplaced.

But Mr Rawlings who was enraged by the comments took a swipe at NDC’s executives and loyalists of former President Mahama whom he described as ‘crazier’ for allowing non-members of the party to use its platform to attack his integrity .over the alleged Abacha’s gift.

According to him, it was unbelievable that the NDC , a party which he founded would allow a character such as the leader of the GCPP, Dr Henry Lartey whom he referred to as a ‘crazy man’, to mount its platform at the party’s final rally at the Accra Sports Stadium ahead of the 2016 polls, when all the latter was saying was false.

“The son of somebody called ‘domestication’ after we had dealt with this $5m issue from Nigeria, at the last moment this domestication’s son, a crazy man I believe urged by some of the crazier ones in our mist within the Presidency, around the executives decided to malign me again. Can you believe that this party of ours at their last meeting at the stadium in Accra invited this character who was making a false allegation against me. I ask myself what is going on in this party, who’s in charge of what is going on with these executives? So you people open your eyes well, open your minds properly otherwise you’re going to be taken through a serious political 419 by these executives”, Mr Rawlings was reported to have said this in Wa inn the Upper West Region last year during the commemoration of the 34 anniversary of June 4th uprising