Opinions of Monday, 7 March 2016

Columnist: Osutete, John

Ashietey shames Rawlings’s and NDC

For someone who started his political career under jerry John Rawlings as the Mayor of Tema for 8 years and contested and won the Korley Klottey seat for the NDC two times in a row you will think Nii Armah Ashietey deserves better from the NDC and the Rawlings family.

Let me trace the Political timeline of Nii Amarh Ashietey’s:
• Mayor for Tema – Rawlings Era
• Greater Accra Regional Minster – Atta Mills Era
• Employment Minister – John Mahama
• Member of Parliament – Atta Mills / John Mahama

During Nii Armah Ashietey’s years of service to mother Ghana, he has never been linked to any scandal or corrupt practice. The only accusation of Nii Armah Ashietey is what you read on social media that he is “arrogant”. Even though that is a wrong assertion, Ghanaians will always link a strong minded person, who will hold them accountable at work to be arrogant.
Nii Armah Ashietey’s exemplary leadership style as Mayor of Tema is still recognized till today. Nii Armah Ashitey is not liked by some members of the Ga Chieftaincy, an establishment that he is part off. He has stood his grounds against the installation of so many illegitimate kingship installation and advocated for the installation of the rightful heir to the Ga throne to resolve all the chieftaincy disputes that have plaqued the Ga States. Nii Armah Ashitey even refused his own installation as King of Teshie to enable him continue his work as a Politician / legislator to improve the plight of Ga’s. Nii Armah Ashitey has never collaborated with the massive sale of Ga lands, and never attempted to amass wealth that belongs to the Kingship and Ga people. This is one of the main reasons that Nii Armah Ashitey has never been liked by most of the royals in the Ga State. Whilst serving as the Greater Accra Regional minister some section of Ga chiefs requested Atta Mills to remove him from office and was replaced by Afotey Agbo.

Furthermore, Nii Armah Ashitey was re-elected to Parliament and Mahama appointed him as the Employment Minister, one if not the only Ga in his cabinet. At the Employment Ministry, he changed corrupt practices and was very instrumental with the ILO leading to the visit to Ghana by the president of the ILO. Nii Armah Ashitey developed vocational and career technical programs at OIC and various technical schools in partnership with Universities in Upstate New York. Nii Armah Ashitey also met with the USA Department of Labor to find ways to reduce child trafficking in Ghana especially in Cocoa producing areas. Once again Nii Armah Ashietey was removed from office without any link to a scandal, misappropriation of funds or corruption which typically causes changes of Ghanaian politicians.
Nii Armah Ashitey rebounds back after various speculations that his political career has come to an end. He still stands tall. With nobody in sight to contest Nii Armah Ashitey for the Klottey Korley seat, the scandal and scheme was hatched from the Godfathers house to persuade Nii Armah Ashietey to step aside this time for the Godchild Ezenator Rawlings, an unknown face in the Klottey Korley electoral area. With speculation that Ezenator Rawlings was not a registered voter, with the help of frustrated visa contractors in Osu and American deportees coupled with the help of her father Jerry Rawlings Ezenator burst into the lime light of Osu politics. Unfortunately the NDC vetting committee also knowing that the girl was not a registered voter and contrary to the NDC constitution, she was approved to contest the seat all with a vendetta to oust Nii Amarh Ashietey.
It is sad to say that Rawlings and his daughter saw the people of Osu to be very stupid, as very evident that anytime Ga chiefs came to his residence they were there to destroy one of their own. To request a Ga to be removed from office compared to other tribes who come to advocate for office for their constituents. It is with that mindset that will make Rawlings disregard the Osu people and Nii Armah Ashitey and ride on the back of a horse with his daughter into Osu Town to Mandela park ushering his daughter into Osu as the Messiah who will bring the darkness to an end in Osu, even though he knew she was not registered or being ignorant himself.
Furthermore on the Election Day Ezenator was found visiting various polling stations in search of her name in the voters register when she knew vividly that she was not a registered voter. What an insult to democracy, and an insult to the other contestants and a disregard to the rule of law and the Osu paramouncy.

Nii Armah Ashitey “Ayeekoo! k3 Osu m3 eb)) Nortey, Nortey bu)) e h3”, you have exposed the weakness of are democratic system. The Rawlings’s and the NDC establishment has been brought to shame, the rule of law has been challenged and we believe real democracy and good governance is what we all advocate for. You have followed the core principles that the revolution was based on probity accountability and truth which has now eluded even the father of the revolution and the NDC party. The people you have toiled for and served, from Ex-President Rawlings, President Mahama, party executives have all stood aloof for this grand scheme to take place just to bring to an end a good servant who has his nation at heart.