It is becoming glaringly clear to the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) that their chances of coming back to power are fast dwindling and to save themselves from the imminent third electoral defeat, party stalwarts have resorted to finding fault with anything that is seen as projecting the ruling party.
Banking their hopes on the now non-existent power crisis, the NPP is fast losing their hold on the corruption card that appeared to be the only weapon left to defeat the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the only thing left now is to discredit any positive news on the NDC’s achievements.
NPP’s Communication Director, Nana Akomea, who has no message to offer Ghanaians as an alternative to the NDC’s sterling achievements, wants Ghanaians to believe that Ghana’s good ranking in the recent Corruption Perception Index was attributable to civil society organizations and other individuals instead of the Mahama administration.
A latest Corruption Perception Index ranked Ghana 56th out of 168 countries in the world with a score of 47.
The figure shows a slight improvement in the fight against corruption in the sub-region as against figures from previous year. It further singled out Ghana and some African countries to have inched up in the fight against corruption in the sub-region.
This achievement, according to the NPP, is the result of the works of Anas Aremeyaw Anas, the president of Tiger Eye Private Investigations, private investigative, who doubles as a journalist, Occupy Ghana and Imani Ghana.
Exposing his disappointment at the performance of the NDC government in the fight against corruption, Nana Akomea said the good report “amounts to a fantasy, a mere fiddling while Ghana burns from corruption and a poor attempt by President Mahama’s government to tickle itself and laugh.”
This recent comments come in the wake of the NPP’s admission that, they have nothing more to show for their ability to take over from the NDC as Nana Akufo- Addo, their flagbearer, goes round pleading with Ghanaians to give him a chance to rule Ghana before he finally retires from politics.
The NPP’s hue and cry is all an indication of a crest-fallen, divided party that has lost all it can use as a weapon to overturn an obviously imminent victory for President Mahama, whose developmental projects have endeared him to the majority of the people.
President Mahama, during the recent presidential press conference, put it on record that the NDC government is the only regime that has put its own members before the courts to stand trial for suspected cases of corruption, something former President Kufuor considered politically-suicidal.
To Mr. Kufuor, prosecuting a member of the NPP was going to kill the party’s electoral chances but President Mahama made it clear at the press conference that, the era of prosecuting only ex-government officials when they are out of power, was gone and that he was going to fight corruption from within even if that was going to cost the party votes.
Ex-President Kufuor’s ant-corruption stance represents that of the current flagbearer, Nana Akufo Addo who has worsened by fighting those who try pointing out acts of corruption by party leaders and the examples are evident to all.
Beleaguered Chairman of the NPP, Paul Afoko, spoke about corruption in the party, when he detected and exposed prevailing corruption within the NPP. He was sacked for making that move.
Kwabena Agyapong also got a sack for joining in that crusade to expose corruption within NPP, as well as Sammy Crabbe and all executives who supported them.
This is how NPP fights corruption a la Kufuor-style. Don’t expose any corrupt person among your colleagues because it will kill the party but go after your opponents at least offense.