Dear Sir,

Rejoiner To “Mills In Massive Abuse Of Office”

I write in response to a story captioned “MILLS IN MASSIVE ABUSE OF OFFICE”, supposedly written by a Prince PRAH and published on page2 of the Friday NOVEMBER 13, 2009, edition of “The Daily Searchlight” newspaper and reproduced on the “Ghanaweb” the same day.

But for the crude and unjournalistic manner “The Searchlight” tried to once more smear the President of the Republic of Ghana, and the fact that your publication gave a very wide publicity to a hitherto obscure and discredited publication whose stock-in-trade is to fabricate stories and smear high ranking political figures and public office holders, I would have treated that story with the utter contempt and disdain it rightly deserved, by completely ignoring it.

I owed it a duty of the highest order to clear the good name and reputation of the President, Professor John Evans Atta Mills, whose integrity and sense of fair play the very caption of the story under discussion sought to impugn, by setting the records straight.

I wish to state and do hereby state categorically that the President of the Republic of Ghana never ever gave me a letter of reference to be taken to the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), for me to be appointed as the Deputy Director of Corporate Affairs and Strategic Direction of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).

I applied for the position I presently occupy at the National Health Insurance Authority on the strength of my credentials and experience covering over thirty (30) years of professional practice in communications. I was interviewed by a strong team of five(5) top Management officials of the Authority for a considerable length of time and I was “ acquitted and discharged” with a job in hand.

The falsehood spewed by “The Searchlight” that “Eric Kwame Ametor walked into the offices of the NHIA with his application letter in one hand and a reference letter in the other” from President Atta Mills was palpably false and without an iota of truth in it whatsoever.

I challenge “The Searchlight” and the writer of the story, a certain Prince Prah to publish the full contents of the said letter which they claimed was issued to me by the President for the public consumption of the whole world.

What must really be of concern to all well meaning Ghanaians is the fact that a top official of an organization who must uphold the integrity and reputation of the institution he or she serves would stoop so low as to be such a willing tool in the hands of an unscrupulous Journalist whose only desire is to impugn the hard won reputations of others either because of envy or hatred or both.

Since taking office in January this year, and in pursuance of his avowed policy of being a father to all Ghanaians, irrespective of one’s political affiliations, President J. E. A. Mills has tried very hard much against the desires of persons in his own ruling party, not to tow the same wicked line of victimization that the former NPP Government meted out to public office holders perceived to be NDC sympathizers by sacking them from their employment for the simple reason that they are NDC. By this generous magnanimity of fellow feeling of President MILLS, members of the NPP still hold very highly sensitive positions in Government Ministries, Departments, Agencies and other institutions such as the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).

Within the National Health Insurance Authority where I presently work, it is a fact that with the exception of the Chief Executive Officer( CEO) who was appointed since the NDC came to office, all other senior officers whose appointments were at the behest of the former NPP Government have remained at post till this very moment.

Is it not most pathetic that any of these officials who have been so generously considered through the generousity and magnanimity of President Mills would hatch such wicked plans by filtering falsehood to the media, just to tarnish his hard won reputation and in the process hope to undermine the good standing of a fellow employee, just because I, Ametor-Quarmyne belong to the NDC?

As was stated categorically by “The Searchlight”, it was a member of the interview panel who gave them the false story to splash on their pages. For what motive?; I dare ask.

As I said at the beginning of this rejoinder, I would not have responded to such a trash in an eight page political newsletter of no merit and consequence, devoted to mischief making and political blackmailing, if the patent falsehood it published had not been given such wide and bold publicity by publication on your site.

I hope therefore that you would kindly give this rejoinder the space it deserves to disabuse the minds of your highly valued and esteemed readers world-wide, about the falsehood peddled in the said story against the President of the Republic of Ghana. Many thanks in anticipation Yours sincerely

ERIC AMETOR-QUARMYNE ACCRA NOVEMBER 17, 2009