|
Use proper channels for investigation- NPP official
cautions
Sunyani(B/A), Sept. 4, Ghanadot/GNA – Mr. Anthony K. Kusi, Brong–Ahafo
Regional Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), on Friday
condemned the manner and procedure used by some state
institutions to invite officials of the NPP administration to
answer questions on issues pertaining to their conduct and
activities while in office.
“The way they invited people for questioning seemed more of
using military tactics rather than civilian approach,” he said
and cited the case of Mr. Asamoah Boateng, former Minister of
Information and others as an example.
“When the NPP was in power we did not invite any municipal or
district coordinating director for questions as the NDC is
doing. Although Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata, Mr. Victor Selormey of
blessed memory and Mr. Dan Abodakpi were incarcerated during our
time, they were all found guilty by a competent court of
jurisdiction,” he added.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Sunyani,
the NPP secretary said the way the Bureau of National
Investigations (BNI) invited certain members of the NPP
government for alleged wrongdoing and misconduct was uncalled
for.
Mr. Kusi said such actions by the NDC only smacked of political
witch-hunting and personal vendetta and that had the dangerous
tendency of breeding divisions among the people, and undermine
efforts to stabilize democracy in the country.
“Future governments will be tempted to adopt similar methods to
victimize and criminalize their political opponents,” he stated.
The NPP secretary noted that the NDC government “may mean well
in seeking to consolidate the country’s democracy and enhancing
transparency and accountability by such efforts, but they may be
painting the wrong picture as such methods seemed more
intimidating, harassing and implicating, apart from tarnishing
the hard won reputation of such individuals.
“I had a similar experience two months ago. It was a Friday and
I was on a bus from Accra to Sunyani when I received a call at
around 2300 hours from someone who claimed to be an official of
the BNI who wanted to speak to my regional chairman. But the
chairman was outside the country. He refused to identify and
introduce himself when I demanded, but asked me to report to the
headquarters of the BNI in Accra the following morning. How can
this be when I had already started this long journey and was
mid-way through and would arrive at dawn,” he queried.
Asked whether President Atta Mills was truly living by his much
touted rule of law mantra?” He answered that there was nothing
like rule of law in Ghana today and referred to a catalogue of
recent violent clashes and cases of assault among a group of NPP
and NDC thugs, which took place in Sankore in Asunafo South
Constituency of Brong-Ahafo.
Mr. Kusi said in those cases all the suspects were walking
freely in the streets of Sankore as no prosecution had taken
place.
“In one of these cases, a saloon car of one Kwaku Kyere, an NPP
activist, was smashed by the thugs, one Saturday in November
2008. His car tape, mobile phones and cash sum of GHC1,500 were
stolen. Although some arrests were made at the beginning no
prosecution took place on this case and the suspects went free.
“Beyond all possible imagination is the fact that the police in
the district have continued to lie on the airwaves as to the
real state of affairs at Sankore. Although Sankore has a police
post, issues pertaining to these thugs are always referred to
the district headquarters for action, which always affords the
thugs enough time to beat and destroy before running to their
hide-out,” he stated.
The Regional Secretary appealed to the police to avoid taking
sides on issues into which they have not delved, and called on
the President to call to order appointees found to be using
their positions to trample upon the rights of the people they
are to serve.
Mr. Kusi appealed to the law enforcement agencies to ensure that
law breakers were dealt with to serve as deterrent to others and
for peace to prevail and urged NPP members and sympathizers to
stay calm and avoid falling into trouble fomented by their
opponents.
Touching on the setting up of a commission of enquiry into the
activities of the Ghana @ 50 Secretariat, he said the government
had the authority to set up the commission to investigate
alleged acts of wrongdoing, but the commission was obligated to
use proper channels in its modus operandi.
“We expected that a team of auditors would be commissioned
instead by the President of the Republic to independently
scrutinize the Ghana @ 50 celebrations and the findings made
available to the President for final action to be taken but this
wasn’t so. We do not like the idea that a group of persons come
in and mismanage affairs of government no matter one’s political
affiliation but we expect the right thing to be done,” he
stated.
GNA
|
