Former President Jerry Rawlings has taken on some New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) appointees stating that they should not be in office when serious corruption allegations have been made against them.
He mentioned the Board Chairman of the Ghana Water Company who is still in office at a time when serious allegations had been made against him over inflation of contractual figures and called for his interdiction pending the outcome of thorough investigation by relevant investigative institutions.
Touching on the Ghana Immigration Service, former President Rawlings also questioned appointment of the current Comptroller when allegation levelled against him years ago had not been officially investigated.
He was speaking at the National Cadres Conference of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), which was held on the theme: ‘Effective mobilisation for victory 2020- The role of Cadres’ on Saturday.
The former President noted that “though a court has ruled he should be reinstated with his benefits after the Service failed to investigate the allegation within reasonable timeframe, no effort has subsequently been made to interrogate the issues and bring final closure to the allegations of irregularity and misconduct.
“The Comptroller should have, nevertheless, instituted a probe to exonerate himself and identify those who were culpable in the alleged Chinese visa scandal, there is the need for competent team to be put in place to investigate the matter however late in the day.
“The appointing authority can appoint some of the numerous highly-qualified senior officers of solid integrity while the pending matter is thoroughly investigated, if the Armed Forces is on the march to ensure officers comport themselves with the highest of standards, there is no reason or excuse for other services not to do same,” former President Rawlings pointed out.
The former president dismissed accusations he had changed, stating that “it is rather those who have changed and retrogressed in the party’s values who are throwing most stones at me, I didn’t come here to give you indigestion, I want you to also know and understand where I come from, I am not the one who has shifted”.
FROM KINGSLEY E.HOPE, KUMASI
