MILLS SUCCUMBS TO ‘BOYS SCOUT HONOUR’

…As he confirms he is not ‘his own man’
Posted: The Chronicle Wednesday, January 28, 2009.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu
Political observers in the country have expressed the fear that President John Evans Atta Mills is gradually giving in to the perception being held by sections of the Ghanaian populace especially members of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) that he is not his ‘own man’.
Some, including the likes of former Presidential Spokesperson under President Kufuor’s administration, Kwabena Agyepong and NPP General Secretary, Nana Ohene-Ntow have started reading meanings and drawing conclusions into certain decisions that the President have had to take since assumption of office as President of the republic.
Key among the issues of reference included the President’s decision to revoke the appointments of thirty percent of government appointees from the local assembly level and the and the sudden removal of the Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), Major-General J.B Dankwah and the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Patrick Kwarteng Acheampong from their respective positions on forceful retirement.
These come against the backdrop of certain comments and reservations expressed by former President Jerry John Rawlings, who happens to be the founder of the ruling party of which Mills is the leader.
In all these instances, the sitting President, Atta Mills is noted to have taken action after former President Rawlings had expressed grave concern and reservations about the continuous stay in office by the affected individuals and group of persons since he doubted their commitments to the government.
This is what the two leading members of the NPP believe goes to confirm the fears the party expressed during the political campaign season, to the effect that ‘a vote for Mills is a vote for Rawlings’.
Under the current circumstance, they both believe that Professor Mills has virtually bowed to the whims and caprices of Rawlings since in their opinions ‘he is being remotely controlled’.
In an exclusive interview with The Chronicle, Mr. Agyepong said he was not the least surprised by the actions and inactions of President Mills since according to him, ‘he is still reeling under the shadows of Rawlings’.‘But of course how can Mills control things, the party does not belong to him, it is Rawlings’ party, we have said this long before, I mean we didn’t need this for anybody to prove anything.
The fact of the matter is, Rawlings formed his party out of the PNDC government, finished; it is his personal party that he formed and Mills cannot do ‘foko’ without Rawlings…’like some sort of ‘boys scout honour’.
Kwabena Agyepong noted that thus is evident in President Mills’ appointment of Colonel Gbevlo Lartey as the National Security Coordinator, saying ‘it means Rawlings has taken over security; that is his boy who commandeered the disbanded 64Battalion who visited all sorts of brutalities on Ghanaians’.
For him, the posture that former President Rawlings and the NDC government has taken is likely to affect the level of investment and interest businesses into the country, stressing that it has the tendency of driving away investors.
Instead of focusing on the nation, Mr. Agyepong emphasised that the NDC is rather engaged in pettiness whilst nothing is functioning in the country, with contracts having being put on hold.
He asked rhetorically ‘what is it that the likes of Tony Aidoo and Victor Smith are walking about and running riot and creating confusion’.
For him, the action of some NDC functionaries after the elections amounts to nothing but impunity.
The former Presidential Spokesperson thus had cause to warn ‘but they should know that nobody will allow them to do that, the country does not belong to them, they are going to run this country by the law, not by the law of one man; the country will be run by the laws of this country, by our constitution and not by the dictates of Jerry Rawlings’
On their parts, Nana Ohene-Ntow and the Editor-In-Chief of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr. who spoke on the Peace FMs ‘Kokrokoo’ Morning show also condemned the action of former President Rawlings since in their opinion, it sought to undermine the authority and independence of the sitting President in taking certain decisions that affect the nation.
According to Ohene-Ntow, Rawlings’ behaviour goes to confirm the NPPs assertion that Mills would be subject of his (Rawlings’) control when elected into office, but Kwesi Pratt disagreed with him.