Rawlings rants at Mills again

Posted: The Chronicle |Thursday, February 11, 2010

By Charles Takyi - Boadu

Former President Rawlings went ballistic on Tuesday when he brought the entire Mills administration to question. In his usual self, the former President could not fathom why after several criticisms, President Mills was still not firm in his decisions, and is allowing some of his men, including Ministers and appointees to have a field day.
Addressing a gathering of party foot soldiers and a number of parliamentarians during a reception held at his Ridge residence in Accra, Mr. Rawlings said - “I want Professor Mills to understand that, that seat at the Castle, that throne, I’ve had it before for 18 years. I want NPP (New Patriotic Party) to know, I want everybody to know, I’ve had it for 18 years.”

Furthermore, he said “I had no time to hold it – that you know, I’ve put my foot on it… and it’s like I’m grabbing it, don’t come and take it off me kind of thing. I had no time to even sit on it.”

He added “The way I consolidated my hold over the seat was actually to leave it alone and concentrate on the work that needed to be done…Nobody could touch it because the power was where productivity was – the power was where we were providing water, the power was where we were providing electricity, the power was where we were providing schools, etc, as we were empowering people.”

This was the reason why he said the other day that “the people he surrounded himself with, most of them have worked with me before”, saying “that’s when I said who born dog.”

Mr. Rawlings went bonkers when he said that during his days as President of the Republic, “none of them would dare do the foolish things (they are doing) around him”, asking rhetorically “I’m disciplined and I know Prof is a disciplined man, but why is he not putting his foot down to make sure the nonsense going on around him is brought to a halt? If I could do it why can’t he do it?”

“If he can do that, we will begin to see some change and if they are not changing, he should boot them out. If not, if not, he will go down with them. And if they want to take us with them, I’m afraid we will not go down with them”, he emphasized Mr. Rawlings complained about lots of developments in the party, warning that “ if we continued at this rate for another year, the third year would be difficult, and the fourth year would be very, very difficult.

We’ve lost one precious year; we’ve got one more year to prove that we can turn this thing round.”

One person who incurred the displeasure of Mr. Rawlings was one of Mills’ boys at the Castle, in the person of Ludwig Hlodze, who doubles as a Presidential Staffer and the National Youth Organiser. Mr. Rawlings accused the young and innocent-looking Ludwig of using the services of dispatch riders to go home.

“That Ludwig, who comes home using dispatch riders, look for somebody to film it and give it to Professor Mills and ask him what is Ludwig, that little twitch, what does he need dispatch riders to go home for?”, he asked rhetorically.

According to the former President, Ludwig goes home late in the night in the company of siren-blowing dispatch riders, disturbing and waking people up from their sleep. But the man described by Mr. Rawlings as a ‘little twitch’, Ludwig Hlodze is not the least happy about the former President’s reference to him.

This became glaring when The Chronicle contacted him yesterday for his comments about the allegation leveled against him by the former President. He vehemently denied ever using any motorcade or dispatch riders as Rawlings claimed. Ludwig, however, refused to comment on Rawlings’ reference to him as a ‘little twitch’, choosing to leave the man to his fate.

The former President did spare the sitting President either, asking Prof. Mills to put his house in order before matters get out of hand, before Ghanaians show NDC the exit, come 2012.