The estranged founder of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) was copiously absent from the party’s manifesto launch for the 2020 elections, when the party held the event on Monday night.
Many party big wigs, led by the party’s Flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama were present at the University of Professional Studies main auditorium which was filled to capacity.
Mr. Rawlings’ latest antics have caused critics to suspect that he may have turned coat and was playing on the side of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) now as he is alleged to be enjoying juicy goodies from the Akufo Addo-led administration.
Others are of the opinion that Mr. Rawlings is still holding grudge against the NDC following the cataclysmic relationship he developed with the then Evans Atta-Mills following Rawlings’ alleged dissatisfaction with the Mills administration’s slackness to prosecute corrupt appointees of the John Agyekum Kufour-led NPP.
Another cross-section of political watchers think Mr. Rawlings was still smarting from the crushing rejection of his wife by the NDC when she attempted to become its flagbearer several years ago.
Meanwhile, just one day before the NDC manifesto launch, Mr. Jerry Rawlings had graced the ceremony for the acclamation of his wife, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, as the automatic Flagbearer of the National Democratic Party (NDP), a splinter from the NDC.
According to media reports, NDC is now divided along three fault lines – the Mahama faction, the Ahwoi faction and the Rawlings faction which are all working against one another in what may muddy the works of the NDC campaign to return to power in 2021.
Meanwhile, at the UPSA manifesto launch, the lieutenants of NDC flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama managed to frustrate reporters again, annoying many with rather rude dismissals and an excuse that they were not invited to cover the manifesto launch.
James Agyenim Boateng, a man notorious for disrespecting journalists was in charge of this firewall.
Widows Vow To Vote Out Akufo-Addo
The people whose monies have been locked up in microfinance companies collapse by the Akufo-Addo government, reportedly include some 760,000 widows and they have vowed to vote out “the wicked President.”
According to reports, some of the widows who had saved with the Gold Coast Fund Management Company think that excuses given by the President and his government for locking up their monies lacked common sense.
And therefore as many suffer, they are looking at organizing themselves and doing a class action against Mr. Akufo-Addo and his party on December 7th.
“I deposited my money there so that I could be doing withdrawals little by little to take care of my children. I have been evicted with my children from the house we used to live in. I can’t pay house rent. My husband died leaving me with the children to take care of. The money has been locked up for [two] years, accumulating interest. They don’t want to give me my money. There is no work to do,” one widow is reported as saying.
The Akufo-Addo government which collapsed many indigenously owned banks and financial houses in 2018, has not been able to repay many of them even though the government has constantly claimed otherwise.
Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduoum, whose bank, GN Bank, was demoted into a “susu” company by the NPP and then later collapsed, has since described Akufo-Addo as the “enemy,” who has disappointed many.
He has vowed to do everything to ensure that ‘enemy Akufo-Addo’ also loses the Presidency.
Dr. Nduom, an entrepreneur who flourished during the Mills/Mahama era has also been the Founder of the Progressive Peoples Party and has since its founding been the life-long Flagbearer of the party.
However, this year, Mr. Nduom is hanging his boots in what could be attributed to the thorough victimisation from the Akufo Addo administration.