Santorum: Afghans should apologize for 'overreacting'
AFPAFP – 12 hrs ago

White House hopeful Rick Santorum accused Afghans on Sunday of "overreacting" over Koran burning as he stepped up his criticism of President Barack Obama for apologizing over the incident.

The Republican presidential candidate said there was "no deliberate act, of disrespect" when US authorities at Bagram airbase north of Kabul apparently disposed of the Islamic holy books in a fire.

The United States rushed to condemn the burnings, and Obama apologized to the Afghan people for what he said was a mistake.

President Hamid Karzai went on television Sunday to appeal for calm, after an explosion of outrage over the burning resulted in dozens of deaths, including two US military advisers killed in Afghanistan's interior ministry.

Obama's apology in itself had "made it sound like there was something that you should apologize for, and there was no act that needed an apology," Santorum told NBC's "Meet the Press" talkshow.

"I think the response needs to be apologized for, by Karzai and the Afghan people, for attacking and killing our men and women in uniform, and overreacting to this inadvertent mistake. That is the real crime, not what our soldiers did."

Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak telephoned Defense Secretary Leon Panetta Saturday and apologized for the killing of the Americans, the Pentagon said.

Santorum's main Republican rival, Mitt Romney told Fox News Sunday that "with regards to the (Obama) apology, I think for a lot of people, it sticks in their throat.

"The idea that we are there, having lost thousands of individuals through casualty and death -- we've made an enormous contribution to help the people there achieve freedom, and for us to be apologizing at a time like this is something which is very difficult for the American people to countenance."

Santorum said he does "commend the president for his commitment of troops" in the counterinsurgency mission in Afghanistan, while Romney acknowledged the need for Americans to continue helping in the transition from US to Afghan control of security.

"We don't want to see Afghanistan once again return to a Taliban-dominated nation with Al-Qaeda and other training camps," he said.

A third Republican presidential candidate, Newt Gingrich, made more strident denunciations of Obama's apology, labeling him an appeaser and saying he was "deeply offended" that Obama didn't hold Karzai responsible for the killings.

"There doesn't seem to be any request for an apology from Karzai," Gingrich told Fox News on Saturday.

"And I frankly just think this one-sided process of apologizing for America has gone too far," he said. "Churches get burned in Nigeria, there are no apologies. Churches get burned in Egypt, there are no apologies."


http://news.yahoo.com/santorum-afghans-apologize-overreacting-184625656.html

johnie:

A third Republican presidential candidate, Newt Gingrich, made more strident denunciations of Obama's apology, labeling him an appeaser and saying he was "deeply offended" that Obama didn't hold Karzai responsible for the killings.

"There doesn't seem to be any request for an apology from Karzai," Gingrich told Fox News on Saturday.

"And I frankly just think this one-sided process of apologizing for America has gone too far," he said. [size=18pt]"Churches get burned in Nigeria, there are no apologies.[/size] Churches get burned in Egypt, there are no apologies."

Read the reactions of non-Nigerians to Ibori's trial:

http://news.sky.com/home/uk-news/article/16178254#CommentKey:cbaf9645-643d-475f-b398-626afde8b365

South Africans brand their ANC-led government clueless after the government apologizes to Nigeria:

http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2012/03/08/south-africa-apologises-to-nigeria?filter=all_comments#

South Africans brand their ANC-led government clueless after the government apologizes to Nigeria:


-----------------------------------
“We were the first to not allow Nigerians and it is proper that we apologise and we are not expecting the Nigerian government to apologise to us,” said Ebrahim.

what a po3s this GOVT is..............Our own GOVT has just humiliated us, the nation, in front of the whole world.....i'm sick at the thought we are run by spineless sheep....this should be a clear message to all SA People.....our GOVT is being raped by the 9ja's and they dont give a furk about you on the street.....Politics, Business and Greed is the order of the day.

There we have it...SA is the furken laughing stock of Africa....now it is official and for all to see

------------------------------------

Gosh whats wrong with this country!!!!! is the government really blind to the malady that these foreigners are causing? must SA always be beggin? who's apologising for the whole nation of nagerians that is here ruinin our country? just west street kempton park alone its lagos!!!....really whats wrong with this government??!!??!! its quite clear we must be africa's playground ende makwerekwere a a bona are so blloody rude and ungrateful!! we are truly a laughing stock...........i've always voted ANC and bcoz i'll never vote another party i will never vote again to have such a weak government that cant take a stand nxah!!! #so tired of foreignerd and particularly nigerians!!! when i walk down the street, i even forget im christian and cant help swearing when they start sayin hello sisi...hello sisi my foot...why cant they go back to nigeria!!....oh by the way its because we have a stupid government!!
----------------------

Dear fellow South Africans.

Let us just accept that we have a USELESS govt in power. For too long we have been living in denial. Our ministers are just too happy to occupy the positions they occupy. As long as they can go to all these corrupt African countries and be treated like VIPs it is all good for them. As long as they are heaped with all hypocritical and self serving praise by other African countries for being "good leaders" of the African continent it is fine with them and to hell with us.They don't give a damn about us - the people who put them in power. They don't experience the daily real life challenges we go through, they live in leafy surbubs and are driven around with three bodyguards and insulated from all the daily despairs and hardships that ordinary SAns go through. They have come to take their own people for granted. All they do is aspire for lofty ideals of "leading" Africa at whatever expense of their "own"people.

No wonder these foreigners, especially the Zimbabweans and Nigerians, never stop to call us stupid even though we never run away into their countries in our millions. Our people are today unemployed because of them. They do crime in front of us and say to our face there is nothing our government can do about it. Some of them even have the cheek to demonstrate naked in our country about things that have nothing to do with us hurling abuse to the very same weak people we call our "leaders".

This very yesterday hundreds of thousands of South Africans marched across the country demanding the govt to listen to their grievances. So far no official response has been issued by the govt yet they are so quick to issue an unnecessary apology to a useless foreign govt.

Our govt must remember one thing. One day is one day. The sad thing is that this government is unwittingly stoking the fires of xenophobic attacks that happened a few years ago. And should this happen I doubt if they will be able to quell it.

----------------

More comments here:

http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2012/03/08/south-africa-apologises-to-nigeria?filter=all_comments#

President Obama's Lavish Vacations Are Under Scrutiny Again
Yahoo! Contributor Network
By Tara Dodrill | Yahoo! Contributor Network – 15 hrs ago

This story comes from the Yahoo! Contributor Network, where individuals publish their unique perspectives on some of the world’s most popular websites.

COMMENTARY | President Barack Obama is very adept at side-stepping questions and diverting the conversation from real issues to partisan rhetoric. Earlier this week Obama sat down with ABC News St. Louis anchorman Larry Conners to discuss the "Buffett Rule" and again proved how out of touch he is with the American people. Once the interview turned to the topic excessive and expensive vacations taken by the first family, Obama's entire demeanor changed as he evaded the question, according to videos clips on The Blaze.

A president deserves to take a vacation with his family. White House travel is always heavily scrutinized and publicized. The frequent trips create an image of opulence at the expense of the taxpayers. President Obama's family vacations and state business trips should not also be a part of his campaign schedule. Perception is reality in the political arena. Every time the first family is photographed stepping off Air Force One, the trip is typically viewed as leisure travel by voters.

Instead of addressing the question posed in a forthright manner, Obama just stated that he feels the American people realize how hard he is working for them and that he is raising a family. Millions of adults also work hard and will have to eliminate or shorter family vacation plans this year. It is understandable that the president must travel on Air Force One with a full security force everywhere he goes. Security costs vastly increase when a president travels to public locations for vacations multiple times throughout the year.

When American families are cutting back on travel due to rising gas and food prices, President Obama should be considerate of the sacrifices millions of citizens are forced to make and adjust his travel plans accordingly. [/b]Statistics published by The Blaze note the [b]Obama vacation to Hawaii last year cost approximately $4 million. Before the family trip to Hawaii, the Obama's had already spent $10 million dollars of taxpayer money traveling to Vail, Colo.; Martha's Vineyard, Mass.; and Spain.

The anchorman's viewer-prompted questions concerning President Obama's vacations were valid and deserved far more than a brush-off response. Obama appeared to be more concerned about how many viewers had voiced concerns than the question which had also been posed by a many journalists during his term in office.

http://news.yahoo.com/president-obamas-lavish-vacations-under-scrutiny-again-153900010.html;_ylt=AjXRjWJfXAePqJ1x66xSkTrNt.d_;_ylu=X3oDMTRvY21rbzRuBGNjb2RlA2dtcHRvcDEwMDBwb29sd2lraXVwcmVzdARtaXQDTmV3cyBmb3IgeW91BHBrZwNhNzhlZjk4Ny0yZGI4LTM4YWQtOGZlNi05OTBmODk4ZmRkNjEEcG9zAzEEc2VjA25ld3NfZm9yX3lvdQR2ZXIDMWY2ZjYyNzEtODcxMi0xMWUxLWFiN2UtMjJmOTViOWY1YWEz;_ylg=X3oDMTNoNGY1MmVzBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDZTYxYTJhMGMtNDU5NS0zYzYzLTliNmItMDlmY2FjNGZhNDlmBHBzdGNhdANwb2xpdGljc3xkZXN0aW5hdGlvbjIwMTIEcHQDc3RvcnlwYWdlBHRlc3QD;_ylv=3

British Member of Parliament puts $16 million bounty on Obama, George W. Bush
The Daily CallerBy Jamie Weinstein - The Daily Caller | The Daily Caller – 10 hrs ago

British Lord Nazir Ahmed put a £10 million ($16 million) bounty on both President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush Friday, according to The Express Tribune, an English language Pakistani newspaper.

Nazir, who is of Pakistani heritage and a member of the British House of Lords, reportedly made the comments while at a reception in Haripur, a Pakistani city 4o miles north of Islamabad. Nazir told the audience that he was putting the bounty out for the capture of the American leaders in response to the bounty placed on Hafiz Muhammad Saeed by the United States.

“If the U.S. can announce a reward of $10 million for the captor of Hafiz Saeed, I can announce a bounty of 10 million pounds on President Obama and his predecessor George Bush,” Nazir reportedly said.

Saeed is widely believed to be the head of the Pakistani based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which was responsible for the 2008 attacks in Mumbai, India that killed more than 160 innocents including six Americans. After the 2008 attacks, Saeed denied being connected to the terrorist group. In April, the U.S. government announced a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture in connection to the attacks.

According to The Express Tribune, Nazir said the bounty on Saeed was a grave insult to all Muslims and that he would sell his house if necessary to obtain the funds necessary to pay the bounty he placed on Obama and Bush.

The Pakistani report was brought to the attention of The Daily Caller by the Middle East Media Research Institute.

http://news.yahoo.com/report-british-member-parliament-puts-16-million-bounty-211443991.html;_ylt=AvoLnWckaMk7UDwY_GQDJQf59XQA;_ylu=X3oDMTRvOG8wYTg0BGNjb2RlA2dtcHRvcDEwMDBwb29sd2lraXVwcmVzdARtaXQDTmV3cyBmb3IgeW91BHBrZwM5MDVlZDA1Yi1kYTc5LTNmYWUtOWU4OC0yYTZmMGQzZDgwNTYEcG9zAzEEc2VjA25ld3NfZm9yX3lvdQR2ZXIDMDU4MDBjMDAtODc0MC0xMWUxLTlmZGYtODE0ZWI4MmIzNjJm;_ylg=X3oDMTMxb3MyNzkzBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDYTc4ZWY5ODctMmRiOC0zOGFkLThmZTYtOTkwZjg5OGZkZDYxBHBzdGNhdANwb2xpdGljcwRwdANzdG9yeXBhZ2UEdGVzdAM-;_ylv=3

Berlusconi's 'bunga bunga' women testify at his trial
By Hada Messia, CNN
April 16, 2012 -- Updated 1502 GMT (2302 HKT)


Rome (CNN) -- Women danced in their underwear at a "bunga bunga party" held by Silvio Berlusconi, a woman testified Monday at the former Italian prime minister's trial on charges of having sex with an underage prostitute, Italian media reported.

Imane Fadil said women dressed as nuns removed their habits as they danced at the party in February 2010.

She was embarrassed and asked to leave the party, but Berlusconi persuaded her to stay, showing her around his villa and giving her gifts including a watch, rings and cash, she told the court, according to Italian media.

She said Berlusconi had promised her a job at one of his television stations, but it never materialized.

The hearing is the latest in a long-running case around dancer Karima el Mahroug, nicknamed "Ruby the Heart-stealer."

Prosecutors say Berlusconi had sex with her 13 times when she was underage and abused his power as prime minister to get her out of jail when she was held on suspicion of theft.

He denies the charges.

El Mahroug has said that she never had sex with Berlusconi and that she lied to him about her age, telling him she was 24.

Berlusconi acknowledged in an interview over the weekend that he had paid some of the witnesses but said there was nothing improper about the payments.

He said he had given the money to people who had been unfairly hurt because of their association with him.

"All of my guests have had only the fault of having been invited to dinner by the prime minister and have been swept into a colossal media lynching operation," he told the Italian newspaper Il Giornale on Saturday.

"Having the means, when I find myself in front of dramatic and touching cases, I don't hesitate to act, " Berlusconi said.

Ambra Battilana and Chiara Danese were also due to take the stand on Monday.

Berlusconi resigned as prime minister in November over his country's debt crisis, bringing to an apparent end an 18-year era in which he dominated Italian politics.

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/16/world/europe/italy-berlusconi-trial/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

15 April 2012 Last updated at 14:51 GMT

[size=14pt]Jacob Zuma to wed for sixth time[/size]

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma will marry for the sixth time next weekend, making long-term fiancee Gloria Bongi Ngema his fourth current wife, his spokesman says.

Mr Zuma is a Zulu traditionalist, and polygamy is legal in South Africa.

His spokesman, Mac Maharaj, said the private ceremony would take place in Nkandla in KwaZulu Natal province.

Mr Zuma usually takes one wife with him on official events, on a rotating basis.

The marriage will be his sixth, but he is divorced from one wife and another took her own life in 2000.

The BBC's Southern Africa correspondent, Karen Allen, says Ms Ngema - a businesswoman from Durban - is already a familiar figure at the president's side.


Mr Zuma, who became president in 2009, recently celebrated his 70th birthday and has 21 children.

A statement on the president's website said there would be no cost to the government for next weekend's ceremony, nor did the state pay for the maintenance of the four spouses' households.

Mr Zuma was acquitted of rape charges in 2006, though he admitted having unprotected sex with the woman, who was HIV-positive, showering afterwards in the belief that this would reduce the chance of infection.

In 2009 he fathered a child out of wedlock with the daughter of a senior football official.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17721296

Labour peer Lord Ahmed denies Obama 'bounty' remarks


A Labour peer suspended by the party over reports that he offered a £10m "bounty" for the capture of Barack Obama has denied making the remarks.

A newspaper in Pakistan quoted Lord Ahmed offering cash for the capture of the US president and his White House predecessor George Bush at a reception in Haripur on Friday.

The Express Tribune said he spoke out in direct response to a US reward being offered for the capture of a prominent Pakistani radical.

Hafiz Muhammad Saeed founded the violent extremist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is blamed by India for the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks in which 166 people were killed.

Labour moved swiftly to suspend the peer, pending an investigation.

"If these comments are accurate we utterly condemn these remarks, which are totally unacceptable," a spokeswoman said. "The international community is rightly doing all in its power to seek justice for the victims of the Mumbai bombings and halt terrorism."

But Ahmed complained that party chiefs had not spoken to him before announcing the move and challenged the party to produce evidence against him.

However, speaking from Pakistan, Ahmed admitted he had told the meeting that Bush and former Labour prime minister Tony Blair should be prosecuted for war crimes.

"They have suspended me? That's a surprise to me. I did not know," he said.

"If the Labour party want to suspend me I will deal with the Labour party. They will have to give me some evidence."

Asked about the reported comments, he said: "I never said those words. I did not offer a bounty. I said that there have been war crimes committed in Iraq and Afghanistan and those people who have got strong allegations against them – George W Bush and Tony Blair – have been involved in illegal wars and should be brought to justice.

"I do not think there's anything wrong with that," he said, adding that he was equally concerned that anyone suspected of terrorism should face justice as well.

The newspaper said the peer called the US bounty on Saeed "an insult to all Muslims".

"If the US can announce a reward of $10m for the captor of Hafiz Saeed, I can announce a bounty of £10m on President Obama and his predecessor George Bush," it quoted him as saying.

Lord Ahmed added that he would sell his house to fund it if necessary, the paper said.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/apr/16/labour-peer-lord-ahmed-denies-obama-bounty/print

Cameron celebrates, Merkel sulks as Chelsea triumph

May 21, 2012

Chicago: British Prime Minister David Cameron savoured Chelsea’s win over German club Bayern Munich in the Champions League final on Sunday after watching the deciding penalty shootout with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a summit in the United States.

“It’s not often you get the opportunity to watch a penalty shootout between an English team and a German team and watch the English team win,” Cameron told reporters in Chicago before a NATO summit.

“There are many great privileges in this job but to be able to do that with the German chancellor was a great moment – but we did hug and make up afterwards,” he said.

Cameron was photographed with his arms thrust aloft in triumph while watching Saturday’s final on television with other world leaders during a break in the Group of Eight summit at the US presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, on Saturday.

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (L to R) , US President Barack Obama, and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel watch the overtime shootout of the Chelsea vs. Bayern Munich. Reuters

In the photo Cameron was next to US President Barack Obama, with his mouth open in amazement, and Merkel, who looked disappointed.

Chelsea became the European champion when Didier Drogba made the last kick of the shootout in Germany after the match ended in a 1-1 stalemate after extra time.

It was sweet revenge for Cameron after he and Merkel watched part of Germany’s 4-1 thrashing of England at the 2010 World Cup on television at a Group of 20 summit in Toronto.

Cameron said he had to explain some of the finer points of Saturday’s penalty shootout to Obama “and he was beginning to catch up on the rules by the time it was over.”

“You’ve got the American president not fully understanding the rules of football, or soccer as he would call it, a very despondent German chancellor and, of course, another happy man in the room, which was the Russian prime minister (Dmitry Medvedev),” he said.

Chelsea’s success was built on the millions invested in the club in the past nine years by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

Cameron said the leaders had watched a bit of the game and then he had insisted they get back to their discussion of weighty global matters, including the euro zone debt crisis.

“I got everyone back in the room but when the penalty shootout started Angela Merkel drifted away and after trying to focus minds on what we were talking about I drifted away too, obviously suspecting that an England-Germany penalty shootout was going to be another difficult night for me,” he said.

“That is why you see me being quite so elated when Drogba put that great penalty in,” he said.

Reuters

http://www.firstpost.com/world/cameron-celebrates-merkel-sulks-as-chelsea-triumph-315778.html

I wonder who the guy sitting on the left is.

The new French president (sitting on the right) is not even moved!

I wonder if he is thinking: "why are we wasting our time with this when there are more important issues to discuss!"

Jacob Zuma
Portrait of a president

May 18th 2012, 16:38 by D.G. | JOHANNESBURG

UNLIKE Britain's queen, President Jacob Zuma does not often have his portrait painted. But a new likeness by a South African artist, Brett Murray, now showing at the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg, has the nation agog and the ruling African National Congress (ANC) frothing at the mouth.

In truth, hardly anyone had heard about the painting until the ANC issued a statement on May 17th expressing its "outrage" over the "disgusting" depiction of its revered leader and demanding its immediate removal from the gallery and the website of the only newspaper until then to give it any coverage. The portrait, the ANC thundered, was a violation of Mr Zuma's constitutional right to dignity and therefore illegal.

This sent South Africans rushing to the internet to see what all the fuss was about. There they found a stylised picture in yellow, black and pink of a bespectacled fully-dressed man, barely recognisable as Mr Zuma save for the characteristic bump at the back of his shaven head, looking sideways in an apparent heroic Leninesque pose, but with his genitals hanging out of his unzipped trousers. The painting, entitled "The Spear", is now splashed across the pages of virtually every newspaper in the land. It has just been sold for 136,000 rand (about $16,400).

Mr Zuma, who has four wives, two exes and 22 children by ten different women, was charged in 2005 with raping a struggle comrade's daughter, but was later acquitted. Two years ago a cartoon was published, depicting the president unbuckling his belt, about to rape a blindfolded "Lady Justice" being held down by his henchmen. Mr Zuma is suing the artist, Zapiro, South Africa's best-known political caricaturist, and the publishers of the cartoon for 5m rand. So the legal threats now being issued by the ANC are not to be taken lightly.

The ruckus has sparked off a lively debate over the limits of artistic licence versus an individual's right to dignity in a country where the freedom of the press is being squeezed. According to the catalogue of Mr Murray's exhibition at the gallery, the artist was simply trying to expose in a humorous manner the ruling elite's greed and paucity of morals. But Mr Murray has hit a nerve in a party not given to laughter when it is being criticised, however jokily.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/baobab/2012/05/jacob-zuma

Lawrence Summers, Obama's head of the National Economic Council, fell asleep today during a White House meeting. This would be funny normally, but considering he did the same thing during an economic speech by President Obama in February, it's hilarious.

Now, we don't really blame Summers, being in charge of fixing this mess has gotta be rough, but it doesn't inspire extra confidence during this crisis.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/24/political-figures-sleepin_n_169652.html#s20621&title=Larry_Summers

Members of the House of Representatives, doze off during the plenary session in which Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi delivered a policy speech at the Parliament in Tokyo.

VP Dick Cheney sleeping while his boss (Bush) speaks.

Former British PM, Gordon Brown naps as he waits to address the United Nation Security Council in New York.

Senator John McCain sleeps during Bush State of the Union Address.

Chinese delegates doze off during a session of the National People's Congress in 2003.

Bill Clinton caught dozing Martin Luther King Day celebration at the Convent Avenue Baptist Church in Harlem.

Woyome Arrested Again! It;s A Joke – NPP
By Daily Guide

The trial of Alfred Agbesi Woyome, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) financier, over the GH¢51.28million fraud perpetrated against the state in a judgment debt saga, yesterday took a dramatic twist when the state entered a nolle prosequi, which meant the state was unwilling to prosecute the case.

However, Mr Woyome was stunned when he was re-arrested and charged with willfully causing financial loss to the state to tune of GH¢51.28million and defrauding by false pretences.

Woyome, according to the prosecutor, made fraudulent misrepresentation to the state when he had no contract with the Ghana government.

He was standing trial with three other persons who were also discharged but were not re-arrested alongside the NDC financier.

Woyome has denied any wrongdoing and is on a GH¢20million bail with three sureties, but this time, he would not report to the police twice a week as was the case under the previous bail conditions.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) however was not amused by the legal gymnastics being played by Government and its leading members including Director of Communications Nana Akomea said the latest development was only a joke and a ploy to throw dust into the eyes of Ghanaians.

Earlier, Cynthia Lamptey, the state attorney, who was supposed to begin the trial yesterday as ordered by the court, informed the Fast Track High Court Financial Division hearing the case that she was entering a nolle prosequi on the matter after informing the court she had taken a statement from Woyome.

Samuel Nerquaye-Tetteh, a Chief State Attorney, his wife Gifty Nerquaye-Tetteh and Paul Asimenu, Legal Director at the Ministry of Finance, who were standing trial with Woyome, were consequently let off the hook by the Judge, Justice John Ajet-Nassan, in compliance with the state counsel's wishes.

Yoni Kulendi, counsel for Paul Asimenu, did not seem very convinced about the latest development and said defence counsel should have been served notice; but that did not happen and wondered what the state wanted to do. But the trial judge said he could not read the mind of the state.

However, Woyome remained uneasy even when his colleagues had left the court premises and was glued to his seat, making his supporters to wait around the court in the hope that the state would not bring any further action against their hero.

Their suspicions were confirmed when a few minutes later, the state brought fresh charges against Woyome.

Robertson Kpatsa prayed for bail for his client and it was consequently granted.

Ms Lamptey, who presented the facts of the case to the court, traced the genesis of the fraud to 2005.

She said in January 2005, the Government of Ghana invited bids for the rehabilitation of the Ohene Djan Sports Stadium in Accra and Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi as well as two stadia at Sekondi/Takoradi and Tamale.

She said at the end of the bidding process, a number of companies were shortlisted and invited to submit their proposals and among these companies were M-Powapak Gmb/Vamed Engineering & Co.

According to her, at the end of the evaluation process, the Finance and Evaluation Committee declared M-Powapak/Vamed as the most responsive and recommended them to the Central Tender Review Board but said before the tender could be received, the Government terminated the process.

The state attorney noted that in the course of the tender process, Vamed Engineering had assigned its right and responsibilities to Waterville Holdings (BVI) Ltd, adding that after the process, Waterville protested against the termination.

She said Waterville got the Government to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with it to commence the rehabilitation of Accra and El-Wak stadia and noted that the MoU was signed on November 30, 2005 and it required Waterville to engineer the fund for the project on behalf of Government of Ghana from the Bank of Austria Creditanstalk AG.

Furthermore, she stated that the money was supposed to be guaranteed by the World Bank's Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and explained that Waterville was also supposed to arrange bridge financing.

In addition, she said subsequent to the MoU, Waterville engaged M-Powapak, led by Woyome, to provide financial engineering services in respect of the projects and a formal contract for the rehabilitation for the Accra and El-Wak stadia was entered between the Government of Ghana and Waterville Holdings on April 26, 2006.

However, she said, even before the contract could be effective, it was terminated by the government due to the inability of Waterville to fund the project, among others, as contained in the MoU which formed a condition precedent to the contract.

Explaining further, the state attorney observed that Waterville initially protested the termination but eventually accepted the termination and proceeded to claim money and were paid a substantial amount which was acknowledged by Woyome in a termination agreement dated November 25, 2006, bringing the relationship between them to an end.

Ms Lamptey said the accused person, after receiving the money under financial engineering services, took advantage of the change in government and falsely represented to Government officials that the government owed him money for the contract with Waterville.

Woyome, the state attorney noted, had no contract with the government and added that Woyome claimed that as part of financial engineering, he managed to arrange a total of €1,106,407,587 for the government of Ghana through the Bank of Austria Creditanstalk, out of which he claimed he was to be paid 2% as fees.

Explaining further, she said investigations revealed that no such funds were made available for the benefit of the country from Bank Austria as claimed by Woyome and said investigations also revealed that he did not have any contract with government to provide any services.

She observed that the only arrangement with financial engineering Woyome had was with Waterville which services had been fully paid for and acknowledged by him in a termination agreement.

Ms Lamptey stated that based on these fraudulent misrepresentations, Woyome succeeded in getting the government to pay him an amount of GH¢51 283,480.59, thereby willfully and fraudulently causing financial loss to the state.

The case has been adjourned to June 12, 2012.
By Fidelia Achama

http://www.modernghana.com/news/399781/1/woyome-arrested-again-its-a-joke-8211-npp.html

By my pen, gun we won June 4; I made Rawlings a ceremonial head-Boakye Djan
By Myjoyonline


The rift between ex-president John Rawlings and his former confidante Osahene Boakye Djan appears to be elongating with both men marking the controversial June 4 uprising in their own unique ways.

[b]Whilst ex-president John Rawlings was grudgingly lighting the perpetual flame and damning government functionaries for corruption, to mark the day, Boakye Djan in a rather uncharacteristic fashion addressed followers on the tenets of June 4, his role and Rawlings' June 4 benefits.

The June 4 Uprising which was led by junior army officers in 1979 toppled the Supreme Military Council II under FWK Akuffo and undertook what they referred to as the house cleaning exercise.

Flt Lt John Rawlings who was then in prison for leading an abortive May 15 coup was released and made chairman of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council which ruled for nearly three months and handed over power to a democratically elected government led by Hilla Limann of the PNP.

In 1981 Flt Lt Rawlings toppled the PNP government and formed the Provisional National Defence Council- an action which many architects of June 4 consider as a betrayal of trust.

The June 4 uprising was supposed to be the last military intervention in the country.

The 81 coup brought about an unending animosity between Flt Lt Rawlings on one hand, and Rtd Major Boakye Djan, Kweku Baako Jnr and other key participants of June 4 on another.

33 years after the incident, during which Flt Lt John Rawlings won two elections in 1992 and 1996, the simmering tension between the June 4 architects does not appear to be ending anytime soon.[/b]

Boakye Djan who is the NDC Parliamentary candidate for Gyaman North at a rally said Mr Rawlings was merely a ceremonial head of June 4.

“If there was a single event that won June 4 that day it was my pen and my gun that won it.

“…I made Rawlings the .. Head of State and a chairman and I became the official spokesman. So I was official spokesman. So I was totally in charge.

He said the much touted slogan of probity and accountability which has been associated to Mr Rawlings was actually crafted by him.

He dared Mr Rawlings to leave the NDC saying he will return just like the Reform Party as well as the DFP did.


http://www.modernghana.com/news/399534/1/by-my-pen-gun-we-won-june-4-i-made-rawlings-a-cere.html

Where Does Political Corruption Start In Ghana?
RECOUNTING MY OWN EXPERIENCES TO PAINT A GROTESQUE PICTURE
BY OTCHERE DARKO

The purpose of this write-up is to draw the attention of Ghanaians to some major drawbacks within the ideas, thinking, motivation and configuration of parties in Ghana that seem to account for the failures of our current two dominant parties, in particular, and in the entire party system in Ghana, in general. This write up is based on actualities, and not on academic or research work. It is fished out of pieces of personal encounters. For obvious reasons, names of parties, of people and of places have been left out wilfully. Nonetheless, the write up attempts to bring out the weaknesses in Ghana’s political party system that need to be addressed, if Ghana and Ghanaians are to derive positive results from our current democratic dispensation. The piece does not seek to endorse any particular political ideology or philosophy. It merely says what is wrong with Ghanaians when it comes to joining and participating in parties, and no particular party is mentioned or implicitly targeted for exposure.

ONE COMMON CHARACTERISTIC OF THE GHANAIAN PARTY SYSTEM IS THAT WHEN IT COMES TO JOINING OR SUPPORTING PARTIES, GHANAIANS THINK ABOUT WHAT THEY, AS INDIVIDUALS, HOPE TO GET FROM THE PARTY AND NOT ABOUT WHAT THEY WANT TO DO FOR THE PARTY OR THE COUNTRY.
I have personally, in the past [but not now], been associated with a defunct political party and did occupy one of the top local party executive positions before one of the coups in the country and the political persecutions, hypocrisies and sycophancies that followed from it forced me to quit politics, [forever or for a time being, at least]. My experiences then, combined with what I see to be happening now, fully back the assertion above that Ghanaians join and support parties because of what they hope to get from the parties at the time they join them, or from the nation, if their parties gain power in some future, but not because of what they want to do for the parties or for their country. When people hold this kind of motivation, they naturally become susceptible to bribery and corruption to achieve their personal agenda.
As a concrete proof of this assertion, I recount here an experience I had in one of our recent “post-coups” Ghanaian elections. I had decided to throw my weight behind what I saw as the least of the “two evil-parties” in the constituency where I live now in order to stop the worse of the “two evil-parties” from taking over our newly created constituency. Of course, I was acting on the weight of pleas from a friend who was a member of this least of the “two evil-parties”. Using my own money, vehicle and public address system,[b] I mounted an intensive one-man campaign that helped immensely to record victory in my constituency for the candidate of the least of the “two evil-parties”. Then, after that, half of the youth and adults in that party that I campaigned for came to my house at different times to ask for all forms of financial consideration, simply because the party I campaigned for had won the elections and so I needed to do something for them, despite the fact that I had nothing to gain personally from what I did which I fully financed from my own pocket and not from their party’s coffers and, also, despite the fact that I did not personally have any form of relationship or acquaintance with the MP who won before I decided to throw my weight behind him. More specifically, two members of that party asked me after the elections to use my name to secure contracts for them in the constituency, because they believed that what I did entitled me to bid for contracts from the party at the constituency level. When I said I hated doing such a thing and would not do it, the two got angry with me, as if they believed that I was one of the “big men” in their party and, accordingly, they swore never to vote for the said [unnamed] party in the said [unnamed] constituency again.[/b] *Readers, just look at this kind of selfishness that takes place at the very grass-root of the party system! And yet we complain when the politicians steal or sell of the nation to outsiders for personal considerations. My experience recounted here should certainly remind readers about several other replications of this behaviour in recent youth actions of some parties in many parts of the country.

A SECOND CHARACTERISTIC OF THE GHANAIAN PARTY SYSTEM IS THAT THE PARTIES THEMSELVES, OUT OF NAIVETY OR OUT OF PURPOSEFUL MACHINATION, ENCOURAGE DONORS WHO DONATE TO THEIR COFFERS TO STATE WHAT THEY WANT FROM THE PARTIES’ GOVERNMENT IF THEY WIN ELECTIONS IN THE FUTURE.
This is as if to say people must demand something in return for the donations they make towards party’s finances. I am telling readers this statement as a fact which I am immediately going to support with circumstantial evidence. In one of the recent elections in “post-coups” Ghana, I decided to go the “constituency of my birth”, [as opposed to the constituency where I currently live], to see the political climate and development there. I visited a man with whom I was actively doing politics in the past in “the constituency of my birth” before “the dark days of Ghana’s democracy” commenced. I decided to donate a small amount of money to their party as an unsolicited gesture of goodwill. *[b]Two things happened that shocked me profoundly. This one-time party associate of mine, and now one of the “gurus” at constituency, regional and national levels of one of the current parties in Ghana, first asked me what I wanted from their party in return for my donation, if they won an election that was then impending. I answered that I wanted nothing. He replied that it was unusual now for a person to make unsolicited donation without demanding anything in return. The second “shocker” was that his party did not accept donations in cheques. He said he had been directed by the party’s constituency leader that donations had to be “in cash” and not “in cheques”. The possibility of cheques bouncing was not on a reason he gave. [/b]I leave readers to make their own guess and draw their own conclusion from this second “shocker” and tally it with their conclusion from the first “shocker” narrated in this paragraph.

A THIRD CHARACTERISTIC OF THE PARTY SYSTEM IN GHANA IS THAT GHANAIAN PARTIES LACK THE MECHANISMS BY WHICH THEY CAN INSTIL DISCIPLINE AMONG THEIR MEMBERS WHO WIN ELECTIONS AND BECOME PRESIDENT, VICE PRESIDENT, MINISTERS, MP’s AND OTHER POLITICAL PUBLIC OFFICE HOLDERS.
After a party in Ghana has become victorious in general elections, the party itself then becomes subordinate to the elected members and their appointees. There appears to be no effective mechanism that compels the President and members of his Executive or Members of Parliament to tow the party line, or stick to the party’s policies and election manifesto or be instructed by the party’s Chairman or Executive. This means that, after a party has won elections in Ghana and assumed the reins of political leadership in the country, the party’s relationship with its elected members’ reverses from one of “master and servant relationship” to one of “the old servants”, [formerly the elected members], becoming “the new masters” and its corollary of “the old masters”, [formerly the party executives], sinking to the position of “the new servants”. This “upside-down” and “downside-up” situation of post-election partisan development in Ghana is one main reason why after elections elected members soon become distant, arrogant, selfish and act pursuant to their personal interests mainly, rather than pursuing the party’s policies and agenda. In most other political party systems, whether one is looking at China or at America, the party, after a general election, continues to remain on top of its members, ordinary, or elected, or members subsequently appointed to public offices and continues to guide and control their actions to ensure that they stay in tune with the party’s policies and agenda. Here in Ghana, after being elected into office, the President and his Ministers do what they like, with their party virtually doing nothing to bring them into line or get them to heed public concerns. For the party system of democracy to work and ensure efficiency and moral probity however, parties must be on top of elected members and have in place, within them, mechanisms that allow the parties to constantly guide, control and discipline elected members, instead of waiting for the end of the terms of office of such public officials before the electorate decide their fates and those of the parties. Democracy, whether it is based on a one-party system or on a multi-party system, revolves around effective party mechanism. Accordingly, if the “party mechanism” of a governing party fails to exercise effective control over members of the Nation’s Executive and the Legislature who are elected on the party’s ticket, then that party has failed in its supportive role towards the Nation’s democratic dispensation. After all, it is parties that voters first consider when they are casting their votes, before they give consideration to candidates and their personality variables that come into play in voters’ range of preferences.

CONCLUSION:
[b]If Ghanaians and the Nation want to achieve the best from our multi-party democracy, then party members, from the grass-root level that forms the starting point in the stepladder of political corruption, have to be targeted, “monetarily” disciplined and modelled to play more politically constructive and facilitating roles that turn them away from politically degrading “money-harvesting” activities and gear them towards the pursuit of progressive party and national endeavours. This, among others, means party members, especially those at the grass-roots, have to be stopped from making personal demands on their parties and on politicians and should, instead, be guided to find ways to make their individual personal positive contributions towards both their party and the nation, bearing in mind that the more they “screw” their politicians, the more they encourage them, the politicians, to steal from the State to recoup such “losses” to them from grass-root “screwing”. Similarly, political parties should not allow themselves to be turned into “gold mines”; nor should they allow party and national election-times to become “harvesting seasons” for voters in their parties and elsewhere. Parties need to set the tone of, and obligation towards, acceptable party and national moral standards by installing and insisting on moral codes within their establishments. Again, parties, through their executives, must always place themselves above all party members including those elected to positions of State power, such as the President, his Vice and other members of the Executive, as well as those of the Legislature; and should not allow such members to be above party-disciplinary machineries.[/b]

CERTAINLY, GHANAIANS NEED A NEW POLITICAL AND PARTISAN MENTALITY THAT CORRELATES OUR NATIONAL DEMOCRACY AND VALUES AND PAVES THE WAY FOR GHANAIANS, IRRESPECTIVE OF THEIR PARTY IDEOLOGY, TO PUT NATIONAL INTERESTS FIRST IN ALL THINGS THEY DO TO ENSURE THAT THIS COUNTRY CAN TAKE ITS RIGHTFUL PLACE AMONG THE FAMILY OF TOMORROW’S SUCCESSFUL NATIONS OF THE WORLD.

SOURCE: OTCHERE DARKO.
[Posted on 7th August 2010]

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=187651

Atta Mills’ victory was rigged – Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings

The wife of the founder of the National Democratic Congress Mrs. Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings has accused the party of rigging the re election of President John Evans Atta Mills as the candidate for the 2012 elections.

During NDC’s congress last year, Konadu Rawlings failed to secure the top position of the party by accuring 3.01 percent of the total delegate votes whilst the incumbent President Mills secured the remainig 96.09 percent.

Speaking to students of University of Ghana’s Akuafo hall on Saturday, Mrs Rawlings attributed her defeat to the rigging of elections by party officials.

She was quoted as saying :

Even though we went to Sunyani, I didn’t want to break up the party so there a lot of things I kept quiet about. People who were not delegates were voting as delegates and I know all the delegates. More than a thousand or something were not delegates.

They voted so I let it be because if I want to deal with it means I should take the whole bunch to court. But I just decided no it’s not worth it. Let them steal it. If that makes them happy, let them steal it. But in my heart of hearts I feel sorry for the party I belong to because it was like cracking the party in the middle and for it was sad

http://spyghana.com/ghana-general-news/politics/atta-mills-victory-was-rigged-nana-konadu-agyeman-rawlings/

Samuel Nartey George says Disunity between Rawlings and Mills should be traced to Konadu

A member of the Government Communication team, Samuel Nartey George, has said that the disunity between the NDC founder, Jerry John Rawlings, and President John Evans Atta Mills should be traced to former first lady, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings.

According to him, Mrs Rawlings rather has problems with President Mills contrary to the widely held perception of disagreement between the two party leaders.

“I can tell you confidently that Mr. Rawlings has no problems with the President [Mills],” he said. “If anybody has a problem with the President then I believe it is Mr. Rawlings’ wife and her problem is simply that she lost an election when she wanted to be the President.”

The Government Communication Team member was contributing on the subject of the rift between former President Rawlings and his protege President Mills on Citi FM’s news and current affairs program, The Big Issue.

Mr. Nartey George cautioned that anyone working against the NDC in its bid to retain power will equally suffer the consequences.

“The NDC is the only vehicle that we have and all those who say they founded it or they came and joined it or will now come and join must bear in mind that all our actions must inure to the benefit of the NDC,” he said.

“Anyone, who chooses for his or her own parochial interest wants to stand aloft and push the NDC into opposition does that to their own detriment.”

Source Citifmonline Ghana

http://spyghana.com/ghana-general-news/politics/samuel-nartey-george-disunity-between-rawlings-and-mills-should-be-traced-to-konadu/

JJ’s List Of Traitors (1)

Kojo Boakye Djan & AFRC Members, first candidates

At the 30th Anniversary ceremony of the 31st December Women’s Movement last week, the 15th of May, 2012; former president and founder of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Jerry Rawlings minced no words in describing members of the Mills administration as traitors and turncoats.

The former military strongman told his audience that “we have always had to fight against one ‘enemy’ or opposition. If they can behave in a civil way it will be fair to call them opposition but seeing how they rounded up and jailed innocent people, terrorised and killed others, can we be wrong to sometimes describe them as enemies?

“This time however, we are fighting against two enemies – one the perceived enemy (referring to the NPP) and the other one the traitor (NDC). We cannot fight both at the same time and therefore one has to go”.

This is not the first time former president Rawlings has referred to close associates, colleagues and acquaintance as traitors and turncoats.

Whiles addressing an enthusiastic audience at the Accra International Conference Centre on the 5th of May last year at the launch of his wife’s bid for the NDC presidential slot, former President Jerry John Rawlings again referred to opponents to Konadu as traitors claiming, the party was made up of people with conscience and high principles and called on them not to allow themselves to lose those values. He said “the time had come for members of the NDC to swallow the bitter pill and oust members who had lost touch with the ideals of the party, insisting “NDC could only be brought back on track if “we change gear, until we change the driver…” Beginning from today we bring to our esteemed readers a lineup of friends, associates, acquaintances and family members of Jerry Rawlings who have fallen out with him because he perceives them as traitors who can be dangerous. Major Kwadwo Boakye-Djan the man who planned the coup that brought Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings to power in Ghana on 4 June 1979 and together with other junior officers saved J.J. Rawlings from possible execution by the Supreme Military Council (SMC II) of General Akufo for planning a coup in the previous month has been Rawlings’ pioneered traitor. Major Kwadwo Boakye-Djan was not only the best man at Rawlings’ wedding to Nana Konadu, but according to the New Africa Magazine, Boakye Djan was also the one who led the delegation that went to ask the hand of Nana Konadu Agyeman from her parents when the time came for Rawlings to marry her. Major Boakye Djan who said “our friendship grew by leaps and bounds” recalls how at Rawlings’ wedding to Konadu, he and Rawlings wore a tunic. They did not wear anything fanciful. They wore radical things and looking back, it was good”.

His crime for being labeled a traitor by his pal, Rawlings was because, at the height of the AFRC handing over power to the then president-elect Dr. Hilla Liman in September 1979, Rawlings and a section of members of the AFRC who had a change of mind were exploring the opportunity to abandon the handover arrangements and hold on to power, but Major Kojo Boakye Djan and the rest of the AFRC members scuttled that effort and it did not go down well with the former junta leader. The other reason, which was widely reported in the media, is the fact that after the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) chaired by Rawlings with Boakye Djan as Official Spokesperson eventually handed over power to Dr. Hilla Liman and his People’s National Party; Rawlings flatly rejected the resettlement package offered members of the out-gone junta by the Liman administration, but Boakye Djan and the rest availed themselves to it. The resettlement package included promotions/retirement from the military, undisclosed sums of cash, scholarships and bursaries to travel and study abroad so as to be reintegrated back into civil life to reduce any temptation on their part to disturb the command structure of the then collapsing armed forces. Jerry Rawlings has since then been referring to all his colleagues in the AFRC who had benefitted from the Liman’s government largess and who actually saved his life following his abortive and reckless May 15 uprising and arrest, as traitors. Amongst them include: Captain Kojo Boakye Djan, Major Mensah-Poku, Major Mensah Gbedema, Captain Kwabena Baah Achamfuor, Warrant Officer (II) Harry K. Obeng and Staff Sergeant Alex Adjei. The rest are, Corporal Owusu Boateng, Leading Aircraftman john N. Gatsiko, Lance Corporal Peter Tasiri, Lance Corporal Ansah Atiemo, Lance Corporal Sarkodiee-Addo, Corporal Sheik Tetteh and Private Owusu Adu.

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/artikel.php?ID=239849

JJ'S LIST OF TRAITORS (2)

Jerry John Rawlings, like his successor, former president John Agyekum Kufuor who averred in a television interview that he has no any regrets over his eight-year rule of the country, also believes he has acquitted himself creditably in his almost 19-year rule of the country.

Of course, in the case of the former junta head Jerry Rawlings, it is on record that in 1995 at a Church of Pentecostal conference at the International Trade Fair, he did apologize for “the excesses” of his June 4 and 31st December revolutions.

The Founder of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and former president of Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings has often been referred to by political pundits as an enigma who is both an asset and a liability to his party in its electioneering struggles since the birth of the Fourth Republic.

Some say he is an asset because it was he Rawlings, and he alone who won the elections for the party in the highly acrimonious 2008 presidential run-off. He is an asset they say because he draws the crowds for the party at rallies and makes the front pages, whether for the good or bad reasons.

Ever since his burst onto the political scene of this country in the late 1970s, 'JJ', as he is affectionately called, has had a problem virtually with all his comrades, appointees and closed confidants, including family members, be it in the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) or National Democratic Congress (NDC 1) and NDC 2 under President John Atta Mills.

Two weeks ago, whilst addressing the 30th anniversary ceremony of the 31st December Women's Movement, Jerry Rawlings described his protégé President Mills and his administration as 'traitors' and turncoats who can be dangerous than even the 'perceived enemies' in the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP).

He said [B]“we have always had to fight against one 'enemy' or opposition. If they can behave in a civil way it will be fair to call them opposition but seeing how they rounded up and jailed innocent people and killed others can we be wrong to sometimes describe them as enemies?

“This time, however, we are fighting against two enemies – one the perceived enemy (referring to the NPP) and the other one the traitor (NDC). We cannot fight both at the same time and therefore one has to go”.

As stated in part one of this article, this isn't the last time Rawlings will refer to close associates, colleagues and acquaintance as traitors and turncoats, and cited the best man at his wedding to Nana Konadu, Major Kojo Boakye Djan, the man who also led the assault by junior army officers to save Rawlings' life after his botched attempt at overthrowing the incompetent and corrupt military government of General Fredrick Akufo on May 15th 1979.

It was also indicated how Jerry Rawlings has also been in conflict with most of his colleagues on the AFRC whom he often calls traitors.

Among the next badge of colleagues, friends and appointees of Rawlings to have been tagged turncoats or traitors include: Captain Kojo Tsikata, his long time National Security Capo who is also a relative, Chris Bukari Atim, Sgt Daniel Alolga Akata Poree, Joachin Amartei Kwei, General Nunoo Mensah and W/O Joseph Adjei Boadi, all former members of the PNDC.

Others include Zaya Igbo, Paul Victor Obeng and the late Ato Austin. The rest include Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata, Dr. Obed Asamoah and Alhaji Iddrisu Mahama

Others who put up with the label, 'greedy bastards' prior to Mr. Rawlings lumping the whole NDC, a party he founded as traitors are: Mr. Ato Ahwoi, Kwamena Ahwoi, Totobi Kwakye, Kwame Peprah and Professor Kofi Awoonor.

The current Eastern Regional Minister and former special aide to the Rawlingses, Victor Emmanuel Smith; Fifi Kwetey, a Deputy Finance Minister and a former close confidant of Rawlings; Trade minister, Hannah Tetteh and Deputy Water Resources and Works and Housing Minister, Dr. Hannah Bissiw.

All the aforementioned individuals have one way or the other offered dedicated service to the former President but have now been conveniently tagged as traitors by Mr. Rawlings simply because they have chosen to demonstrate loyalty to then presidential candidate-elect and now president, John Atta Mills.

In the next edition of this article, read all about each and every one of the individuals mention above, their commitment and loyalty to the NDC and the leadership role of former president Rawlings, some time at the peril of their lives.

http://www.modernghana.com/news/398325/1/jjs-list-of-traitors-2.html

johnie,
this thread can't die like that.