Minister Flays Rawlings

FORMER PRESIDENT Jerry John Rawlings, who for many years had been portrayed as �untouchable� within the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has recently been attacked by party members including, Deputy Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Dr. Omane Boamah, for supposedly humiliating the wives of some unnamed gurus of the ruling party. Speaking at the 8th National Delegates� Congress of NDC at Tamale, former President Rawlings launched into tirades at his colleagues, lamenting that whilst his wife was running around the country with a 7-month-old pregnancy to inaugurate the women�s wing of the party, wives of his contemporaries were busily taking care of their finger nails, doing pedicure and manicure. �Where were some of our wives? Were some of them not taking care of their finger nails and dealing with their pedicure?� Former President Rawlings quizzed amid deafening cheers from his numerous disciples in the auditorium of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) in the Northern Regional capital, Tamale, on Saturday January 16. Ex-President Rawlings was reacting to comments made by the Minister for Communications, Haruna Iddrisu, who had described the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) military junta, led by the ex-president, as a �dictatorial, autocratic and tyrannical regime�, whilst commending Rawlings at the same time for the transformation from a military ruler to a constitutionally-elected Head of State. �Someone stood over here and talked about me leading a military, dictatorial and tyrannical regime. At the time when he was 10 years old and Liman�s regime used their intelligence vehicle and using some of our military personnel under the supervision of the Gonja Chief, who is now the Council of State elder, Nabila.., my wife was 7 months pregnant and they run their car into the back of her car, refusing to let her get out and see her legal officers,� former Rawlings recounted. He added: �We have been through so many difficult times so that when some of our lesser or junior colleagues want to make some of these allegations or describe us in this manner, I think they better go and do some historical research properly�. However, the NDC founder�s comment has since been frowned upon by Dr. Omane Boamah, Deputy Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, who described it as unfair and an embarrassment to the wives of those who stood and were hand-in-hand with him during the era of the PNDC military junta. In an apparent show of abhorrence for Rawlings� statement on Metro TV�s �Good Morning Ghana� programme last Tuesday, Dr. Boamah indicated that some of the people like Capt. Tsikata whose wives were described in derogatory manner by the NDC founder would not be happy with him because of the disparaging pronouncements. NDC party insiders say the power and stranglehold of ex-President Rawlings on the ruling party, is waning fast, giving every Tom, Dick and Harry in the NDC the chance to openly condemn him without fear of reprisals. Others are however of the opinion that the NDC founder is beginning to bounce back to his �domineering and untouchable status� with the election of many of his loyalists at the Tamale congress for party positions.