Editorial: What Is The NPP�s Beef

Many concerned citizens are wondering why the New Patriotic Party (NPP), is disturbing the peace of the whole country with their calls on President John Evans Atta Mills to name those who Mr Kwame Pianim said attempted to bribe him. The party�s Director of Communication, after the publication of the said statement, issued a press release calling on the President to name the said officials so they could be arrested and prosecuted for attempting to bribe the President. As if that was not enough, the party�s members of Parliament also last Friday in a press release signed by its Chief Whip, Hon. Frederick Opare Ansah, challenged both President Atta Mills and Mr Kwame Pianim to furnish the people of Ghana with the identities of the persons involved in the alleged attempted bribery of the President. The Minority also called on the President to come out with measures to arrest those people since it was criminal to attempt to bribe the highest personality of the country; citing the criminal code Act 29 which criminalises both the giver and the taker of a bribe including attempted bribery since the President and Mr Pianim have both failed to report the matter to the police. In all these developments, one question that is agitating the minds of well meaning Ghanaians is why are members of the NPP getting worried over the statement made by one of its prominent members. Is it because Mr Pianim said President Atta Mills is incorruptible or is it because he said former President Kufuor was corrupt? From all indications, corruption would feature very prominently in the campaign for 2010 elections and the NPP know that their eight years record as government was nothing to write home about and the endorsement of their own man, would be a big plus for the President and the NDC hence their worry. One is even surprised that the NPP was crying wolf over Mr Pianim�s statement because apart from former President Kufuor�s own statement about corruption at Cape Coast, there were a lot of evidence which indicated that the NPP�s administration was corrupt. Ghanaians need no one to tell them how corrupt the NPP administration under former President Kufuor was. Why would former President Kufuor ask members of the public to produce evidence of corruption against any member of his government when he knew very well that was impossible. The credentials of President Atta Mills as an incorruptible man is no secret, it is known all over the country and the people of Ghana do not need the likes of Mr Kwame Pianim to tell them that their leader is incorruptible. After all it was not the President who declared himself incorruptible, it was Kwame Pianim, a leading member of the NPP and until recently the Chairman of the PURC under the Kufuor led NPP administration. If the party is in doubt, Kwame Pianim is not traveled, he is still in the country, they can discipline him if he refuses to name the bribe givers.