Leave Kufuor Alone

By William Yaw Owusu

Saturday April 19, 2010
The office of Former President J.A. Kufuor says Mr. Kwame Pianim should mind his own business and leave the ‘gentle giant’ alone.

Mr. Pianim is quoted by the Africawatch Magazine as saying that Former President Kufuor once telephoned him while he (Pianim) was serving as Chairman of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), over some proposed increases in tariffs and accused him of working for the then opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

But Pianim reportedly took offence at the ex- President’s remark and pointed out to him that he Mr. Kufuor worked under the PNDC regime, the forerunner to the NDC, when he, Mr. Pianim was suffering under the same regime.

Reacting to Pianim’s comment, Mr. Frank Agyekum, Kufuor’s Spokesperson, in a telephone interview with the Daily Guide, said “I do not see where this is coming from. What is Mr. Pianim up to? What is he trying to prove? What he did does not serve any purpose. The comments made are unwarranted. There are a lot of important things happening in this country that we all need to talk about and build consensus for the country to develop and the Ex-President will not be distracted in anyway.”

Mr. Agyekum said that Ghanaians were currently faced with economic hardship, increases in tariffs and how to make a decent living, adding “these are some of the things that Mr. Pianim should help to address. If he has something against the Ex-President then that is up to him but I know very well that His Excellency Mr. Kufuor does not harbour any ill-feelings against anybody.”

On the issue of the Ex-President perceived to be backing a particular candidate in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearership race, Mr. Agyekum said “the Ex-President is a human being. He definitely will have a candidate he supports but what is not good is for him to openly declare his support for one of the candidates.”

Concluding, the former president’s spokesperson noted” “It is not a crime for the Ex-President to openly support a candidate. Mr. Pianim himself openly supported another candidate and he did not see anything wrong with that.”

Also see: www.dailyguideghana.com