By William
Yaw Owusu
Tuesday,
October 24, 2017
The Professor Kwesi
Botchwey Committee report has recommended investigations into circumstances that
led to the pocketing of campaign funds by the current opposition National Democratic
Congress (NDC) Eastern Regional Chairman, Bismark Tawiah Boateng.
The committee, which
investigated why the NDC lost miserably to then opposition New Patriotic Party
(NPP) on December 7, 2016, posits that Mr Tawiah Boateng has pocketed GH¢1
million that was meant for the campaign, and should therefore be investigated.
GH¢1 Million
“Eastern Regional Chairman
is alleged to be keeping some GH¢1 million meant for campaign funding,” the 65-page
Executive Summary of the 455-page report - which the NDC has kept like a state
secret - reveals on Page 28.
“Accusations of
diversion of campaign funds must be probed,” it recommended, adding, “There was
so much greed.”
Agenda 50-50
Mr Tawiah Boateng
was the NDC chairman, who supervised the party’s so-called ‘Agenda 50-50’ votes
in the Eastern Region, which is the home region of then opposition leader and
now President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The Agenda 50-50 was
a plan that was meant to share equally between the NDC and the NPP the total
number of valid votes to be cast in the region during last year’s polls -
whether by fair or foul means.
However, the NDC was
floored in the region beyond redemption.
Personality Attacks
As a result, the NDC
prosecuted its campaign in the region - which is a stronghold of the NPP - on
tribalism, personality attacks, particularly on Nana Akufo-Addo, and
name-calling.
In the end, the party
performed abysmally, losing the presidential election heavily and also losing a
significant number of seats in parliament.
Then incumbent
President Mahama managed overall 36.6% as against Nana Akufo-Addo’s 62.4% - which
contributed in making Mr Mahama a one-term president.
Interestingly,
President Mahama - contesting for the first time following the passing away of his
boss, John Evans Atta Mills - had recorded 42.0% in 2012 while Candidate Nana
Akufo-Addo managed 56.9% in the same region.
The NDC could also manage
only six (Afram Plains North, Afram Plains South, Asuogyaman, Lower Manya,
Upper West Akim and Yilo Krobo) out of 33 seats in the region, although they
had extra one seat in 2012 when the presidential votes were controversially
declared for Mr. Mahama by the then Electoral Commission chairman, Dr. Kwadwo
Afari Gyan.
That occasioned an
eight-month long legal battle at the Supreme Court.
Foot Soldiers on Rampage
In the course of Professor
Botchwey 13-member committee’s work on March 17, 2017, there were violence
scenes at Koforidua when it visited the regional capital to collate views of
the party’s members.
The party’s foot soldiers
wanted to prevent the regional executives from taking part in the meeting
because they accused them of pocketing campaign funds that thwarted efforts to
achieve the ‘Agenda 50-50.’
Dzifa Attivor
In July this year, Mr
Tawiah Boateng was on radio advocating for the prosecution of former Minister
of Transport, Dzifa Aku Attivor, by the new NPP government for her involvement
in the infamous Smartty’s bus branding scandal.
The NDC regional chairman
had said on Okay FM in Accra that “some
of these things contributed to the party's (NDC’s) defeat but nobody paid
attention to it.
“The Nana Addo government should not tell us
that because of witch-hunting they will let her go scot free. No! She should be
invited by the NPP government and explain to Ghanaians issues about the bus
branding.”
However, when he
came under pressure from Dzifa Attivor’s camp, Tawiah Boateng issued a news
release saying the media had ‘misreported’ and ‘doctored’ what he said on
radio.
“For the record, I
Bismark Tawiah Boateng, have NOT made any such statement anywhere. Obviously,
the news publication has been mischievously twisted just to create a wedge
between the former Transport Minister under President John Dramani Mahama and
my good self,” he denied in a rejoinder.
He added, “Nana
Akufo-Addo and the NPP made a lot of noise while in opposition that they will
jail NDC stalwarts and appointees when they assume power for alleged corrupt
acts.
Indeed, names like Alfred Woyome and Dzifa Attivor were always on the
lips of NPP communicators and party functionaries during the 2016
electioneering campaign. I therefore dared the NPP government under Nana Akufo-Addo
to carry out with that empty threat since I am very sure it will prove futile.”
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