The saying is “show me your friend and I will tell
you your character”. It is also said that “birds of the same feathers
congregate together”. When we were in school, anytime a teacher makes a
grammatical error, one of the students will shout, “bullet” and another will
respond “take cover” and everyone will pretend to run away from the unseen
enemy.
On Tuesday, 23rd April, 2013, the
President’s lawyer, Tony Lithur took us back to the days of D.C.Kwakye when in
congratulating Dr. Bawumia on his new appointment with the African Development
Bank (ADB), he made this unpardonable grammatical slip, “You have been asked to
RETURN BACK to your job”.
On sober reflection, I asked myself what legacy the
NDC wants to leave for our children. You will recall that a few months ago, the
Women’s Organizer of the Nefarious Destructive Cancer, Anita de Souza had made
the same grammatical slip. I wrote a piece on that and received hefty blows
left and right from core members of the NDC.
Yesterday, it was Anita de Souza; today it is Tony Lithur. Tomorrow, it
might even be the …….
Is “return back” the legacy the NDC wants to leave
for the youth of this country? Knowing the way the NDC operates, it will not be
a surprise to see “RETURN BACK” creep into our dictionary, albeit through the
back door. After all, one of the Deputy Ministers is on record of having said
that if you see a goat, say you have seen a cow and if you hear the sound of a
mosquito, say you have heard the sound of a helicopter.
Yes, this reminds me of another thing. It is the
consistency with which Counsels for both the Ist Respondent and the Second
attribute the “defects” in the Pink Sheets to either “administrative” or
“clerical” errors. Is return back an administrative error?
Afari Djan should be committed to prison: The
Supreme Court made an order to all parties in the on-going petition to make
their presentation in the form of sworn affidavit. The petitioners have
responded but the EC and the First Respondent have not attached any document to
the petitioners.
Readers should recall that the EC had filed a writ
before the start of hearing to allow it to provide the documents after the NPP
has closed its case. That was rejected by the Court. Is this another way of
achieving this nefarious plan which it couldn’t get in the open through the
back door?
Comments
by Asiedu Nketiah and “Sir John: I see everything
wrong with attempts to gag the General Secretaries of the two litigating
parties from commenting on proceedings of the Supreme Court at the end of
sittings. The people love those comments and any attempt by whatever power will
not do the public any good. The
repetition of questions and answers make the proceedings very boring and the
people need some form of fun to let out their pent up feelings. In fact the two
characters usually cut a comical picture of themselves when they are
interviewed. They sort of serve as comic relief. Yes, they do for the duo
present different dimensions to an otherwise boring session. They view the
proceedings from their own fast diminishing prospective. So whatever they say
is not based on the reality on the ground but what they want to hear and see.
They are entertainers and they have been living up to their assigned roles. I
give kudos to the duo of Asiedu Nketiah and Sir John to continue doing what
they know best.
Failure
of Presiding Officers to sign Pink Sheets: Yes, a
Presiding Officer can determine the outcome of an election if he/she does not
sign the declaration paper. The fact that an agent signs or doesn’t sign the
Pink Sheet will not invalidate the result of the election. But if a Presiding
Officer goes on that tandem, the results will be annulled.
What gives legitimacy to an election is to have it
gazetted by the Returning Officer. The Law makes it mandatory for the
Presiding/Returning Officer to write his name and then sign/append his/her
signature in the appropriate columns. If they are not important, why are the
columns provided?
Can you write an application without your name and
signature? How can they identify the
applicant? Again, can a Presidential Directive announcing the reshuffle of his
Cabinet be enforced if there is no signature of the President or the person
mandated to issue the directive? Can an appointment of a person be validated if
it does not have the signature of the employer or the officer designated to
sign the appointed letter?
Is it possible to withdraw a colossal sum of money
from the State Coffers without the signature of the Accountant General? How can
a Judgment be enforced if it does not have the signature of the Justice who
gave the verdict? If a contract does not have the signatures of the various
parties entering into the agreement, it is unenforceable.
So if a Presiding/Returning Officer does not sign
the blue sheet or declaration sheet, it renders the results invalid. This is as
simple as ABC.
At Polling Florensa Hotel A and B Polling Stations
near Alhaji, the Polling Station Officers and the Police on duty drove away the
Polling Agents of the various political parties while they filled in
particulars which had to be entered into the respective columns before the
start of polls. They were only allowed to go to their observers’ posts just
before election started. Under such circumstances, how do you expect the agents
to know what was written on the pink sheets?
We should also not overlook the fact that in some of
the polling stations, counting and recounting took much time to complete. Some
of the stations finished the counting and recounting after 10pm. The agents of
various political parties were very tired and just signed the declaration forms
without bothering to find out if the writings in the various columns conform to
statutory regulations.
Will a transcript sent from an Institution to
another be accepted if it does not bear the signature of the Registrar or the
person designated to do so? Again, how will you categorize a Certificate,
Diploma or Degree which does not have the signature of the awarding
institution? If such Degree/Diploma were to be presented to the office of the
President, would it be accepted?
Appointment
of Dr. Bawumia : Mischief was the prevalent motif on the
mind of the Editorial Board of the “Ghanaian Times” when it came out with its
lead story that the Running Mate of the Presidential Candidate of the NPP in
the December, 2013 Presidential Election has been offered appointment by the
ADB. There couldn’t have been any other reason apart for the one enumerated
above.
In the first
place the timing was wrong. Since when did the Ghanaian Times get the
information of Dr. Bawumia’s appointment? Why did the paper announce the
appointment when Dr Bawumia was giving his testimony at the Supreme Court? By
that publication, the paper sought to create the impression that Dr Bawumia has
realised the hopelessness of the NPP’s petition before the Supreme Court and
wants to jump ship midstream.
True to type, papers in the NDC’s stable took up the
cue and gave their own connotation to the appointment. For example, Kwadwo Adu
Asare, the “deposed” MP for Adenta was on air to allude to the fact that it was
Dr Bawumia himself who applied for the position. This is a blatant lie, and I
dare Kwadwo Adu Asare and members of the Ghanaian Times Editorial Board to come
out with concrete evidence if they are men and women of conscience.
What these hatchet men and women deliberately
refused to state was the fact that Dr. Bawumia, being a golden fish has no
hiding place. The meritorious service rendered by the Running Mate to the NPP
Candidate in the December 2012 Presidential Election is verifiable and
indelible. That could not have been overlooked. The good work done by this whiz
kid to revitalize the economy of Zimbabwe was what has opened a new chapter of
opportunity for him. He is being sent to achieve similar feat in Uganda whose
economy is in the doldrums as a result of a civil war in the country.
I t must be made abundantly clear to the Nefarious
Destructive Cancer and its hired press that Dr. Bawumia did not apply for the
position which has been offered him by the ADB. “If a child washes his hands
well, he eats with kings”. It is also said that it is the way a child stretches
his hands that meat is given to him/her. Dr Bawumia has dined with angels and
the latter are appreciating him with this appointment. He is yet to make his
position on the appointment known. The
PHD syndrome must stop so that sanity prevails.
Orchestrated
attempts to manipulate the December 2012 Elections:
The so-called “administrative” and “clerical” errors” in the 2012 Presidential
Election are nothing but calculated and well-rehearsed collusion between the
NDC and the Electoral Commission to manipulate the results in favour of the
former.
The first attempts aimed at cheating occurred when
the EC, supported by some misguided officials at the Ghana Education Service
decided to do away with the service of teachers during the Registration
Exercise. All members of the NDC who spoke on the issue supported the stance.
I had earlier on warned our party, the NPP of the
NDC’s attempt to cheat in the election by recruiting and training some people
to be used to manipulate the 2012 Elections.
That move was co-ordinated by Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and a man I
initially referred to as “wofa” but whom I later came to know as Yaw Boateng
Gyan, National Organizer of the Nefarious Destructive Cancer. I had verbal
exchanges with some members of the NPP who did not believe me. But the facts
are there and cannot be hidden.
I shudder to think of how the same “administrative”
and clerical mistakes could be committed by EC’s officials especially Presiding
Officers at different polling stations in the country. In an examination if a
group of students make the same mistakes, it gives room for the examiner to
suspect foul play. The officials were purposely trained to leave those columns
blank so that they would have room to manipulate the results. If they were
caught they would attribute it to “administrative lapses” as are being alluded
to by Counsels for both the President and the Electoral Commission.
How can the EC talk of genuine mistakes when it did
away with the services of teachers who have since the beginning of the Fourth
Republic been used for both the Registration and voting exercise in the
country? That argument is not tenable and could only be made by a leader of the
blind. And I wonder if Afari Djan is physically blind. He could have been at
first but now he is not. He does not wear his glasses in court nowadays. I
thank God that the scales have fallen off his eyes and he has seen the light.
But he has to do penance by telling the truth the way it is.
What was on the EC’S mind when it did away with the
services of experienced teachers and replaced them with novices? Does the EC
have any reason to talk about inefficient and untrained staff at this time? I
do not think so.
Let me ask Afari Djan and Quarshie Idun this simple
question. If they are able to answer it satisfactorily, I will be satisfied. In
the respondent filing and submission of the affidavit, did it include the
signature of the respondent or his accredited representative?
In announcing John Dramani Mahama as
President-Elect, did the declaration sheet have the signature of Dr. Kwadwo
Afari Djan? If it did not have the signature, on what basis will the EC fault
the evidence presented by the petitioners?
But before I end this piece, will somebody tell me
whose error is administrative and whose own is clerical? From the available
evidence adduce before the court of public opinion, Tony Lithur, President
Mahama’s lead Counsel and husband of President Mahama’s Minister of
Discrimination made the “Administrative” errors whilst Anita de Souza’s own can
be described as “clerical”. You want to
contradict me?
I shall be back. Stay tuned.
