The Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) yesterday embarked on a massive demonstration in Accra to express its dissatisfaction with a number of challenges, prominent among which is the Woyome judgment issue.
The demonstration was attended by thousands of people from different political parties and institutions draped in red amidst drumming and dancing.
The demonstration started at about 10:15am at the Obra Spot, Kwame Nkrumah Circle and wound its way through Farisco, TUC and ended at the Hearts Park at about 1:30pm.
Some of the placards they bore read, ‘Atta Will Go’, ‘Atta Nie, Wayo Nie’, ‘Corruption Na Double Double’, ‘Reduce Petrol Prices Now’, ‘NDC The Gargantuan Family’ and ‘Wayo Beko Nsawam’.
At the Hearts Park, the group pointed out that the government, for the past three years, had failed to take care of the people’s wellbeing even as members of the Mills/Mahama administration lived in opulence.
“As a group, it has always been our humble opinion that governments are instituted for the welfare of the masses. Events in the past three years have however proven otherwise. Today, while the masses live in difficult economic times, members of the Mills-Mahama administration continuously display opulence and waste,” it pointed out.
The group said never in the history of the country had Ghanaians witnessed such spate of labour agitations and unrests, levels of insecurity, graduate unemployment and record-breaking corruption.
It said, “But in the midst of all these, what is appalling is the fact that, from President Mills down to the last person in the NDC, we are forced to accept that life under the Mills-Mahama government is much better than any other Government in our history as a country.”
The group said, “The obvious fact is that if there is indeed a better Ghana, then it is being felt by only the few ‘greedy bastards’ who are enjoying the largesse of state and profiting from the massive corruption which has been institutionalized by the Mills/Mahama government.”
The group noted that in the 2012 fiscal year, none of the social intervention programmes of government attracted an allocation of more than the GH¢58million that was given to Woyome who had no contract with government.
The group said SADA attracted GH¢30million, Capitation Grant- GH¢25million, Schools Under Trees- GH¢28million and MASLOC- GH¢35million. The group therefore said the loss of GH¢58million was a very serious matter.
Another issue, the group said, was the construction of a $20m party headquarters at Adabraka.
AFAG is demanding that Kwame Peprah, Board Chairman of SSNIT, comes clean in the role he played in divesting 61.1% of SSNIT shares in The Trust Bank.
“AFAG is therefore giving him a two-week ultimatum to come out or be exposed.”
According to the group, the demonstration would be the beginning of a series of mass actions which would allow Ghanaians to express their dissatisfaction with the insensitivity of the Government.
The AFAG demonstration comes a day after a group of NDC supporters petitioned President Mills to compel former government officials to cooperate with Economic and Organised Crime Office as it investigates the Woyome saga.
The demonstration appears to be the largest ever to be organized by AFAG.
When the demonstrators reached the multi-million NDC headquarters at Adabraka, they halted and hurled insults at the party for using the taxpayer’s money to put up such a mansion.
A platoon of policemen was on guard to provide security.
By Cephas Larbi
