I will be ruthless with corrupt appointees -Mahama

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, has vowed to deal ruthlessly with corrupt government appointees and public servants in his second coming through the ‘Operation Sting’ he hopes to launch.
According to him, any appointee who will be caught up in the web of ‘Operation Sting’ would have him/herself to blame, because, “I am not going to be a clearing agent for my ministers when they have involved themselves in corruption.”
According to him, it would be a requirement of all who serve in his government to, not only declare their assets, but have those asset declarations published and audited by the Auditor General, adding, “I will drastically reduce the size of government.”
Mr Mahama promised his comeback would ensure that the mandates of institutions – Electoral Commission (EC), Attorney General’s Department, Commission on Human Right Administration and Justice (CHRAJ) and Economic Organised Crime Office (EOCO) – are enforced.
The NDC presidential candidate was addressing labour unions and some party faithful at Ho in the Volta Region, which was beamed live via social media platforms.
Mr Mahama, whose appointees in the past government he headed are being prosecuted for various procurement breaches, underscored the need to critically examine single source procurement or sole sourcing, and make it an exception rather than the rule.
In pursuance of social justice, the ‘incoming’ Mahama administration will rigorously push for a Constitutional review that creates a fairer and just and monument system, as well as remove the distortions between Article 71 Office holders and other public sector employees.
He also promised the creation of a special office, Financial Service Authority, that would deal with all the malfeasance in the financial sector, as it will oversee all financial products and services that are offered to consumers.
“The Financial Authority will also efficiently and effectively stop the challenges that we have been confronted with companies like DKM and Menzgold,” he said.
Candidate Mahama gave assurance to all aggrieved customers of these institutions that within a matter of one year, all their investments and funds locked up will be paid them. He also reiterated the need to pay assembly members to perform the function of collecting accurate births and deaths statistics, in order to give more meaning to the birth certificate.
Mr Mahama stated that many people had lost hope in democracy and think it is not working for the country, but urged them not give up, and that there is hope.
Mr Mahama also challenged the economic statistics being churned out by the government. “And, indeed, we are not even sure what statistics to believe. Because, for the first time in history, we have a government that produces two sets of statistics – one for local consumption, and other for international consumption.
To address some of Ghana’s developmental challenges, he has proposed a US$10 billion ‘Big Push’ initiative that would deal with investment and infrastructure needs for economic transformation.
He explained the investment would be made over a five-year period, and is meant to achieve that critical upgrade in our social and economic infrastructure, which will create a platform for the transformation of the economy by creating one million jobs.
The flagbearer revealed that in a few weeks to come, the party will unveil the details of the ‘Big Push’ and the one million jobs plan.

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