Patriotic League condemns culture of violence

Page 14: Daily Graphic, February 28, 2009.
Story: Albert K. Salia
MEMBERS of the Patriotic League, have condemned what they call the return of the culture of violence and intimidation into national politics.
The Spokesperson of the group, Mr Evans Nimako at a press conference in Accra said post 2008 elections had been characterised by incessant attacks, harassment and intimidation of NPP supporters and persons perceived to be opposed to the ruling NDC government.
“Our democratic culture has come too far to be destroyed so blatantly by some NDC faithful who have unduly taken the law into their own hands,” he said.
Mr Nimako said if those acts were not checked, those who felt threatened by the posture of sections of the NDC would be compelled to find ways of defending themselves.
He also called on the Mills’ government not to hive-off the cocoa sub-sector from the supervision of the ministry of finance and economic planning.
It said the cocoa sub-sector was placed under the strict supervision of the ministry of finance by the Kufuor Administration because of its strategic nature of the cocoa industry to the growth of Ghana’s economy.
He said that putting the cocoa sub-sector under the ministry of food and agriculture would hurt the industry and the Ghanaian economy.
“Over the years, especially between 2001 and 2008, the cocoa sub-sector has performed very well under the supervision of the ministry of finance and economic planning owing to the appropriate interventions put in place by the NPP Kufuor-led government,” he said.
Mr Nimako noted that cocoa production improved from 389,772 metric tonnes in 2000/2001 season to 677,414 metric tonnes in 2007/2008 cocoa season, saying that “in the 2005/2006 cocoa season, Ghana achieved a record production of 741,000 metric tonnes, an increment of 47.4 per cent”.
He said there was, therefore, no justifiable reason for the intended change unless it was motivated by selfish interest.
The group, which was made up of mostly NPP sympathisers, recalled the problems and irregularities that the country suffered through the activities of CashPro, a cocoa buying company.
Mr Nimako alleged that CashPro owed COCOBOD hugh sums of monies and called on President Mills to stop the hiving-off of the cocoa sub-sector from the finance ministry by “few individuals who are thinking about themselves and not the country”.