Kufuor slams Wikileaks-Guardian expose

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has downplayed raging media frenzy over damaging US Embassy cables leaked to the western media in which his government was accused of lacking political will in the fight against drug trafficking on the West African Coast during his tenure.

The Wikileaks dossier, which was published on Tuesday December 14, by the Guardian newspaper in the UK, quoted a December 2007 cable as having said that; Embassy contacts in the Police Service and the President’s office “have said they know the identities of the major barons,” but “the government of Ghana does not have the political will to go after them.”

But in a sharp response on Wednesday night December 15, Mr. John Agyekum Kufuor told Citi News the Guardian’s publication is misleading.

“The British Government said the Westbridge project worked very well. I understand the Wikileaks said the Government and did not refer to the Kufuor Government. It might be that the Government of today is not doing enough to fight the crime menace.

Westbridge has been commended during Kufuor’s time by the head of the British Narcotic drug office. We did Westbridge and we did whatever we could so they should go and check their facts. There is too much loose talk. People just make allegations and when you challenge them to prove they can’t and yet people want to believe. If we do that, societies will never mature so we have to be hard-headed because we all want to fight crime” he said.

“I do not want my children and grand-children to fall victims to drug addiction because they will be destroyed. So we should never talk loosely and politicize this issue, it is too damaging” he appealed.

Mr. Kufuor cautioned the local media to be more responsible and not abuse the freedom that they are enjoying through the effort of the NPP administration.

“Please deepen the sense of responsibility. After all we repealed the Criminal Libel Law. If we had used it, perhaps people couldn’t talk as freely as they are talking. But we did not believe in muscling the media so now you are free to talk and you talk loosely. That’s not good because it won’t help you or the society.

Asked whether the Wikileaks-Guardian publication was not a fair reflection of his Government’s performance, Mr. Kufuor responded “What did Guardian say about Kufuor? And you are Ghanaian and Guardian is not in Ghana. Do you want to believe Guardian who might be paid to do something, criminal against Ghana? Is that what you want to believe?” he asked.

The former President was speaking to Citi News’ Richard Sky soon after his party, the NPP, honoured him for his achievements as the most successful leader to have emerged from the Danquah-Busia tradition.

The occasion was also to mark the tenth anniversary of the 72-year-old’s election in 2000 as the President of the Republic.

In receiving the honours, President John Kufour spoke strongly about the need for party faithful to unite ahead of the 2012 polls.

He said the NPP is the only party that can guarantee development in freedom for Ghanaians.


Source: Ghanaweb.com