Tenets of June 4 must guide us—Rawlings

Former President J.J. Rawlings has urged Ghanaians to continuously live by the tenets that brought about the June 4, 1979 uprising.
He said the tenets, accountability, probity and integrity, saved the country from total collapse and should be the guiding principle for all actions by Ghanaians.
Flt Lt Rawlings was addressing a rally of members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and cadres of the revolution at Kasoa as part of the 30th anniversary of the June 4, 1979 uprising. The occasion was witnessed by a large crowd of cadres dressed in their June 4 T-shirts and black trousers.
He described as unacceptable the pillaging of state coffers by public officials entrusted with the governance of the state to the detriment of the people.
Former President Rawlings who repeatedly said, “I am filled with anger and sadness,” described the decay and corruption that characterised former President Kufuor’s administration as a thousand times worse than what necessitated the June 4 uprising.
He consequently called on the Atta Mills Administration to ensure that functionaries of the former regime who squandered state resources at the expense of the ordinary Ghanaian were brought to book to serve as a deterrent.
Recounting the activities leading to the June 4 uprising, he said moral decadence had engulfed the society to such an extent that lower ranks within the military were angry,and there would have been a bloodier consequence than the uprising if they had been allowed to explode.
Former President Rawlings said those who arrested him prior to the June 4, 1979, did not know that he was expressing the mood of the nation at the time, adding that it was no wonder that when he was behind bars, ordinary Ghanaians and soldiers managed to secure the success of the uprising.
According to him, Former President Limann was also overthrown because he resorted to sewing seeds of tribalism within the military, and alleged that the state security apparatus was being used to haunt him (Rawlings).
He said for instance that Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings’ car was crashed when she was pregnant.
Explaining how the country went into multi-party democracy, he said 10 years after the December 31 Revolution, when the country was not ready for multi-party democracy, the Western powers forced the country into it to serve as a showpiece to the rest of the world.
Former President Rawlings also took a swipe at some leading members of the NDC who were not part of the struggle that brought the party to power but had gained positions, saying that they had turned their backs on the people who voted for them.
He said the party had started reorganising its structures and that members must be wary of those who would try to influence them with money to vote them into offices within the party.
He advised members to vote for people with integrity who would serve their interests and not the highest bidders.
Former President Rawlings said since the government could not do all the things that needed to be done, the people must take it upon themselves to clear their surroundings of filth to prevent malaria and other diseases.
Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings called for the setting up of commissions of enquiry in all ministries, regional offices and district offices to investigate corrupt activities of the previous administration.
The General Secretary of the NDC, Mr Johnson Aseidu Nketia, said the June 4 celebration which was referred to as ‘Accountability Day’ was one of the party’s main activity.
He said all NDC members who had sworn an oath to respect the party’s constitution have no alternative than to respect June 4 and abide by its tenets, adding that “you cannot be an NDC member without respecting June 4.”
Other speakers included the National Chairman and Women’s Organiser of the party, Dr Kwabena Adjei, and Madam Ama Benyiwa-Doe, respectively.