In an apparent renewal of the discomforting yet frosty relationship that has festered over the years between Ghana’s surviving former presidents, the office of J.J. Rawlings has rejoined to a rebuttal of his criticisms of the administration of the man who succeeded him. Rawlings was in Ouagadougou last week as guest of the International Catholic Union of the Press where he claimed a recent corrupt government in Ghana was paying as much as $10,000 to an unnamed journalist while the president was himself receiving a miserly $350 a month as salary. The office of ex-President Kufuor on Monday responded to the allegations and several others, saying Rawlings lied on the claims he made. But the Office of former President Rawlings has also rejoined the rebuttal, saying while Rawlings stands by his claim that “a journalist was paid $10,000 a month”, he was happy to note that Kufuor’s response serves an indication of the cap fitting where it belongs, insisting that former ‘President Kufuor has not denied that his government was “extremely corrupt”’. “The former President stands by the fact that a journalist was paid $10,000 a month to spew forth untruths on a regular basis. Indeed several journalists were paid in the region of $10,000 or more to toe the line of the NPP government and many were offered material gifts – houses, loans, cars and free airline tickets”, the rejoinder maintained. “President Kufuor has no reputation to protect and should not attempt to create a non-existent reputation for himself by issuing such responses. His government was so embarrassingly corrupt its own party Chairman lamented the greed of the President in seeking to directly receive kickbacks from some of his Ministers,” Rawlings’ statement said of Kufuor. Story by Myjoyonline.com/Ghana Below is the full text from the office of former President Jerry Rawlings RE: RAWLINGS LIED IN OUAGADOUGOU The Office of former President Jerry John Rawlings has taken note of a statement issued by former President Kufuor refuting certain statements made by the former during an address in Ouagadougou last Tuesday. Please find below our response. The former President stands by the fact that a journalist was paid $10,000 a month to spew forth untruths on a regular basis. Indeed several journalists were paid in the region of $10,000 or more to tow the line of the NPP government and many were offered material gifts – houses, loans, cars and free airline tickets. President Rawlings said: “In my country, Ghana, whilst a former head of state was kept on his old salary of $350 per month, a compromised journalist was being paid $10,000 a month by an extremely corrupt government to continue corroding the sanctity of truth.” We are happy to note that the cap fits where it belongs and President Kufuor has not denied that his government was “extremely corrupt”. President Rawlings was not lamenting his salary, however, meagre it was. He was lamenting the wanton dissipation of national resources, which led to the huge, unjustifiable payouts to certain media personalities. On the matter of acquisition and sale of hitherto state and stool lands there is a tall, endless list. We can refer to: 1. The Ghana International Hostel lands which were sold out to private interests and which have been reacquired by the state for the Foreign Ministry. 2. The acquisition of state houses by former Kufuor appointees. 3. Numerous wrongful sale of lands unearthed by the National Security Coordinator. 4. The reckless and fraudulent sale of Ghana Airways properties. 5. Numerous petitions and press conferences by the Ga Dangme further evidence the abuse of state and stool lands. President Kufuor has no reputation to protect and should not attempt to create a non-existent reputation for himself by issuing such responses. His government was so embarrassingly corrupt its own party Chairman lamented the greed of the President in seeking to directly receive kickbacks from some of his Ministers. If anyone has tainted the image of Ghana it is John Agyekum Kufuor who institutionalised corruption and introduced an era of moral and institutional decay into our national polity. The fact that the current government has dithered in investigating and prosecuting the fraud perpetrated by the Kufuor government should not fool him into a sacrosanct and untainted state. He epitomises what corruption stands for, suffers from mythomania, an extreme form of pathological lying and is an international embarrassment to Ghana. Kufuor and his so-called international collaborators should shut up when it comes to integrity. The people of Ghana are still suffering from the corrupt legacy he left behind. Signed: Kofi Adams