Parliament’s Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu has called on the government to end a seeming political discrimination that has apparently occasioned recent dismissal of workers from state institutions.
He said it was improper that “genuine Ghanaians” serving their country should be subjected to the ordeal of dismissal on the basis of supposed political allegiance.
Speaking in Wa as cadres and close pals joined Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings to mark the 38th anniversary of the June 4 uprising, the Member of Parliament for Tamale South demanded “an end to the political discrimination” which seemed to deny political opponents of their rights to work.
Recent dismissals
The comments appeared to refer to the recent dismissals of some workers from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and the National Service Secretariat among others since the New Patriotic Party (NPP) took over power from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) following the December 2016 polls.
“The fact that you have inherited a political system which you yourself admit has the whole existence of NDC and NPP means it existed before you got there, so if you cannot do anything, maintain the status quo.”
“Therefore, we demand an end to the continuous harassment and dismissals of genuine Ghanaians serving their country and serving it in different respects,” he stressed.
Injustice and discrimination
On a day that honoured the acclaimed heroes of the June 4 Revolution, he said it was important that the current generation and regime both reminded themselves of the circumstances that drove the nation on the path of those painful social reforms.
He said acts of injustice and discrimination were as much engraved in society at the time, before the intervention of the revolution, insisting that it was necessary to demonstrate a commitment to end such discrimination in order to strengthen the nation-building processes.
He referred to the lynching of military officer Major Maxwell Mahama in the Central Region on May 29 this year as “a test to our values, a test to the rule of law”, and demanded that “justice is done swiftly and decisively and manifestly”.
“We demand these from the political leadership of this country. I hope and pray that tomorrow the police will not come and tell us that they arrested the wrong people and they don’t have evidence to prosecute,” he said.
He eulogised former President Jerry John Rawlings, founder of the NDC and chief architect of the June 4 Revolution, for upholding the principles of probity, accountability and transparency that set him apart even in his recent years of reduced involvement in the political space.
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