Process underway to deconfiscate CPP assets : President Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama says the Attorney-General (AG) has begun the process to deconfiscate the assets of the Convention People's Party (CPP) seized by the state after the overthrow of Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
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Already, he said, the Attorney-General had secured a copy of the report of the Apaloo Commission of Inquiry, that ordered the confiscation, and had identified the assets, which the Attorney-General was comparing with the list brought by the party.
Speaking when a delegation of the Council of Elders of the CPP called on him at the Flagstaff House yesterday, he said, "I am sure that at a point in time she will invite you so that she could have discussions with you before she sends the final report to me."
During his State of the Nation Address to Parliament last February, President Mahama hinted that the government was considering returning the assets and had asked the Attorney-General to act on it.
The four-member delegation was at the seat of government to thank the President for the action he was taking on their petition for the return of the assets.
Pressure
Recently, some members of the CPP, demonstrating the seriousness they attached to their petition, converged on the Obra Spot at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle to put pressure on the government to return the assets.
The assets include the building which currently houses the former Ministry of Information and Media Relations, which was the CPP’s national headquarters.
“Outstanding ghost”
President Mahama said the CPP's demand for the return of the assets was one of "the outstanding ghosts of 1966 that we have to put to rest".
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"For the CPP, you are the mother of all parties and the nation must show gratitude to you," he said.
Ghana, he said, had come a long way in its history, mentioning the various coup d’etats that truncated various governments that resulted in commission of inquiries and confiscations.
"Previous governments attempted to restore some sanity by setting up reconciliation commissions but they could not settle all issues," the President said, adding that it was therefore not out of place for the CPP to send a petition to him on any outstanding issue.
"I am hoping that we should be able to put this matter to rest in the shortest possible time," he said.
Ebola
Responding to the council's commendation for his outstanding role in the fight against the Ebola virus disease, President Mahama said it was important to galvanise the international community to stop the spread of the disease.
He disclosed that the government intended to honour the 45 Ghanaian health volunteers who went to the three most affected countries to help in the fight against the disease.
Council chairman
Earlier, the Chairman of the council, Mr Felix Amoah, said they had every reason to thank the President for his courageous decision to return the assets.
He said the President's father, the late Mr E.A. Mahama, was one of the architects of the CPP, and so their visit to the Flagstaff House was a homecoming for them.
Other members of the delegation were Nana Impraim, a former MP, Nii Dr B. Fletcher, treasurer of the council, and Mr B.K. Senchire, a Minister in the First and the Third Republics.