Government has rubbished accusations that it has bugged offices of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and doctored a tape recording of a meeting of the party leadership.
Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Information Minister said government as a matter of policy and practice does not bug the offices or homes of political parties and their leadership.
“Indeed it is not the policy or practice of government to illegally interfere with the privacy or communication of persons or organizations in Ghana,” he said at a press briefing Thursday morning.
He said doing so will be an infringement on the constitutional provisions of privacy.
“Government, therefore, finds it distasteful that the said party chooses to bring the name of the state into disrepute in its attempt to respond to queries about the validity and origins of the said conspiratorial conversation,” he said.
His comments follow the release of some tapes said to be from the camp of opposition NDC in which the leadership of the party is heard conspiring to create insecurity in the country.
This, the NDC has come out to deny saying it is an attempt by some bad persons to dent the image of the party.
Reacting to the claims, Mr Oppong Nkrumah said the practice of accusing the state and seeking to portray to the global community of democratic watchers that the state is involved in some illegality is unpatriotic.
He said such accusations have the potential to undermine the growing respect that Ghana has for its resilient democracy and respect for rule of law.
The Ofoase Ayeribi MP emphatically stated that the Akufo-Addo’s administration cannot speak for past administrations, but it does not and has not bugged offices of political parties, its key actors, individuals or organizations.
“Without prejudice to the admission of the tape and its contents by officials of the party including Deputy Organizer Kwaku Boahen and others, The Ghana Police Service has commenced an investigation to determine for itself the level of seriousness that ought to be attached to the said recording.
“It is our understanding that the Police investigation will also determine whether or not indeed the leaders of the said party in a conspiracy to commit acts to cause insecurity within the Ghanaian jurisdiction,” he added.
He is encouraging the support of all Ghanaians in this investigation preferably done with the support of the necessary international acoustic analysts to determine the validity, identities and the level of seriousness to be attached to the alleged conspiracy.
Meanwhile, the Information Minister said government welcomes any efforts aimed at assisting it to succeed in its fight against illegal small scale mining
Mr Opponh Nkrumah said Anas’ latest expose on government officials and undermining efforts at ending illegal mining will be properly investigated.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
