The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has declined an invitation from the Coastal Development Authority (CODA) to attend the proposed inauguration of the Asomdwee Park on Sunday, July 24, 2022.
Late President John Evans Atta Mills who died on July 24, 2012 was buried at Asmodwee Park near the former seat of government, Osu Castle in the Greater Accra Region.
In a letter dated July 15, 2022 and addressed to the CEO of CODA, the NDC Secretary General stated that the party will not attend the event as the invitation is at the instigation of CODA and the Atta Mills Institute; the latter is a private divisive organization, well known for its fabrications and abusive language, which appears to have been created to serve political opponents of the NDC as a means to sow seeds of confusion in the minds of Ghanaians and erase the enviable legacy of recent times. President Atta Mills.
The party said it is ready to review its position if CODA is ready to meet with it and review with members of the immediate family of the late president the arrangements for the commissioning of the park to give it the national character it deserves and ensure it reflects the true purpose and vision of the park Asmodwee.
Below is the full text of NDC's response to CODA
CEO
Coastal Development Authority (CODA)
Accra.
Attention: Mr. Jerry Shaib
Sir,
RE: INVITATION FOR THE COMMISSIONING OF ASOMDWEE PARK
We have seen invitations to the ceremony to commission Asomdwee Park, the burial site of President John Evans Atta Mills who died in office on July 24, 2012.
The invitations are in the name of the Atta Mills Institute and the Coastal Development Authority (CODA) "under the distinguished patronage of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo".
CODA is believed to be the funding agency for the renovation of the park, which is scheduled to be commissioned on July 24, 2022 and is separate from the 10th anniversary commemorative events being organized by the NDC.
2. We would like to state that Asomdwee Park was conceived as a possible final resting place for late Presidents and Vice Presidents.
The fact that the late President Atta Mills is so far the only dignitary buried there does not change its non-political purpose.
The facility was actually developed by the National Security Bureau during the tenure of H.E John Dramani Maham and remains a national monument as well as a place of pilgrimage to honor the memory of the dignitaries buried here.
It was designed to be managed by a national security agency with access only authorized by that agency. While it is up to the Government of Ghana to organize functions at the facility and invite persons to do so, it is, in our honest opinion, totally inappropriate for any private entity to obtain an office at the venue which directly or indirectly confers the role of supervisor even to the extent of issuing invitations on behalf of the state.
3. We are of the opinion that no privately owned NGO should be empowered to issue invitations bearing the national coat of arms.
4. We are concerned about the status and activities of the Institute which has assumed for itself some form of mythical ownership of the name of John Evans Atta Mills, a three-time flag bearer of the NDC and President of Ghana from 2009-2012.
The institute appears to be serving our political opponents as a vehicle to sow seeds of confusion in the minds of Ghanaians and erase the enviable legacy of the late President Atta Mills, a man of peace who was elected to office on an NDC ticket.
It would be a shame, the invitation goes, for President Akufo Addo to be associated with a divisive organization known for its fabrications and abusive language. To clarify, the institute in question is on a collision course with the NDC Party, on whose ticket Prof. Atta Mills won the 2008 election and became president.
For your information, its founder has been dismissed from the NDC. There should not be a false impression that the Institute is using the presidency and the enviable Coastal Development Authority (CODA) to spite the Atta Mills family, former President John Mahama and the entire NDC.
5. Any commissioning of the renovated Asomdwee Park should in all honesty be a truly national affair befitting the stature and character of Professor JEA Mills, a man of peace who dedicated his presidency to the cause of national unity.
Commissioning should be a national affair, not just by invitation, but by involving key stakeholders, not usurpers, in the planning process.
6. In view of the above, you are kindly requested to withdraw the invitations for the advertised function and meet the NDC headed by Prof. Atta Mills until his untimely death, and together with his immediate family reviewed arrangements for commissioning that will reflect the true purpose and vision of Asondwee Park.
Until this is done, the NDC will not participate in the proposed Commissioning event based on invitations issued by the Institute.
All persons associated with NDC have been duly notified of this binding decision.
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