[ 2012-08-02 ]

Nothing Was Hidden About Prez Mills' Health - Kwesi Pratt
The Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Mr.
Kwesi Pratt Jnr. has stated that as far as he is
concerned, the state of late President Mills'
health was not shrouded in secrecy as is being
peddled about by some politicians and a section of
the media.

Mr. Pratt said from what he knew in the public
domain and what the late President told him, there
is no reason for him to believe that some aspects
of his health was kept out of the public domain.

The veteran journalist who says he has known the
late President J.E.A. Mills for over thirty years
was speaking on Radio XYZ on Thursday in an
extensive interview that touched on many facets of
the life of Prof. Mills.

A section of the media and devotees of the New
Patriotic Party (NPP) have openly requested a full
disclosure on the health status of the late
president as well as the post-mortem results on
the cause of death.

But Mr. Pratt who said he had a personal
relationship with President Mills before his death
said, anytime he met President Mills, he always
"looked very strong and very confident". “Nothing
was hidden about the Professor’s health as far as
I am concerned... As far as I am concerned, only a
post mortem will establish the cause of his death.
What is happening in the media is again needless
and sometimes mischievous speculation. I am not a
doctor, I am not a pathologist, how can I
pronounce on the cause of his death.”

Mr. Pratt said he is aware that the president
engages in rigorous exercises every morning for
one and half hours and therefore he was quite fit
prior to his death contrary to the speculations
making the rounds. “He was exceptionally [a] hard
worker and all the people around him will tell
you.”

One Of The Best Three Presidents

Paying glowing tributes to the persona of the late
President, Mr. Pratt said: “Most certainly, I
think that Prof. Mills was an extraordinary
leader. He was an excellent leader… If you are
looking for the three best presidents that Ghana
has ever had, you cannot ignore Osagyefo Dr. Kwame
Nkrumah. He certainly is the primus inter paris –
above all others – and then there is General Kutu
Acheampong and Prof. Mills.”

“Prof. Mills was an extraordinary personality… It
perhaps will take a very, very long time for Ghana
to have another leader like Prof. Mills.”

Mr. Pratt averred that everyone knew Prof Mills
was "particularly an honest person" and that all
the negative things that were said about him were
intended to gain unfair political advantage over
him.

He said one critical legacy of the late president
is the nearly-completed two public universities in
the Brong Ahafo and Volta regions, stating “two
universities in three and half years. That is
remarkable. This is a sufficient monument to the
president’s memory.”

Vindictive Politicking

He said President Mills suffered from the kind of
politics that Ghana has elected to undertake and
that due to the intense competition between the
government and the main opposition, there is
always an attempt to engage in muckraking to
destroy ones opponent. “It is a politics of
attacks and vilification,” he said.

He stated that unlike his friendship with
President Kufuor – a man he fell out with after
criticizing him over certain critical issues -
President Mills maintained his friendship with him
even after he harshly criticized the late
president’s speech at the United Nations.

“The difference with Prof. Mills is that he took
everything in his stride. He didn’t think that it
was necessary to break up with his friends or harm
his friends simply because they criticized him.
Indeed he said publicly all the time that he
welcomed criticism,“ he revealed.

Mr. Pratt said “as a matter of fact, Prof Mills
will go down in history as the most tolerant
leader that Ghana has ever had. Nobody can take
that away from him.”

He debunked the assertion that the plethora of
positive tributes being rained on the former
president after his demise are as a result of the
cultural dictates of Ghanaians, stressing, it is
hypocritical.

Mr. Pratt took on opponents of Prof Mills who had
accused him of sleeping on the job while he was
alive only for them to nitpick and accuse the
president’s handlers of overworking him. “He
couldn’t have been sleeping on the job and working
too hard at the same time,” he lamented.

Source - RadioXYZonline.com

... go Back