For years, Bernard Mornah, the national chairman of the Peoples National Convention (PNC) has been accused of being beholden to the interests of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
When he was general secretary of party ahead of the 2012 elections, Mornah and his presidential candidate, Hassan Ayariga, were accused of working to get John Mahama elected instead of working to help the PNC win.
The accusations that Mornah was an NDC agent was pushed mainly by members of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) who were frustrated by what appeared to be an NDC-PNC alignment on major national issues.
The most compelling argument for an NDC-PNC collaboration came during the IEA presidential debate when Hassan Ayariga appeared to go all out to frustrate the NPP’s Nana Akufo-Addo instead of making a case for himself.
In subsequent media interviews, both Ayariga and Mornah rejected allegations of a conspiracy between the NDC and the PNC to make Akufo-Addo look bad.
Even after Mahama won the elections, Mornah’s appraisal of his performance and major government’s policies have invariably been positive, renewing claims among members of the opposition that he supports the NDC
But he has constantly dismissed those accusations as mere NPP propaganda.
Last week, however, the allegations were revisited when documents surfaced, indicating that Mornah had received a Toyota Hilux vehicle from Mahama’s lawyer, Tony Lithur.
Opposition politicians seized the documents, leaked from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), as evidence that Mornah had been working for Mahama all along.
The documents were leaked at a time that Mahama had been accused of implementing a “one chief, one car†policy, fuelling the accusations.
But Mornah has denied that there was foul play involved, stressing that the vehicle was a gift from Lithur, whom he called a friend.
“I received the car from my friend and brother Tony Lithur after I made an appeal to him. I got to know him through the Free Tsatsu Movement, which he formed, and I was a part of. As his former student, I know he imports cars so I appealed to him during my campaign and he gave me one of his imported cars.â€
He has also launched a tirade against the DVLA, stressing that the organisation cannot be trusted.
“….it’s obvious the DVLA has leaked the confidential registration documents to people for whatever reason known to them. And I think we should be worried that we cannot trust our DVLA.â€
Mornah’s attempt to play the victim is not likely to cut ice with critics who have questioned the kind of game he is playing.
They question whether it is acceptable for Mornah to solicit NDC support in his campaign when he is in fact in competition against the NDC in the election.
“Is Mornah campaigning for NDC against PNC or Lithur is supporting PNC campaign against NDC?†one analyst asked.
The episode has also renewed debate about Ghana’s murky world of campaign financing, where it is not clear who finances politicians and political parties.