A Deputy General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Koku Anyidoho has chided the erstwhile Mahama-led administration for abandoning the tomb of the late President, Prof. John Evans Atta Mills.
The tomb is reportedly in a bad state, five years after he was buried at the Asomdwe Park in Accra.
Several news outlets were awash with disturbing photos that showed the well-crafted metallic cover of the tomb, developing grim cracks detaching itself from the rest of the artefact.
Portions of the tomb are also falling apart, and managers of the park have had to support it with blocks.
Commenting on the state of the late President’s tomb on Anopa Kasapa on Kasapa 102.5 FM, the former Communications Director at the Presidency under the Atta Mills’ government said, it is regrettable to see Mills’ tomb deteriorate without the former administration making any efforts to preserve it.
According to him, the whole Asomdwe Park where the late President’s tomb is housed had a great architectural design meant for a national historic site, but couldn’t get the needed attention to adorn the site with such facilities under the erstwhile government.
Anyidoho said one cannot blame the current administration for the deplorable state of the late President’s tomb, insisting that the former NDC government completely abandoned the Asomdwe Park to put it at an admirable state as was planned.
“It is the responsibility of the state, whether is the state under the NDC or the state under NPP, but if the state is going to renege on its responsibilities and duties, then we the Atta Mills Institute, wherever we shall move to, wherever we shall go and look for resources to re-organize Atta Mills Park, we shall do it.
“It’s very sad! Dr. Don Arthur, he was the architect that produce the original design of the Atta Mills park and if you see what the Asomdwoe park was supposed to have been in its totality; very wonderful concept. If you remember, at the time that Gbevlo Lartey was the National Security Coordinator, the whole idea was even to turn that big park there into a zoo. So we started bringing in some ostriches, zebras, rabbits and the rest that was the master plan.
“The master plan for the facility was to make the place like a Zoo attached to the Asomdwoe Park. The Asomdwoe Park was supposed to have a Library, a cafeteria, and a few other things. You ask yourself why it wasn’t funded by the state. President Akufo-Addo came in only two months ago, so are you going blame him?
“Why didn’t they fund it at the time? There is a saying that ‘you don’t cry over spilt milk’, but some of us couldn’t help it but to shed tears yesterday, we woke up to a very sad Tuesday morning. But like I’m saying the Atta Mills Institute which has just been created, will keep the legacy of Prof. alive. Because the NDC may have lost an election, but it is important that the legacy of Prof. Mills continues to fly high, what he stood for, his principles, his philosophy, ideologies, both in the realm of academia, in the realm of thought, and statesmanship. All those things need to come alive again. And that is why some of us have formed the Atta Mills Institute.”
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