The president of the Ghana Football Association, Mr Kwasi Nyantakyi has described suggestions and calls on the government to regulate the activities of the association as unmeritorious, bogus and without basis. He said the suggestions, made by a former football administrator, Mr Kojo Bonsu, were borne out of a lack of understanding of the workings and mechanisms of the FA. Mr Bonsu in the Monday, November 23 edition of the Daily Graphic called on the government to immediately set up a Public Interest Committee (PIC) to oversee the activities of the GFA and help check indiscipline and corruption in football administration in the country. “The government has every right and authority, with the full support of FIFA, to get involved in anything concerning the national teams. It can also call for accounting of every pesewa that has to do with the national teams, agree on who coaches them, how much they have to be paid, agree on bonuses for national team players and officials, ask questions on appearance fees during friendly matches, who has to make a trip, among others, and FIFA will not raise a finger,” the Graphic quotes Mr Bonsu as saying. But the GFA President disagrees. He told Joy FM’s Super Morning Show host Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah the FA operates in a structured system that ensures strict accountability and transparency and that the Auditor-General audits the accounts of the association and forwards its reports to the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament through the Sports Ministry. According to him, any discrepancies, corruption, irregularities of financial misapplication in the GFA’s accounts would be discovered by the auditors and the appropriate sanctions applied if that was ever the case. Mr Nyantakyi maintained that there was no case of corruption in the GFA under his leadership, emphasizing that throwing allegations of ocorruption against the association only exposes the accuser’s lack of understanding of the financial management system of the FA. He expressed regret that Mr Kojo Bonsu’s comments “were motivated by a sheer desire” to unjustifiably vilify the leadership of the association in order to brighten his own hopes of becoming the GFA’s president. An obviously livid GFA president said Mr. Bonsu’s presidential ambitions were never in doubt but urged circumspection and decorum, stressing that the former football administrator does not need to “paint others black” in order to achieve his aims. Instead, he should wait patiently for 2011 when the GFA would be going for elections to stake his claim. A Member Secretary of the Ministerial Advisory Committee for the FIFA Reforms for the GFA, Mr. Ace Ankoma said Mr Bonsu’s proposition was dangerous and could spell doom for the country’s football. He told Peace FM’s Kwami Sefa-Kayi Mr. Bonsu would do himself and Ghanaians a lot good if he provided any evidence of corruption against the GFA. To make a blanket call for Public Interest Committee – whose job is not to check corruption anyway – to be set up to check indiscipline and corruption without giving any evidence was not acceptable, Mr Ankoma noted. He also disagreed with Kojo Bonsu’s assertion that the GFA was too powerful, questioning the basis for that conclusion since in his opinion there was no reference to any specific action or conduct on the part of the GFA that constituted flagrant abuse of power. He reiterated Fifa’s opposition to governments micro managing football and cautioned against doing anything that could jeopardize the country’s football. Story by Malik Abass Daabu/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana