The Minority Leader in Parliament, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has cautioned against forcing former government officials to pay rent for over staying in officials bungalows. That, he said could set a dangerous precedence in contravention of existing convention on state accommodation for government officials. He said the practice of former appointees overstaying in official bungalows after leaving office outdated the Kufuor administration. Government has billed about 10 former appointees in the Kufuor administration various sums of money to pay as rent for staying in state buildings even when they had ceased to be such. Some have said they will not pay the money, warning the government will lose should the matter be taken to court. Speaking to Joy News, Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said “we shouldn’t create any situation where people might misconstrue what is happening as selective justice.” He said there had been an unwritten agreement that allowed “ministers and deputy ministers relieved of their positions to hold on to their accommodation.” The Member of Parliament for Suame Constituency stated that “in 1997 when we came into Parliament we had these examples out there…even Members of Parliament who lost elections stayed on in these official accommodation for close to one year before they left. That has been the practice so if now we are saying that let us break from the past, that is a different thing but to make it appear as if these things started in 2001, in my view will be most unfortunate.” He said the handling of the issue by the government will feed into the perception that the government’s action was borne of political witch hunting. For him, if the government wanted to do an honest job, it should have extended the period during which all former government officials overstayed in their officials residence to 1993 – to encompass the previous NDC regime. Story by Malik Abass Daabu/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana