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Wonders, they say, will never end. This is one admonition that prepares the mind for the strange happenings of this world. Even then, it is mind boggling to contemplate that my former classmate and friend Kwesi Pratt, the nation�s leading critic on maladministration, would find himself traveling at the expense of the state, with a National Democratic Congress delegation, to an event that none of them had any business being a part of. It would be wrong to suggest that the World Cup is not important to all Ghanaians. As a matter of fact, with the life of the average Ghanaian getting debased by strange policies of a government that appears to be mishandling anything it touches, the only avenue left to Ghanaians to assert their pride as members of the international community is through football. That is why the World Cup in South Africa is of particular importance to all Ghanaians. The importance of the event, however, does not provide an opportunity for people who have no business with the organization in this land of our birth to take over the legitimate role of officers of the Ghana Football Association, the only body responsible for promoting and organizing football on behalf of the entire people of Ghana. As former President of the Sports Writers Association of Ghana and somebody who has covered the game in this country and abroad for nearly four decades, I have never known Kwesi Pratt as a football administrator. If he is now a member of the NDC, that is his business. But I find it a bit strange that Kwesi Pratt should travel to South Africa at public expense to attend the draw of the 2010 World Cup, while many of those who actually run football on behalf of the state could not do so. To add insult to injury, at the time Kwesi Pratt and his delegation left the soil of Ghana they knew they had no accreditation to the event. If this is not wasteful, Kwesi should kindly lecture some of us on its merit. As it turns out, Kwesi was on a joy ride to South Africa at the expense of the state. He was not the only one though. The Chief Executive of the National Sports Council, Warlonyo Agrah, Kojo Twum-Boafo, a defeated NDC candidate with a short fuse, Ben Nunoo-Mensah, and a few others enjoyed the Farmers Day holiday in South Africa with all expenses, including shopping, paid for by the state. Who said life under the Umbrella is not good? While the average Ghanaian parent is having nightmares over gifts and other items for the family, the traveling contingent to South Africa had more than enough for the house, courtesy of a World Cup draw they had no hand in. If you do not know how the Better Ghana agenda is being rolled out, there is your answer. My good friend will have to educate me on whether or not he has joined the caballed by former Adidas representative Kojo Bonsu, with Ade Coker, a man whose legacy to football in this country hinges more on fraudulent deals than any positive contribution to the growth of the game, his able assistant. There were other NDC officials linked to football and bent on reversing the gains this nation has so far made in international football. It is not by accident that Mr. Kojo Bonsu, for instance, was a member of the delegation. He has never minced words about his determination to replace Kwesi Nyantakyi as President of the Ghana Football Association. Instead of bidding his time and co-operating, he has chosen the path of undermining the current administration. When the FA was hauled before the Transition Team of President John Evans Atta-Mills, ostensibly for not properly accounting for the financial aspect of Ghana's participation in the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the links were clearly demarcated. One needed no ghost to point the episode to the machinations of Kojo Bonsu, Ade Coker, Jones Alhassan Abu and other NDC gurus with links to the game in this land of our birth. Take it from me, all this wahala about Public Interest Committee is Kojo Bonsu's idea of getting himself closer to the GFA administration so that he can scheme to get the Nyantakyi Administration out. That is why I am amazed at the information that the GFA President has agreed to allocate two of the five places on the proposed Public Interest Committee to those making the loudest noise. The Public Interest Committee should not be interpreted as Government representation on the GFA. It is a committee to represent the interest of the football public. Article 70 of the GFA Statutes states: �There shall be a five-member Public Interest Committee. The functions of the committee shall include: �To liaise with the Ministry responsible for sports in terms of provision of the necessary facilities required for building the national football teams. �In accordance with directives of the Executive Committee and the Ministry responsible for sports, formulate policies, the implementation of which is necessary for building strong national teams. �Any other functions as ascribed by the Executive Committee with respect to the protocol on GFA/Government relations�. From the above, it is clear that the Public Interest Committee is not envisaged as Government representation on the GFA per se. Public should not be confused with government. It tells much about the thinking behind the issuance of the document circulated by Mr. Kojo Bonsu and others that the Public Interest Committee is seen as playing a supervisory role over the GFA. Where did the originators of the document get the idea from that apart from the role assigned the Public Interest Committee in the GFA Statutes, the committee has other powers? For the avoidance of doubt, I reproduce the terms and conditions assigned the PIC by Kojo Bonsu and others. �In addition to the functions spelt out under Article 70 of the GFA Statutes, members of this Committee shall assume the overall supervisory role over all the National Team Management Committees. �The Chairman of the PIC shall play the role of a National Team's Co-ordinator who would be the liaison officer between the GFA and the Ministry responsible for Sports, as pertains in South Africa. �The Public Interest Committee shall among other things discuss all programmes of the various National Team Committees, including the Budgets, and submit them to the ministry for approval. �The PIC shall put a standard policy on all national teams in place to issues like winning bonuses for all National teams, per diem for players and officials, who is entitled to travel when the national teams are on assignment, and on whose ticket, the roles of members of the various National Teams Committees and their relationship with the PIC, and the role of the National Teams Co-ordinatior�. According to the document, �the PIC shall receive accounts of all National Team activities from the various management committees at the end of every assignment, tournament or as and when necessary or demanded by the PIC. The PIC shall manage the National Teams accounts with the GFA as signatory.� In short, the PIC intends to take over the role of the GFA in all international duties. I do not believe this development is healthy for football in Ghana. Even before taking over the PIC, we have all seen what a Kojo Bonsu-led body would do in football-simply take NDC members and their sympathizers on a joy ride anytime there is a national assignment. It is instructive to note that only four members of the Ghana Football Association, with accreditation, traveled to Cape Town for the draw, while Kojo Bonsu led another delegation of six to the event without accreditation. It tells much about what a government-sponsored organization could do to football, which is why the Federation of International Football Associations, in its wisdom, frowns on government interference in the administration of football. It is in the interest of the game that the government is kept at arms length!