Alex Segbefia must clear his name.

At long last the report of an investigation into acts of malfeasance against Hon. Mubarak Muntaka is out. And the verdict is NOT GUILTY. This is what a large section of the media and many people with vested interest didn’t want to hear. The ‘not guilty’ verdict however leaves lingering questions. Deputy Chief of Staff Alex Segbefia and former GFA vice president Ade Coker have been mentioned as conspirators in the allegations against Mubarak. It was reported that Alex and Coker facilitated the Principal Accountant’s petition to the president. Interestingly the story died on the same day it broke out.

My hurt breaks for Hon. Mubarak. It didn’t make any sense that he would drift into corruption and keep a secret sex life even though a lot of politicians get drifted into all kinds of immoral behaviour as they got powerful – President Clinton, Richard Anane, US Governor Sanford and many others.

I would strongly advice the minister to press criminal charges against the principal accountant of the ministry and anyone who sought to damage his reputation. He has too many options and must do the right thing and at least sue for slander. If he doesn’t, as I can foresee he might not, there are too many charges the state can prefer against the accountant and I hope the state would pursue the matter to its final conclusion.

Alex has been mentioned too many times in the whole caboodle and it is just right for the person the president describes as “my good friend” to come clean if the party were to snuff out the unwarranted bashing it is getting from the public as a result of this saga.

The new NDC is committed to fighting corruption and no one in or out of government is immune from facing charges if they were established to have been involved in acts of corruption. It is difficult for most Ghanaians to believe that a government would not bend the rules to shield its appointee especially given the culture of doing little or nothing at all about appointees in a previous government alleged to have committed corruption. By all account not everyone is happy about the outcome of the investigation but we have to accommodate the concerns of pessimists and demonstrate the party’s resolve to fighting malfeasance.

The NDC has moral superiority over its opponents; what the party doesn’t have is the power over what voters would do in an election. The question voters would be asking the NDC or any party which comes asking them of their votes is why they – political parties - deserve the generosity of voters? And any party with a cavalier approach to issues that dents its image has a problem.

Ghana’s ruling party now has in its hands a minister the media had tried and found guilty; the allegations against Mubarak were serious for the party’s credibility but what is more serious is for the party to miss a big opportunity to demonstrate to the people of Ghana that we are indeed different from the rest.

I still do not understand the political strategy in what the President’s spokesman - Mahama Ayariga -said about picking up credible information from the investigators suggesting that the allegations of malfeasance are untrue. I believe he made his comments with the best of intentions but unbeknown to him, it had exposed the party to ridicule. Does Mahama get a briefing before the His Excellency the President? And if investigators are loosely spilling their guts, where does it leave us?

When the reputation of a party and the career of a man are at stake, you are careful not jeopardise it. You do not often get the benefit of time to reflect on your answers in a live broadcast and Mahama may have found himself in that situation. However, if you are the presidential spokesperson, you do not extenuate the decisions of the president by pre-empting him. Why didn’t the party call a press conference but leaked it? Do we understand what fabulous opportunity we’ve missed?

To pre-empt President Mills’ decision on the investigations leaves room for speculation and so far, the public is speculating and accusing the party of a cover-up. What happened was a wasted opportunity to reaffirm the president’s agenda to promote good governance.

I feel sick to my stomach listening to the barrage of bashing the party is undeservedly receiving. The NDC is wrongfully accused of a cover up. It doesn’t matter whether serial callers or writers are blaming the NDC; fact is an allegation of a cover up is bad enough for a government that came to power on the wings of change.

The party now has the burden of ‘fire fighting’ an issue that could have been used to our advantage. A verbal demolition of the NDC by the opposition NPP doesn’t bother me at all; what bothers me is what non aligned Ghanaians and commentators are saying about the party.

NDC’s immediate concern as a party should be meeting the aspirations of Ghanaians and spending more of its time explaining the President’s vision and work to our compatriots and not lumber itself with image damaging issues. I would like to appeal to my fellow appeal to my fellow countrymen and women to have faith in President Mills’ ability to steer the affairs of the nation well and fight corruption.

Ras Mubarak Broadcaster & Publicist for NDC Europe [email protected]