The Germany Branch of the New Patriotic Party want to put on record that we totally and fully support the leadership style and approach of Mr Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie aka Sir John, General Secretary of our party. We are indeed proud of his indepth knowledge of the issues affecting our country today and his ability to articulate the concerns and hardships of the ordinary Ghanaian under the Mills- Mahama administration.

This, has undoubtedly, made the NDC and the government not just uncomfortable but jittery as well. In response the NDC government under President Mills embarked on what they know best-negative propaganda using half-baked Journalist such as Kobby Fiagbe, Editor of the Lense Tabloid, to do the dirty work. Journalism is a noble profession and Journalists are held in very high esteem all over the world in view of the very important role they play in upholding the rule of law, exposing wrong doing and acting as a check on governments. It is therefore, imperative that people entrusted with this role should demonstrate a certain level of Professional and ethical standards as pertains in all civilised societies. We wish to state that the deliberate attempt by Mr Kobby Fiagbe to concoct stories with the view to misleading the reading public falls far below the basic principles and practice of Journalism. The action of the Lense Editor is not only shameful, it is also an embarrassment and a disgrace for Journalism in our country.By this unprofessional and mischievous conduct, we are attempted to question if Mr Kobby Fiagbe has had any professional training at all.We are forced to ask this question because every first year journalism student knows that a news story must be accurate, factual and credible.

It is unfortunate that, rather than focusing on issues that are relevant to our people, the Editor of the Lense has decided to divert attention from the failure of the Mills –Mahama administration to deliver on the numerous campaign promises made to Ghanaians. And in case Mr Fiagbe has nothing to write about we would want to make the following suggestions.

In the first place the Editor of the Lense Newspaper should bring to the attention of the Mills-Mahama administration that hundreds of fellow Ghanaians resident in Germany could not travel home to be with their loved ones because the Ghana Embassy in Berlin has failed to provide them with passports. This ,is notwithstanding the fact that they have submitted their passports six months earlier and were assured that the said documents would be ready by December 2010.

Mr fiagbe should direct his attention to the economic hardships facing Ghanaians as a result of the astronomical increases in fuel prices and other utilities which have made life unbearable for large sections of the population. Mr Fiagbe cannot claim to be unaware of the precarious economic situation brought about by an insensitive government of which he is an ardent supporter. Furthermore, the interest of our nation would be better served if the Editor of the Lense Newspaper could use his paper to expose the massive corruption within government cirlcles, the lack of focus and direction of the NDC government and above all the deep and bitter divisions that have engulfed the NDC and the Mills-Mahama administration. These are the issues that matter to most Ghanaians and should be the pre-occupation of all well-meaning Ghanaian Journalists.

Finally, we wish to assure our hardworking General Secretary, Sir John of our unwavering support and urge him not to relent in his efforts at exposing the misdeeds, the inefficiencies and the abysmal failure of the Mills –Mahama administration.

Kwaku Anane-Gyinde Director of Communications NPP-Germany