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AG 2023: Win medals to justify expenditure
Benjamin Kwaku Azamati – to lead Ghana’s medal charge
Spectacular ceremony kicked into motion yesterday the 13th edition of the African Games (AG) on Ghanaian soil for the first time in the history of the competition.
The Games would have in attendance over 7,000 world-class athletes from every part of the continent of Africa, in addition to other thousands made up of officials, technical delegates and many other stakeholders.
And as host nation, Ghanaians have every reason to be optimistic that her medal haul at the competition would improve.
Officials of the respective teams of Ghana are aware of this expectation of Ghanaians who have been made to understand that past failures were because few athletes participated as a result of the cost involved.
Gladly, the Games are happening right on our soil and every discipline code chosen for the Games must have no room for excuses.
Already, comments urging Ghanaians to be modest in their expectation have started flying with others even attempting to introduce Olympic values of mere participation and not winning at all cost into the fray.
It may be tolerable to sound cautious but one may then ask why a country should spend so much to provide infrastructure and other logistics to host such a high profile event and win nothing.
Exact figures of expenditure so far has been difficult to sight but those made available by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif, indicates that the government has so far spent a total of $195 million on the provision of infrastructure for the Games.
That represents the amount approved by Parliament although a few members of the same house are beginning to raise concerns over the Games’ expenditure.
In the Minister’s breakdown, he disclosed that an amount of $145,086,057.54 was spent on the Borteyman Sports Complex, which was constructed by Contracta Construction UK Limited; a total of $34,102,135.00 on the upgrade of the 11,000-seater University of Ghana Stadium with a track, a warm-up area for athletes, and a rugby pitch constructed by Consar Limited and a Games Village put up by Mawums Limited at a cost of $16,066,961.20.
That is a huge amount of money and the only justification for that expenditure should be a good medal haul and the quality of facilities Ghana would be left with.
That should make our athletes aware that Ghanaians would not accept any mediocre show on home soil and it is the reason they would enjoy the maximum support to deliver.
There is high expectation for the male and female football teams that would be competing at the Accra and Cape Coast Sports stadiums, the boxing team (Black Bombers), athletics, armwrestling team, taekwondo and others.
The African Games, without doubt, represents a platform to celebrate the traditions and cultures of the various countries and must be preserved at all cost.
However, the rising cost of hosting it will soon become its biggest demon due to the current state of the economies of member nations.
The story of Malawi has been very pathetic and must be a concern to all.
Despite the many talented youth in the country, Malawi could only afford to send two boxers to Accra for the African Games after her boxing association named eight boxers for the Games because the Malawian government was cash-strapped.
The duo includes light-welterweight, Elias Bonzo, and welterweight, Lewis Zakeyu.
Scarcity of funds has been a major stumbling block not only for Malawi. Many other countries are in similar financial quagmire, for which reason they may limit the number of athletes to sponsor for the Games.
In Ghana, there was division at certain points following the delay in construction works, leading to calls from a section of the political elites to abandon the hosting.
That should send signals to members of the African Union Sports Council (AUSC), the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA), and the Association of African Sports Confederations (AASC/UCSA), owners of the Games to find ways to raise funds to sustain the event instead of leaving a chunk of the task on governments with ailing economies.
By Andrew Nortey
Ghana’s First Lady, Lordina Mahama, has made a generous donation to the country’s national female Under-17 and Under-20 teams – Black Maidens and Black Princesses- as they continue preparations for major international assignments.
The donation, made on Friday, May 22, was presented on behalf of the First Lady by the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, at the GFA Technical Centre in Prampram.
The gesture forms part of efforts to motivate and support Ghana’s young female footballers as they prepare to represent the country on the international stage.
The donation included essential food items and toiletries aimed at supporting the welfare and well-being of the players and technical teams.
The donation included cartons of Milo, T-rolls, soft drinks, toiletries, and a range of essential supplies aimed at supporting the welfare of the players, enhancing camp conditions, and easing preparations ahead of their respective assignments.
The Black Maidens are currently engaged in preparations for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers and are set to take on Liberia women’s national under-17 football team in the second-leg encounter in Liberia this weekend.
Meanwhile, the Black Princesses have already secured qualification to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup after overcoming Uganda in the qualifiers, extending Ghana’s remarkable record to eight consecutive appearances at the tournament.
The donation by the First Lady was expected to boost morale within both camps while reinforcing national support for the young female footballers who continue to make the country proud.
The prosecution has officially rested its case in The Republic v Solomon Asamoah & Another, the high-profile legal battle commonly referred to as the “Sky Train” case.
The Deputy Attorney General Justice Srem Sai announced the development, praising the state’s team of hard-working prosecutors for successfully anchoring the state’s evidence before the High Court.
The criminal trial centers on the former Chief Executive Officer and the former Board Chairman of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF).
The duo stands accused of illegally authorizing and paying out US$2 million to a foreign company without obtaining board directives or other mandatory statutory approvals.
State investigators have confirmed that the disbursed millions cannot be found.
Following the closure of the prosecution’s case, the accused persons moved the court for an opportunity to file a submission of no case.
The presiding judge granted the application, ordering the defense to submit their arguments by June 8.
The outcome of the June 8 filings will decide the fate of the trial:
With this, if the judge finds the defense’s submission convincing, the accused will be acquitted and discharged however, If the judge dismisses the submission, the court will order the accused officials to take the stand and explain why they should not face prison sentences.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
