Sports
Nation’s ‘Wembley’ in perpetual darkness?
Prof Peter Twumasi – NSA Director-General
Wednesday, August 23, was exactly a month when electricity supply to the nation’s pre¬mier sports facility, the Accra Sports Stadium, was cut by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
It was about the third time the incident had oc¬curred in a year at such an important facility often lik¬ened to the iconic Wembley Stadium in England and the reason for that is apparent.
This, clearly, does not augur well for a nation that demands respect as a sports nation.
In March 2022, the ECG embarked on a similar ex¬ercise that left the National Sports Authority (NSA), man¬agers of the nation’s sports facilities, in hot water; having to cough a whopping amount of GHȻ508,000 as debt owed the company.
The leader of the Task Force explained that power would only be restored af¬ter 50 per cent of the debt was settled.
In a few days’ time, power was restored though doubts hovered over whether the NSA, which operates as an agency under the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MoYS), actually made the settlement.
Eight months later, the pessimists were, perhaps, vindicated when another ECG ‘delegation’ visited the Stadium to disconnect power again; this time quoting a debt of GHȻ390,000.
Attempts to convince the ECG staff to re¬scind the decision failed after the NSA offered to pay only GHȻ30,000.
Nine months on, the power nightmare has visited the NSA again, witness¬ing, perhaps, the longest pow¬er outage on the state-owned facility – a month.
Although, the exact amount is yet to be made public, snippets of informa¬tion indicates that it is an accumulation of previous debts owed and now running over GHȻ500,000.
And for a country that wants to be credited as a sports loving nation, producing some of the finest ath¬letes across boxing, football, table ten¬nis, tennis, athletics, taekwon¬do among others, the story or state of the Accra Sports Stadium leaves a sour taste in the mouth.
Clearly, it calls into ques¬tion the nation’s readiness to actually develop sports to the level where it begins to yield the desired dividends.
Within this period of ‘Ac¬cra Sports Stadium Dumsor’ administrative work of the several federations with offices located in the stadium have grinded to a halt.
Restaurant owners as well as other operatives within the facility have been affect¬ed.
But of greater concern to every lover of sports is the negative impact the outage has had on athletes that use the facility at night.
Badminton, table tennis, taekwondo, judo practi¬tioners and other users are now forced to close before dark¬ness sets in because the power from the stand-in generator is way above the capacity required.
Maybe, it was in this wisdom that members of the badmin¬ton fraternity decided to hire smaller generators to power lights to train in the evenings but with directives from the authorities to put a stop to it, they would be forced to re-adjust their times.
What this mean is that players’ training schedules have been truncated for a month, a situation that will definitely take a toll on preparations with the 2023 Africa Games and other qual¬ifiers lurking.
Certainly, money may be the huge factor to have occasioned this development and the earlier government through the MoYS steps in, the better it will be for Ghana.
With the Africa Games just about seven months to go, athletes at the ‘final stretch’ in terms of prepa¬ration, must be given the needed push in their quest to win laurels.
As usual, the MoYS would be singing the usual ‘no mon¬ey’ refrain but the entire Ac¬cra Sports Stadium plunging into total darkness is certain¬ly not a story anyone would want to tell about a country that hopes to raise new Abedi Peles, Anthony Yeboahs, Azu¬mah Nelsons, Frank Oforis, Ike Quarteys and other great sports personalities.
By Andrew Nortey
A Ghana Premier League (GPL) thriller is anticipated at the Baba Yara Stadium tomorrow as Asante Kotoko welcome Medeama SC for their week 12 top-liner.
Fourth placed Kotoko sits two points below Medeama SC who are third on the log. Their position on the log further adds another layer to the fiercest battle expected to unfold.
Before their second round game last season, the two sides shared two wins apiece in their last four league meetings in Kumasi. However, Coach Abdul Karim Zito inflicted a 3-2 victory on the Yellow and Mauves side with former striker Albert Amoah grabbing all three goals.
Tomorrow, Amoah will not be in action and since his departure from the club, Coach Zito’s side have found the going tough in front of goal, a factor that could determine this game.
Kotoko go into tomorrow’s fixture on the back of losing their unbeaten run in 11 games after being beaten 2-1 by Basake Holy Stars on Wednesday in their outstanding Week 3 league fixture.
Before that clash, the University of Ghana Sports Stadium will today host the game between Hearts of Oak and Vision FC.
Hearts coach Mas-Ud Didi Dramani hopes his side will carry the day after two draws on the road while coach Nana Kweku Agyemang of Vision FC is also aiming to pick his first victory over the Phobians.
League leaders Aduana FC will trek to the Bibiani Dun’s Park to play as guests of Bibiani Gold Stars tomorrow while second placed Heart of Lions welcome Karela United to the Kpando Stadium.
At the Nana Fosu Gyeabour Park, Bechem United will welcome Hohoe United, Berekum Chelsea will face Samartex FC at the Golden City Park in Berekum while Basake Holy Stars will host Nations FC at the Ampian AAK II Sports Arena in Azulewanu.
In other games, Swedru All Blacks will host Young Apostles at the Swedru Stadium with Eleven Wonders chasing their first victory of the season against Dreams FC on Monday at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium.
BY RAYMOND ACKUMEY
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Government has injected more than 3.4 billion cedis into the National Health Insurance Scheme after the removal of the cap on NHIS funding.
The Deputy Chief Executive responsible for Operations, Dr Senanu Kwesi Djokoto, told staff in Tamale that the move is the biggest investment in the Scheme since it was created in 2003.
He explained that the additional funds are already strengthening health financing across the country.
Dr Kwesi Djokoto addressed a trainer of trainers workshop on the ongoing reforms of the National Health Insurance Authority on Friday, November 21.
He noted that in 2024 the Scheme used 52 percent of its resources on claims and is using 65 percent this year, with plans to increase that figure again next year.
He explained that Executive Management, led by Chief Executive Dr Victor Asare Bampoe, is working to build a modern and efficient Scheme that focuses on people and meets its promise of providing fair access to quality health care.
Dr Kwesi Djokoto also outlined the Authority’s digital reforms, which are meant to bring health services closer to members and make the Scheme more resilient.
The initiatives form part of the Telehealth strategy and include the E pharmacy platform, which links patients to nearby pharmacies, the Biometric Membership Authentication System that verifies members seeking care, and a cashless system at registration centres.
He noted that these reforms are designed to improve access to quality health care and support Ghana’s goal of achieving Universal Health Care by 2030.
The Northern Regional Operations Manageress, Madam Fauzia Shingu Alhassan, welcomed participants on behalf of the Regional Director.
She stated that the training is part of reforms aimed at redefining the NHIS and making it sustainable.
She added that the digital upgrades represent major changes that will make the Scheme more efficient, accessible, and trustworthy.
The workshop brought together officials of the Ghana Health Service, the Christian Health Association of Ghana, private health providers, and a representative of the Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Mr Gaeten Adangabey.
The Acting Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr Oswald Essuah Mensah, and the Acting Deputy Director of MIS, Mr Orison Aflu, took participants through the design of the digital platforms and how they will be rolled out next year.
Other officials present included the Acting Director of MIS, Mr Vitus Kaleo Bioh, Acting Director of the Claims and Illegal Payments Taskforce, Mr Isaac Gideon Akonde, the Head of Communication, Madam Faustina Dery, the Acting Deputy Director of Marketing, Madam Angela Asiedu, and the Acting Deputy Director of Client and Provider Relations, Madam Hamdiya Yakubu.
By: Jacob Aggrey
