106 Cars, 30 Ayalolo Buses For Africa Games

The Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for the 2023 African Games has disclosed plans to utilize 332 vehicles during the event, scheduled from March 8 to March 24, 2024.

These vehicles, as outlined in an official handbook from the LOC, will serve various functions throughout the tournament.

Specifically, the committee aims to procure 55 buses, 29 Land Cruisers, 106 Saloon Cars, 26 minibuses, 78 Wagons, 30 Ayalolo buses, 5 trucks, and 3 Toyota Land Cruiser Prados.

This announcement follows accusations made by Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, who alleged that the government intends to spend an exorbitant US$48 million on “operational expenses” for the games.

Ablakwa, armed with what he claims to be official documents, brought this information to light on Monday, February 26, 2024, revealing what he purports to be the budget for operations during the 13th African Games.

He accused President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the sports ministry, and the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) of the games of being complicit in the ballooned expenditure.

The three groups, he said in a February 26, 2024, post on social media, “have shockingly agreed to spend an elephantine, wrongful and unconscionable US$48 million on so-called ‘operational expenses’ for the 13th African Games to be hosted in Ghana between the period – March 5 to March 23, 2024.

“It must be noted that this staggering US$48 million is an entirely different amount from the mega US$195 million (GHS2.4 billion) already spent on infrastructure for the games. The LOC have meanwhile responded to the claims by Ablakwa, describing it as ‘erroneous and disingenuous”.

In a press release on Tuesday, February 27, 2024, the LOC denied accusations of intentionally distorting facts to shift Ghanaians’ attention away from the positive accomplishments they’ve achieved.