Minority in Parliament blows alarm over African Games expenditure

The Minority in Parliament has called for a bi-partisan Parliamentary probe into the $240 million spent on the just-ended 13th African games by the government.

According to the Minority, despite the huge sums of money spent on the games, the organisation and management of the event were poor and shambolic as compared to other African countries that hosted previous editions.

Addressing journalists, the Ranking Member on the Youth and Sports Committee of Parliament, Kobena Mensah Woyome criticized the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government saying the 13th African Games held in Ghana was a monumental disaster and total embarrassment to the country.

He highlighted that despite the substantial financial investment, the event failed to deliver economic viability, promote tourism, or facilitate trade effectively.

Mr. Woyome emphasized that the expenditure on the games was alarming, especially considering the nation’s current economic challenges.

Drawing comparisons to previous hosts, he noted that Morocco spent 46 million euros and Congo spent 60 million dollars on the 12th and 11th editions, respectively, but have very ultra-modern sports facilities.

“The just-ended games were a monumental disaster and a total embarrassment to our dear country. The Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government spent a staggering 240 million dollars on the just-ended games yet, the organisation and management of the event were poor and shambolic.

“Quite apart from the fact that it lacked the clear combined effect of economic viability, the organisation of the games lacked clear-cut policies for tourism promotion and trade facilitation. This could have given us some economic value for the huge expenditure on the game.

He added, “Given the current state of the Ghanaian economy, which has been rendered bankrupt by the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government. Emerging details about the hefty expenditure of the games raised concerns among Ghanaians.

“Four years Morocco, hosted the 12 edition of the African games and spent 46 million euros, prior to that Congo spent 60 million dollars to host the 11th edition.”