We’re ready to sue Sports Ministry & LOC …Hotel owners threaten over arrears

More than 40 hotel owners have threatened to take legal action against the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for non-payment of fees incurred from accommodating participants who came to Accra for the 13th All-African Games.

The hoteliers claim that although the Ministry of Youth and Sports has paid only 20 percent of the promised amount, their repeated attempts to secure the remaining balance have been unsuccessful.

Over 13,000 participants, consisting of 5,000 athletes, 3,000 technical officials, 3,000 volunteers, and 2,000 guests from 54 African countries, took part in the 13th all-African Games this year.

Many of the visitors were accommodated in hotels situated in Accra, the capital. The Local Organizing Committee (LOC) facilitated negotiations for the room rates with the Ministry of Youth and Sports before the event.

According to over 40 hoteliers, the Ministry initially paid only 20 percent of the agreed amount upfront, with the understanding that the remaining 80 percent would be settled immediately after the conclusion of the games. However, this remaining payment has yet to be received.

The games concluded on March 23, yet the Ministry has not fulfilled its financial obligations. One hotel owner mentioned that all 40 of his rooms were booked by the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for the entire three-week duration of the event.

The hoteliers are growing increasingly frustrated and have issued a warning that they will pursue legal action against both the Ministry and the LOC if the outstanding payments are not made promptly.

Speaking in an interview with TV3, a hotelier said, “We fed them 21 days and 21 nights that’s for the 3-weeks that they stayed. Some of us have 30 rooms, others have 40 rooms and they booked all.

“They promised us that they will pay the balance before the visitors leave but they did not. On the last day we even wanted to lock them but we thought about the bad image we’ll subject the country Ghana into”. A distressed hotelier narrated.

Another hotelier (name withheld) said “we are disappointed at the turn of events. We have been to the ministries and the LOC several times and the accountant keeps giving us excuses that they are doing auditing. For how long are they going to do the auditing when we have clients to settle? We credited the food items to feed them, the toiletries etc. We credit a lot of them items, so the suppliers are also after their monies”.

“We are prepared to sue both the Ministry and the LOC, so we can unlock our monies”.

When contacted, the LOC confirmed leading the Ministry to negotiate for the rates, but directed response from the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

However, an official at the Ministry said that, in due course, they will issue a statement to clarify the matter.