It became obvious that some of these were nothing short of scams since they never presented written reports of previous games, and how Ghana fared.Īs a result, I started turning down most of these fictitious and fraudulent requests. These were mostly for sports like Football, Cricket, Golf and Basketball.

In spite of these weaknesses, there were constant demands for cash (dollars) to travel outside the country for games. When I started asking questions, I was basically advised by my colleagues in Government (the PNDC) to leave it alone. In terms of relationships, the then powerful Sports Writers Association was at war with the Ministry and the Sports Council over issues of corruption and lack of accountability.

The Sports Councils bank Account was completely depleted. To put it mildly, these were shared each Monday after the football matches on Sunday. I was soon to discover that gate fees for matches at the Accra sports Stadium went to private bank Accounts. When I asked the officials for an explanation, all I got were shuffling feet and looks of embarrassment. As for jerseys and track suit, there was none. I was confronted with shock and horror, as the officials of the Sports Council had looted the stores of every single sports item. More than that I was more interested in the youth section until our decision to take part in the 1982 Africa Cup of nations in Tripoli, Libya.Īs part of our preparations, even though late, I visited the Sports Stadium to see what we had in terms of facilities and sports kit. When I took over as PNDC Secretary for Youth and Sports, I knew little about sports. When I watch the current pantomime about the Anas video, I ask myself have we not we been there before? Are we so forgetful?

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