Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Sports, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, has revealed that his committee is still in the dark about the exact costs incurred by the Ministry of Sports for the Black Stars’ games against Chad and Madagascar.
According to Assafuah in an interview with Michael Kofi Oduro on Metro TV, the only financial information made available to his committee so far relates to the salaries of the coaches and players. However, the detailed budget for the games remains undisclosed.
“We are not aware of the full budget for the Black Stars as we speak. The only information that has been provided to the committee is the breakdown of salaries for the coaches and staff, such as the assistant coaches and team managers. These details were made available, but the actual budget for the games has not been shared with us,” Assafuah explained.
During his State of the Nation Address in February of this year, President John Mahama had promised that the Black Stars’ budget would no longer be kept secret and would be made public to promote transparency.
However, Assafuah downplayed the significance of the President’s promise, stating that it wasn’t a new development.
“This promise isn’t anything groundbreaking. In previous administrations, ministries and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) have always disclosed the amount of money spent on the Black Stars after matches have been played. So, the real change would be if the government starts disclosing the budget before the matches take place,” he added.
Meanwhile, Kofi Adams, the Minister of Sports and Recreation, has assured the public that the budget for the Black Stars’ games will be announced soon.
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