Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Sports, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, has disclosed that the committee is yet to receive the full breakdown of costs incurred by the Ministry of Youth and Sports for the Black Stars’ recent matches against Chad and Madagascar.
Speaking in an interview with Michael Kofi Oduro on Metro TV, Assafuah stated that while the committee has been provided with salary details for coaches and technical staff, the comprehensive budget for the games remains undisclosed.
“We are not aware of the full budget for the Black Stars as we speak,” he said. “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. But the actual budget for the games has not been shared with us.”
His comments come months after President John Mahama, during his State of the Nation Address in February, promised that the budget for Black Stars games would no longer be kept secret in a bid to promote transparency and accountability.
However, Assafuah questioned the significance of that announcement, suggesting that it offered nothing particularly new.
“This promise isn’t anything groundbreaking. In previous administrations, ministries and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) have always disclosed the amount spent on the Black Stars after matches,” he explained. “The real shift would be if the government starts disclosing the budget before the games, not after.”
Meanwhile, the Minister for Youth and Sports, Kofi Adams, has assured the public that the budget for the Black Stars’ recent qualifiers will be made public soon, in line with the President’s pledge.
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