The Ministry of Youth and Sports has said that boxer Samuel Taykyi cannot claim the $20,000 given to him by President Akufo-Addo meant for his career development.
This response from the Ministry comes on the back of the Ghana Boxing Federation president, Bernard Quartey’s statement that Samuel Taykyi refused to join the Black Bombers for Olympics qualifiers because the $20,000 was not given to him.
According to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Samuel Taykyi was given a total package of $50,000 by the President for winning the bronze medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
The statement cited by sportsworldghana indicates that out of the $50,000, $10,000 was supposed to be given to Takyi, $20,000 to buy a car for him and the remaining $20,000 to be used as a development fund for him.
“The President gave $50,000 to Samuel Taykyi for winning the bronze medal at the Olympic games in Japan. It is important to note that the money given to Samuel Taykyi was categorized as follows.”
“$10,000 for winning the bronze medal, $20,000 to procure a vehicle for him and $20,000 to be invested in his personal development,” part of the statement cited by sportsworldghana read.
The Ministry added that “$10,000 was given to Samuel Taykyi on 18th November, 2021. A Nissan Sunny vehicle worth $20,000 was presented to him by the Hon. Minister on 18th November, 2021 and an amount of $5000 was paid to him on 16th December, 2022.”