Sports activities Ministry defends renovation spending; counters Ablakwa’s accusations

The Ministry of Youth and Sports activities has issued a proper response to claims made by Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for North Tongu, concerning the alleged mismanagement of funds allotted for the renovation of Ghana’s nationwide stadia.The Ministry’s assertion follows feedback made by the MP after the Confederation of African Soccer (CAF) revoked its approval for the Baba Yara Stadium as a result of poor situation of the pitch.Ablakwa raised issues on social media, questioning why Ghana was going through such sanctions regardless of the quite a few contracts awarded for stadium renovations. He implied that funds had been wasted, significantly in mild of the continuing points at Baba Yara Stadium.In an in depth reply, the Ministry described Ablakwa’s remarks as disingenuous, stating that the MP’s concentrate on the present state of the Baba Yara pitch ignores the numerous structural work that has been accomplished on the Baba Yara, Accra, and Essipong stadia over the previous six years.Current social media publications by the Hon. Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, have alleged wastage of nationwide sources by Authorities in the direction of renovating nationwide stadia. The publications by the MP sought to mislead the general public that each one these monies have been paid with out the corresponding work carried out, following latest points with the Baba Yara pitch, the Ministrys launch stated.The Ministry proceeded to stipulate the intensive scope of renovation work carried out on the three main stadiaAccra, Baba Yara, and Essipongsince 2018. In accordance with the assertion, these upgrades have been important, significantly for the Accra Stadium, which had been described as a loss of life lure as a result of years of neglect underneath the earlier Nationwide Democratic Congress (NDC) administration from 2009 to 2017.The Ministry emphasised that because the renovations, each the Accra and Baba Yara stadia have efficiently hosted quite a few CAF and FIFA-sanctioned matches, contradicting Ablakwas claims that Ghana has been missing in world-class services.The assertion by the MP sought to create the impression that monies have been wasted with out work carried out. Nonetheless, it needs to be famous that FIFA/CAF Class 2 and three matches, together with the 2018 African Girls’s Cup of Nations (AWCON), the 2019 AFCON qualifiers, the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, and the 2023 AFCON qualifying matches have been performed at each the Accra and Baba Yara Stadia respectively, the Ministry added.Furthermore, the Ministry highlighted that Accra and Cape Coast stadia additionally served as venues for the soccer matches throughout the just lately concluded thirteenth African Video games, Accra 2023, additional disproving Ablakwas accusations.In addressing Ablakwas criticisms, the Ministry identified that the earlier administration, of which the MP was a member, didn’t undertake any important renovation works on these nationwide services between 2009 and 2017, leaving them in a state of disrepair.The Ministry concluded by reaffirming its dedication to sustaining and upgrading the countrys sports activities infrastructure, noting that ongoing efforts are geared toward guaranteeing Ghana continues to host worldwide occasions and promote sports activities growth.



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