The National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, has criticized the current government for the poor condition of Ghana’s stadiums.
He believes that corruption is the underlying cause of the poor conditions.
Mahama’s comments come after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) asked the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to find a new venue for Ghana’s next home game.
In line of this, the National Sports Authority (NSA) has closed down three major stadiums including the Baba Yara Stadium, Accra Sports Stadium and Cape Coast Stadium to pave way for maintenance works to begin.
Mahama pointed out during his campaign ahead of the December 7 elections that despite significant funds—amounting to over GHS 85 million—being allocated for stadium renovations, the results have been underwhelming, with facilities like the Baba Yara Stadium facing bans due to inadequate maintenance.
He accused the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) of failing to manage these resources effectively, raising concerns about corruption as a major factor in the mismanagement
“This is an embarrassment.For the first time in our history, CAF says we don’t have any stadium where we can play international matches, so we have to play our games in other countries,”
“It was only recently the government handed out big contracts to companies to renovate the stadiums so what happened?” he asked.
“Everybody is tired of the corruption scandals. People are tired of it so journalists don’t talk about it anymore.”
Mahama has been vocal about corruption in Ghana, pledging to tackle it head-on if elected.
–
Story by Asack Pius|univers.ug.edu.gh
pppkpm