Minister Weeps Over World Cup ‘Chop Chop’

Mr Afriyie-Ankrah's demeanour attracted the sympathy of Justice Senyo Dzamefe, Chairman of the Commission, who allowed him some minutes to rediscover his rhythm.

The learned Court of Appeal justice however dropped a hint that the grilling of Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah so far was child's play, as real action would start on Monday.

The Chairman had asked the minister how he felt when the team failed to train for two days before the final group game against Portugal, and Mr. Afriyie-Ankrah choked on the words in his reply, followed by tears dripping from his eyes.

'My Lord, I felt devastated because…,' then he choked on the words with tears streaming down his cheeks, as he reached for a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe them away.

“Honourable relax, honourable relax; we are helping Mother Ghana,” the Chairman consoled the minister.

'Don't be emotional honourable, take your time, don't be emotional,' said Justice Dzamefe.

The former Sports Minister responded after wiping his eyes with his handkerchief and sipping some water.

'My Lord it's a natural reaction, I'm not crying,' he said in a solemn tone.

Some cynics were however of the belief that the minister's display was an attempt to attract public sympathy after the mess caused in the organisation of the botched tournament.

The Commission then allowed the witness some time to pull himself together, and during that short break, Justice Dzamefe gave the nod for a video presentation on what transpired in the supporters' camp in Brazil.

When he finally rediscovered his rhythm, the minister told the commission that he had a perfect relationship with the playing body as well as the team officials.

But he hinted that the protracted appearance fee issue angered the players. He added that though they did not demonstrate it in words, their body language was enough to show that they were not happy.

Mr Afriyie-Ankrah, who now operates at the Presidency as a Minister of State, mentioned that all was well in the team's camp until the issue of financial remuneration of the players set in and eventually got out of hand.

He indicated that the situation became very sensitive at a point.

'I tried everything but to no avail. If there was any means, I could have employed it. I went to the extent of contacting a Brazilian businessman to transfer some monies for us but that also didn't work.

'The players insisted on cash despite attempts from all quarters including calls from His Excellency. The Vice President also met with the team after the US game, gave them the assurance that they will receive their monies but they were still not happy,' he added.

Reacting to whether his constant touch with the team didn't contribute to their failure, taking into consideration the proverbial 'familiarity breeds contempt' phrase, he said 'Not at all, I wanted to be close. It was not true they didn't want to see me because they realised I was the only channel by which they could receive their cash.'

Justice Dzamefe on the other hand said, 'Your closeness to the team had two sides—one, either the proverbial familiarity breeds contempt comes in and they forgetting that you are the Minister, or it will motivate them.'

The witness denied rumours that there was tension in camp before the Portugal game. 'Morale in camp was high before the Portugal game. In fact Gyan said, 'I requested for the cash, now the cash is in so I must deliver.'

The Commission gave him ample time, getting to the end of the session, to clear the air regarding accusations levelled against him. 'I have been accused wrongly for many things; they say I have stolen government money and all that.

'The Congress man in Brazil hosted my family and myself. I bought the tickets myself – Air Portugal. I didn't share dollars on Brazilian women's hips, and it was not true that my mum sold replica jerseys. She is an evangelist based in London.'

It also came up at the sitting that the Black Stars Management and the entirety of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) were against the demand of $100,000 as appearance fee by the players.

The Commission said that real work regarding interrogating the former Sports Minister will begin on Monday when sitting resumes.

By Kofi Owusu Aduonum