‘China’s’ Cape Coast Stadium A Ticking Time Bomb

A former head of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Dr. Nii Moi Thompson, has complained about the deteriorating state of the Cape Coast Stadium built by the Chinese in 2016.

According to him, the Cape Coast stadium is a disaster waiting to happen in the near future if the necessary precautionary measures are not adhered to.

Dr. Nii Moi Thompson accused the Chinese contractors of a 'shoddy work with the construction of the grossly inflated cost of the Cape Coast stadium'.

“The base of the floodlight at the Cape Coast Stadium, which was built by the Chinese in 2016. There are cracks in the second base too. In fact, there are cracks everywhere in that stadium. It’s a disaster waiting to happen.”

“And therein lies the qualitative aspect of Chinese loans or grants: They do shoddy work for contracts that are grossly inflated because they’re effectively open-sourced from China and China only. And since all the technical drawings are in Chinese, you always have to fly them back to do any major repairs,” he stated.

He blamed the deteriorating state of the Sports stadium to the manner in which all of such contracts are open-sourced from China.

According to him, most of the technical drawings are done in the Chinese language hence the inability of local contractors to rectify the problems, resulting in major repairs works being sent back to China for completion.

He also complained about how critical safety signs are written in the Chinese language further posing safety concerns and other issues of cultural imperialism.

The former economic advisor to President Mahama, also bemoaned the current state of the Accra courts complex which was also funded by the Chinese in 2015.

He says the courts is fast deteriorating ‘from the inside out’ with the paints peeling off the walls.

“In the meantime, Chinese language dominates a critical sign for Fire Exit. English, our official language, is more or less a subscript (a bit of cultural imperialism there). The Accra Court Complex, built in 2015 by a Chinese firm, is no different. It’s rotting from the inside out, with waterlogged walls and peeling paint. Of course our poor maintenance culture doesn’t help any.”

'It Is logical to do business with China' – Oppong Nkrumah

Government had been harshly criticized for its dealings with China following recent agreements signed with that country.

One of such deals is the expected receipt of 2 billion dollars for infrastructure in exchange for Ghana’s bauxite reserves.

Minister for Information Designate, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has however defended the government's decision to partner with China to exploit natural resources for national development.

According to him, the current global environment makes China one of the best partners to work with for economic gains.

President Akufo Addo during a recent visit to China announced some deals signed between Ghana and China, including a two billion dollar bauxite barter deal to mine the commodity in Ghana.

President AKufo-Addo with President Xi Jinping of China

President Mahama Commissions Cape Coast Stadium in 2016

The stadium, which sits 16,000 people, was constructed by Chinese firm Jiang Xi International Corporation and was fully financed by the Chinese government.

Then President Mahama opened the ground with Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Sun Baohong.

The stadium has a tennis court, a gymnasium, an eight-lane running track, two basketball courts, handball courts, halls for table tennis and accommodation for athletes.

The stadium hosted the 2016 MTN FA Cup final and other football games involving the various national teams.