Cycling Association Club chairmen unhappy

Six Club Chairmen under the Greater Accra Cycling Association (GACA) have expressed unhappiness about the way the national association is being run. Enumerating some of the problems they encounter as chairmen, Mr Nii Ayi Oku, General Secretary of GACA and spokesperson for the chairmen saidlack of transparency at the national level, nepotism and dictatorship are some of their major concerns.

They accused the chairman of the national association, Mr Peter Affort, of being unreliable and called for his immediate removal. Mr Oku said the "Tour du Togo" which ended in Togo recently should have been held in Ghana but this was shifted to Togo for mo tangible reasons.

He added that only cyclists of one particular club were chosen to represent the country instead of national selection. He regretted that the club chairmen spent so much on their cyclists out which nothing is gained in return saying the cost of one bicycle is between 5,000 and 7,000 dollars each.

Mr Kofi Ohene-Osae, chairman of Tema-based Nippon Cycling club re-countered that he spent 500,0000 cedis daily on his cyclists each time he brought them to

Accra during Cowbell sponsorship programme but was given only 500,000 cedis at the end of the programme.

Mr Francis Kpesenu, Secretary General of the Ghana Cycling Association denied all the accusations describing them as baseless. He said the selection of venues for their programmes was not chronological in that any country could be chosen for a tour. There was no favouritism in the selection of cyclists for their programmes adding that selection for national assignments were based on merit.

Mr Kpesenu said six out of the eight cyclists selected for Tour du Togo were from the GACA. He said in all 10 cyclists represented Ghana so the chairmen have no rpt no basis for their criticism, he said. A meeting for the two sides has been scheduled for Tuesday.