Special Prosecutor petitioned to investigate $245 million expenditure on African Games
The Forum for Accountable Governance has submitted a petition to the Office of the Special Prosecutor, urging an investigation into the significant expenditures associated with Ghana's hosting of the 2023 African Games.
The 13th edition of the African Games, held in February and March, has been overshadowed by claims of inflated budgets. Concerns escalated after the Sports Minister disclosed that more than $3.5 million was spent on broadcasting the event.
According to Mustapha Ussif, this amount was paid to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), which served as the official broadcaster for the Games.
However, the Director General of GBC, Prof. Amin Alhassan, contradicted the Minister’s statement, asserting that GBC's total revenue from the coverage was only $105,000, far less than the “excess of $3 million” mentioned by the Minister.
Adding to the controversy, Kobena Woyome, the Ranking Member on the Youth, Sports, and Culture Committee of Parliament, alleged that the Ghanaian government spent $4.5 million on the game management system and accreditation tags for the African Games. Woyome made this claim during an interview with Joy Sports.
In response to these allegations, Kwame Owusu Danso, the convener for the Forum for Accountable Governance, has called on the Office of the Special Prosecutor to scrutinize the financial activities surrounding the Games.
“To the extent that I told you I have so much confidence in the Office of the Special Prosecutor, we’re all law-abiding citizens and so, if investigations are conducted and properly so done and the outcome is that there are no corruption-related matters inherent in the organisation of the All African Games,” he said as reported by Citinewsroom.
“I think the matter would have been brought to bed. And so, I would not further query or ask questions about it. At least, my conscience will be satisfied that I have done the Lord’s duty for the good people of this country,” he added.