The Minister of Sports after all the pressures from the media and some other sports fanatics to disclose how much of the public’s purse was used for the just ended 2015 African Cup of Nations Tournament (AFCON), finally succumbed to the pressure.
In an earlier interview on PEACE FM morning show ‘Kokrokoo’, Wednesday, the Minister refused to give any information concerning the budget. According to him, his duty is to report to Parliament or the Auditor General and not to the media.
Mahama Ayariga on Wednesday, 11th February, 2015, presented the budget for the 2015 AFCON tournament to Parliament.
In his presentation, he told Parliament that Ghana’s participation in the 2015 AFCON, cost the country about GH₵17.9million or US$8million.
Responding to a few issues in his budget presentation on Citi FM, Mahama Ayariga said the figures he presented on the floor of Parliament is the lowest ever recorded as far as previous AFCON tournaments are concerned.
He said: “the figures that I have presented are the lowest ever used to go to AFCON. I was conscious of that and I reduced the figures, I cut down a lot of things, I disallowed a lot of request just so that the figure will be reasonable…the expenditure is in three folds, going to Spain for camping, the second part is going to Equatorial Guinea and the third package is bonuses. It is the entire process of preparation, participation and bonuses; that is what we budgeted for”
The Sports Minister however debunked claims that he yielded to the pressure from the media. According to him, his disclosure of the budget is not as a result of the fire that was rained on him after the 2015 AFCON tournament. “I did not go to parliament to make a statement because of public pressure. It is part of business that when you go and carry out an assignment, you come back and report to those who sent you. I don’t yield to that kind of pressure; I do things because I think that is right…” he indicated.
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