The 13th African Games, which concluded today in Accra, were described as a “monumental disaster and total embarrassment” by the Minority in Parliament, even though the country won 68 medals, the most ever.
During a press conference on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, Kobena Mensah Woyome, the Ranking Member of Parliament’s Youth and Sports Committee, harshly lambasted the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration for what he called the African Games’ shoddy organization.
Even though a hefty $240 million was spent on the event, Mr. Woyome emphasized the inadequate organization, lack of clear policies for tourism promotion and trade facilitation, and absence of economic viability plans.
Given the money spent on the Games, he claimed that the games could have been used as a means of promoting tourism and facilitating trade to help the nation raise money.
Woyome stressed that Ghanaians’ worries about the large amount of money spent on the Games were only exacerbated by the country’s visible economic situation, which he said has been “rendered impoverished” by the government.
“The just-ended games were a monumental disaster and total embarrassment to our dear country. The Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government spent a staggering 240 million dollars on the just-ended games yet, the organization and management of the event were poor and shambolic.
“Quite apart from the fact that it lacked the clear combined effect of economic viability, the organization of the games lacked clear-cut policies for tourism promotion and trade facilitation. This could have given us some economic value for the huge expenditure on the game.
“Given the current state of the Ghanaian economy, which has been rendered bankrupt by the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government. Emerging details about the hefty expenditure of the games raised concerns among Ghanaians.”
