Chairman of the Local Organising Committee for the 2023 African Games, Dr. Kwaku Ofosu-Asare, says he was shocked when the Ghana Police Service submitted a GH¢35.8 million bill for the deployment of 6,000 officers during the Games, but failed to justify the amount.
Speaking during a sitting of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday, May 18, Dr. Ofosu-Asare said the police submitted the bill after the Games, despite withdrawing their services before the tournament ended.
“This was the bill submitted by the police at the end of the Games. I was really baffled because that was not the agreement. We were initially even feeding them. Then they later pulled out and out of nowhere, they brought us this bill,” he said.
According to him, repeated requests for a breakdown of the charges yielded no proper justification.
“I asked them to justify why such a huge amount was being claimed, but they couldn’t. I was shocked by the kind of bill they brought,” he added.
The Public Accounts Committee also questioned the Ministry of Sports and Recreation over the lack of supporting documents for a separate GH¢455,000 hostel bill incurred during the Games.
During the hearing, Ranking Member of the Committee, Samuel Atta-Mills, suggested that officials at the Sports Ministry should be rotated annually to help prevent recurring financial irregularities.
Ghana hosted the Accra 2023 African Games from March 8 to March 23, 2024.
Discussion about this post