Brazil 2014: ‘I advised against supporters village’

The CEO of African Origin Travel and Sports Tourism, Mr Samson Deen, yesterday told the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Ghana’s World Cup campaign how he advised the then Minister of Youth and Sports, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, against the idea of having a supporters village and fan parks.

He said unlike the Olympic Games where the entire competition was held in one city, the World Cup required that the teams travelled around different cities and as a result advised against investing in those areas because of the huge costs involved.

The witness said when his proposal was approved, it was Kojo Adu Asare, a member of the planning committee, who communicated it to him to provide services, including accommodation and transport for which he charged $5,510 as the total package per person. 

Earlier, a witness for Kenpong Travel and Tours (KT&T), Mr Kofi Poku, yesterday prayed the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to aid it retrieve $40,000 and other expenses incurred while lifting supporters to Brazil on behalf of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

Mr Poku, the Project Manager of KT&T, who testified as a witness to KT&T’s Director of Finance, George Amoako, told the Justice Senyo Dzamefe-led commission that the debt was incurred as a result of moving government supporters to a destination farther than what was originally planned.

Committee's request

Corroborating an earlier assertion by Mr Amoako, the witness recounted vividly how the tour operator obliged a request by Ghana’s World Cup planning committee to secure a facility closer to the stadium where the Black Stars would play their first match in Brazil.

He said after meeting all the requirements of the committee, they later took the government’s team on an inspection tour and they approved of all their facilities as good enough to host the supporters during the World Cup.

Confusion at Brazil airport

Upon the arrival of the government’s supporters in Brazil, Mr Poku said a planning committee member, Mr Larry Acheampong, had hired buses to convey the supporters although he (Poku) had five buses already waiting to convey them to their hotel.

And when he inquired why Mr Acheampong had gone ahead to hire busses as well, he was told “it was plan B”. However, Fred Darko, the Project Co-ordinator of Ghana’s World Cup secretariat, instructed the supporters to rather travel in Mr Poku’s buses because they were more luxurious and comfortable.

The witness told the commission he was compelled to pay an additional $40,000 to the company which provided the shuttle service because the plane carrying the supporters landed at a new airport which was about 45 minutes drive from the supporters camp, instead of a familiar airport they had used on previous visits which was just 25 minutes drive.

Hotels demand money

Due to their inability to use two-star and three-star hotels which were earlier booked to accommodate the supporters, Mr Poku said owners of these facilities were demanding compensation for the earlier reservation done.

He explained further that because the planning committee later decided to accommodate the Ghanaian supporters in a camp, the plan to use the hotels was abandoned altogether even though he noted that some of Ghana’s World Cup ambassadors were lodged at the hotel in the name of KT&T but got the Ministry of Youth and Sports to settle their bills.

Mr Amoako’s account

Mr Amoako disclosed that KT&T made an initial deposit of a dollar equivalent of GH¢555,660.00 to Travel Matters meant for their 270 allotted supporters and their corporate clients.

He said payment was made to ensure Travel Matters got money to pay for three aircraft it had secured from Ethiopian Airlines which had threatened to cancel those bookings because Travel Matters had only paid $100,000 for the chartered aircraft.

On that revelation, Mr Kofi Anokye Owusu Darko, a member of the commission, inquired why Mr Amoako did not go ahead to secure the aircraft instead, to which the witness responded that the airline was not ready to commit an additional aircraft and advised him to liaise with Travel Matters. 

Change of arrangement in Brazil

Mr Amoako said although KT&T were supposed to provide accommodation and transport services to the supporters in Brazil, things changed when they got to Brazil with the ministry’s planning committee taking over responsibilities earlier assigned to them. 

Amoako's relation with ex-minister

Mr Amoako admitted that the former Minister of Youth and Sports Minister, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, was his cousin but the witness  was quick to add that his relation with the minister did not influence the selection KT&T as part of the tour operators.

But Justice Dzamefe asked how they got selected if one of the criteria was experience, when in fact their company had no prior experience, the witness responded that KT&T had contracted experts with a wealth of experience in the business.

Mr Deen is expected to reappear before the commission today to continue with his testimony.