Minister to crack the whip over Stadium Maintenance
The Minister of Youth and Sports, Nii Lante Vanderpuye, has vowed to crack the whip on officials of the National Sports Authority (NSA) in a bid to ensure that the newly-constructed Cape Coast Stadium does not suffer a similar fate as other dilapidated national stadia.
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The Ministry of Youth and Sports and the NSA have suffered criticisms for allowing the four stadia (Sekondi Stadium, Essipon, Baba Yara Stadium, Accra Stadium and the Tamale Sports Stadium) constructed to host AFCON 2008 to waste away because of a poor maintenance programme.
However, the Minister, in a question and answer session with journalists after the Cape Coast Stadium was officially handed over by the Chinese government last Friday, stressed that it would be a "disgrace and failure" if the facility is allowed to waste away like those stadia.
"This stadium will not be allowed to go that way," Nii Lante stressed.
"My whip will always be in hand to maintain the stadium. I will take stringent measures to deter anyone who will bring the integrity of the facility into disrepute.
It will be a disgrace and failure on our part if the Chinese come back and see the facility in a poor state," he stated.
He also proposed that the Black Stars final AFCON 2017 qualifier against Rwanda, which he described as "crucial", be hosted at the Cape Coast Stadium.
"We will have to consult with the GFA, if it's better to play in Accra than Cape Coast we won't force them.
At the Ministry level we intend to play the next Black Stars match in Cape Coast. This is to reduce the stress and tension of playing in Accra.", he explained.