Sports Ministry budget inadequate — Nunoo Mensah
The president of the Ghana Weightlifting Federation (WTF), Ben Nunoo Mensah, says the current budget allocation of GH¢39 million to the Ministry of Youth and Sports is woefully inadequate.
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He said the sports ministry, which is next to the Ministry of Chieftaincy Affairs in terms of financial support, has a lot of agencies which rely on its resources, and that such a paltry sum was killing sports in the country.
“Unlike the tourism, communications and other ministries, the Sports Ministry does not generate any internal funds even though it has a lot of agencies like the GYEEDA, the Winneba Sports College, among others, who depend on its financial resources,” Nunoo Mensah said.
In an interview coming on the heels of a recent media briefing by heads of the various sports federations on the lack of government’s support for the other national teams, Mr Nunoo Mensah said if the state wanted to sustain the Black Stars at the highest level, then a lot more resources must be injected into the team to maintain its flagship status across the globe.
He described calls for the prioritisation of sports on the basis of comparative and competitive advantages, as premature and said: “This is the time to support all national teams by constructing multipurpose courts for the other disciplines and also giving the teams the needed exposure by supporting them at international competitions.”
He said: “This will reveal the strength and weaknesses of the other national teams on the basis of which the country could then priortise.”
“As I speak to you now what I have gathered is that even the GH¢39 million will be slashed to GH¢24 million in the next budget even when those of us in the other national teams still have outstanding bills to clear,” the weightlifting chief lamented.
And he further appealed to all stakeholders in sports, particularly the media, to project the sector positively so as to entice more corporate bodies to be part of sports development.
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“The present situation where the Sports Ministry and issues about bonuses are always bedevilled with controversies does not augur well for our efforts to get more corporate bodies into our fold,” he stressed.