GNPC can still sponsor Black Stars - Mark Asibey Yeboah

Dr Mark Asibey Yeboah, the Chairman of the Finance Committee of Parliament says the door is not completely closed to GNPC if they still intend on sponsoring the senior national football team, the Black Stars.

Dr Yeboah, however, revealed that any decision by the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation to sponsor the Black Stars must receive Parliamentary approval when they present their yearly budget to the August house.

“ The door is not completely shut, if GNPC feel sponsoring the Black Stars is important then they must put it in their budget and provide justification for it. At the moment, they always cry that Parliament does not approve the necessary funds for them to carry out their duties and yet the find it prudent to put the money they claim is not enough into other ventures. So we are saying they should concentrate on only their core duties for now.”

Last week, the Parliament of Ghana ordered GNPC to stop spending on non-core activities which includes the sponsorship of the Black Stars.

Justifying Parliament’s decision, Dr Yeaboa said, “A lack of checks on the activities of GNPC could see the state company venturing and putting money into areas which they will be unable to justify”.

GNPC pays $3 million annually to the national team as part of its sponsorship package, however, Parliament last Thursday approved a report by Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) which recommended that the state corporation re-focuses its resources on core duties only.

The Black Stars of Ghana landed a sponsorship deal with GNPC in 2013 for the country’s crude oil resource managers to sponsor the senior national football team $3 million annually for five years.

The order to stop sponsoring the Stars will come as a big blow, as the senior national team has no major sponsor now, except for uniBank and GLICO.

It however, waits to be seen If the GFA will fight this contract termination, since there is one more year to run on the original 5 year deal they signed with GNPC in 2013.