World Cup exit: Now come back home to your real jobs – Sam George to MPs, ministers in Qatar

The Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram, Sam Nartey George, has taken a swipe at New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament and ministers of state who left their jobs and travelled to Qatar to watch the 2022 World Cup.

In a tweet shared after the Black Stars’ defeat to Uruguay in their last group game of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, the MP said that one of the good things about the defeat is that the officials who neglected their duties will come back home.

“Now can our government officials come back home to their real jobs,” parts of the MP’s tweet read.

The minority caucus in parliament expressed concern on Tuesday about the absence of members from the Majority side of the House.

The concern was anchored on the premise that the debate on the 2023 budget, as presented by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, was expected to start with a race to pass the Appropriation Bill in time.

Though no official reason was given for the mass absence of the majority members, GhanaWeb checks show that some of the majority Members of Parliament (MPs) were out of the jurisdiction.

At least three of them were spotted in Qatar, where the 2022 FIFA World Cup is ongoing.

One of the MPs who has been in Qatar for the past two weeks is Mustapha Ussif of Yagaba-Kubori, who doubles as Minister of Youth and Sports.

Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, who doubles as the Member of Parliament for Ablekuma West Constituency, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, was also spotted in Qatar, according to social media posts.

Minister of Energy and Manhyia South MP, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh is also in Qatar cheering on the Black Stars.

Patrick Yaw Boamah, Okaikwei Central MP is also in Qatar, where he has been sharing photos of himself on the streets and at the stadium supporting Otto Addo and his charges.

The Black Stars were eliminated from the 2022 FIFA World Cup after losing by 2-0 to Uruguay in their final match of the group stages.

Giorgian de Arrascaeta's two goals for Uruguay were not enough to get them through to the next round of the tournament as South Korea beat Portugal 2-1.

The Black Stars had a slow start in the game as Uruguay was on fire from the blast of the whistle.

However, Ghana's first chance in the game which fell to Jordan Ayew nearly saw him score but Sergio Rochet pulled a good save which saw Kudus go in for a rebound.

Read the MP’s tweet below:

Four take aways from this defeat;

1. We need a proper coach with technical know how

2. The GFA Executives need to stop interfering in team selection

3. Even if we lost, we are going home with Uruguay

4. Now can our government officials come back home to their real jobs.

— Sam 'Dzata' George (@samgeorgegh) December 2, 2022