Mgt c'ttee members were not given $82,500 each - Afriyie Ankrah

Former Minister of Youth and Sports, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah has told the Presidential Commission of Enquiry investigating Ghana’s disappointing appearance at the Brazil 2014 World Cup, that it is not the case that each management committee member of the Black Stars got $82,500 in appearance fees as had earlier been reported.

The former Minister made the clarification on Monday, the third and final day of his appearance at the Commission.

Asked on what his views were about Management members receiving appearance fees and whether they were also entitled to the same appearance fees as players and members of the technical team, Mr. Afriyie Ankrah made the point that since players and technical team took the fees, he thought that the Management which managed the team pre-tournament, during the tournament and post tournament, also deserved some monies for their work but noted that there could be a public discussion on what the amount should be and whether it should also be termed appearance fees.

Speaking on the current issue of the appearance fees for the Management members during the Brazil 2014 World Cup however, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah said “Not each of the management team members got 82,500. From what I know, it was calculated based on 7 people and it was given out as a lump figure but it was not as if each management member received that $82,500 because the management of the team is big, about 20 people or there about.”

The clarification provided by the former Minister flies in the face of previous media reports which suggested that each management member was given $82,500 as appearance fees.

The reports on how much each management member received reached a crescendo when the Chief Director and Chief Accountant appeared at the Commission and announced that some officials also took $100,000 in appearance fees. Some media persons inferring from this answer, put out reports which claimed that each Management member took $100,000 as appearance fees.

However, a day later, the Chief Director and Chief Accountant clarified that while technical team officials took $100,000, management members did not. The Chief Director explained that it was a lump figure calculated using the $82,500 agreed by Cabinet. However, the Chief Accountant’s statement that the $82,500 for seven people was paid out, further complicated matters and led to new reports that each management member received $82,500.

Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide a fortnight ago seemed to have made a similar statement to what the former Sports Minister told the commission today but went further to even suggest that officials of the Ministry of Sports were also beneficiaries of this lump sum.