$3.5m Chartered A "Dropping" To Brazil With 122 Watchmen

"This is worse than I thought… Government was actually able to speedily mobilize 3.5 million dollars in less than twenty four hours, bundle the cash in bags, chatter a flight from Ghana to Brazil, hire 72 Military Police, 19 Municipal Guards, 26 Squadron Ground Force Military, 14 members of the Grupamento de Operacoes Especiais de Brasilia, One Aeronautical Policia (Air Force), 2 Highway Patrol Battalion and an Air Mobile Brasilia Group to send the $3.5 million through the streets of Brasilia to the players. Woow!!! Hahaha eih!“

--Hammer of the last 2 music group--

The Presidential plane was turned into a taxicab and was chartered by the "$3 million" Players Appearance fees for a "dropping" and when you thought the news couldn't get any worse, it keeps coming. Why do we have to send one hundred and twenty six(126) to accompany this money, four crew members and one hundred and twenty two security personnel? What is really wrong with President?Mahama?

Who made the decision to fly extra seventy five Blackstars supporters on Wednesday evening to go and watch the match between the Blackstars and Portugal played on Thursday? The sad part about this stupidity is that, before the plane touched down on Brazilian soil on Thursday, the game was over and these supporters watched the game on plane television. Are we that stupid?

There were already more than 500 paid for supporters in Brazil who apart from the opening game between Ghana and USA watched the match at the Natal stadium, the two other matches between Ghana and Germany where only one hundred supporters were able to get to the stadium, 400 of the supporters watched the game on television. There was not even a single member of the five hundred supporters paid for by Taxpayers at the stadium when Ghana played Portugal. We have 47 Politicians at Brazil and what was their responsibilities? This is a classic case of causing financial loss to the state and some people should be prosecuted.

Why is the President so insistent in looking into everything? My sources in Brazil have given me so many sordid details about the behavior of some officials sent to Brazil by this government the coming days will be interesting when the team return to Ghana. The behavior of the Sports Minister who was following his rumoured Actress girlfriend in Brazil like a child in candy store and ignored the needs of the team will come out. Some of the Ambassadors sent to Brazil as a camouflage for different reasons will come out too. One of these ladies is rumoured to have slept with three different Blackstars players and the jealousies brought about because of some of these singers and Actresses in the Ghanaian contingent is too sad and salacious it willnot be right to write about it here.

What the government should investigate is what happened to the Sports Ministry $9.6 million supposed budget to the Blackstars team.

Some of the questions the Minister of Sports and these forty seven (47) or so government Officials should be asked are;

Who received this $9.6 million money at GFA?

How much money was raised by these Ambassadors. John Dumelo, one of the Ambassadors who went to Brazil said the Ambassadors raised more than $2 million . Let the Sports Minister explain how this money was spent.

Name all the government Officials who accompanied the team to Brazil and why it was expedient for them to be there.

The team was paid appearance money for the three friendly matches they played against Montenigro, Netherlands and Korea. How much did the team earn in the three matches and if the money was given to GFA or the Ministry of Sports.

If the team was financed by the Sports Ministry to the tune of $9.6 million, why did the GFA demand an advance from FIFA?

How much money was actually airlifted to Brazi? According to a Bank source, the money airlifted to Brazil was more than the three million dollars and it was as much as $4.5 million. Did the government pay penalties to Brazil for bringing this money into the country?

Why so much money? Even if we pay the twenty three (23) Players $100,000 each, why did we need so much dollars going outside the country?

Was it necessary for more than twenty Ministry of Sports AND Ndc Officials like Boateng Gyan to accompany the team from Netherlands, USA and then the number increased to 47 to Brazil?

The term is APPEARANCE FEES and should have been given to the Players in Ghana where some of it would have ended in the economy with the Players spending some in Ghana with their families. Now this money is out of our system.

Did the government law whereby one is restricted in how much foreign currency can be taken out from one's account affected the Players insistence not wanting the government to put the money in their accounts in Ghana?

These are some of the questions the administration should investigate to see if its own bad banking policies are affecting the flight of foreign currencies from the system making the depreciation of the cedi an unstoppable train wreck.

Ghana has become the butt of jokes in late night comedy shows in USA where the $3 million airlifted to the team has become an international scandal and an embarrassment to Ghanaians all over the world.

Even Kwesi Pratt, Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper, can attest to this jokes as the Mahama government decision to to fly a cash amount of $3 million to the Black stars in Brazil has made the country a laughing stock.

“I was listening to BBC yesterday and the presenters were making fun of the move made by the government, Ghana has become a laughing stock”

What is this? Is Ghana a banana republic operating a 20th century administration whereby we lack banking system where money deposited in an account in one country can be accessed in another country within a day we have to carry 3 million dollars in cash to Brazil with a rumoured twenty five people accompanying this money to Brazi? The laws in Brazil is even against this method of doing business. Brazilian officials said bringing in $3 million in cash and not declaring it to authorities would be illegal and the entire amount could be confiscated. Individuals cannot bring in more than $4,500 each without having it subject to taxes, said Brazil's Federal Police, who enforce custom and immigration laws.

Was it even necessary for GFA to ask FIFA for advance payment of our $8 million prize? This is disgraceful to the country. It was reported that,Ghana's cash-strapped football association has asked for an advance on the $8 million prize money it is guaranteed from the World Cup to pay outstanding debts to players.

"FIFA said Wednesday that Ghana's request was ''under evaluation.''

Why should we be cash strapped if the Sports Ministry gave GFA $9.6 million? As I wrote in my previous article, the Sports Ministry told Ghanaians that this money was to take care of the team and the Ministry will not demand it back from GFA when it gets it prize money of $8 million back because they knew from the onset that this money was not for the Blackstars but for its own officials and Party members expenses that is why they told the nation they will not ask the GFA to pay it back.

"President Mahama has emphasized the need to establish a committee to investigate the circumstances that led to the elimination of the Black Stars from the World Cup tournament.According to him, the decision to fuse the old players with the new ones partly contributed to the loss."

Yes, I do agree with President Mahama that there should be an investigation but the problem is not the mixture of old Players with young players. If that is the case then his government should be investigated for mixing the baby teeths in his government with the old giraffes in his government.Money is the root of all problems and not different here. His Sports Ministry should be investigated about how the government $9.6 million was spent and other matters.

It should include the previous world cup in 2010 and 2006. In 2010 for instance, the prize money we won was $14 million but Akua Densuah, the Minister of Sports at that time declared only $11 million and that should be investigated too. I am done for now but more will be coming until all the government explain to Ghanaian Taxpayers how their money are being squandered by corrupt government officials and GFA.

Justice Sarpong

(CARDINAL of TRUTH)