Afriyie-ankrah vindicated

…Over $35 Per Day World Cup Supporters Feeding Fee, As Supporters’ Leader Buys ‘Kanzo’ For $25

The hue and cry over the rationale behind the world cup committee’s decision to peg the daily feeding fee for the state-sponsored Ghanaian supporters at the World Cup in Brazil at $35 was silenced during one of the sessions of the World Cup Commission with the testimony of one of the leaders of the Supporters’ Unions.

Abdul Aziz Haruna Futa, President of the Nationwide Supporters Union (NSU) who is also a leader of the Ghana Supporters’ Union- the umbrella organization for some thirty-eight supporters unions in the country, disclosed to the World Cup Commission that he (Futa) had to pay as much as $25 for the residue of rice and beans, locally known as ‘kanzo’.

He told the Commission that he went to buy food from a Ghanaian woman who was a food vendor near the hotel where he lodged in Brazil and had the shock of his life when he had to buy ‘kanzo’ for $25. He said he was told there was no food upon requested so he asked if he could get ‘kanzo’ to buy and when he was served, he was told it cost $25, which he paid.

Haruna Futa, who testified about the treatment of supporters in Brazil among others, told the Commission that he was satisfied with the food members of his supporters union were served at their lodging, revealing that the food was very good by all standards.

Haruna Futa said he had the chance of eating the food on one occasion and can testify to its quality though he would have preferred the soup he took on that day to be thicker than what he was served.

His testimony is seen as some form of justification for the approval of $35 agreed upon with the caterers who were assigned the responsibility of providing food for Ghanaian supporters.

The $35 was arrived at after talks with the caterers who had proposed amounts reaching as high as $67 for feeding each supporter per day.

The former Minister for Youth and Sports, Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah, had told the Commission the World Cup Committee had to plead with caterers to bring the price down to $35 for brunch and supper before they settled on that amount.

The controversy about supporters’ feeding fee stems from the misconception about the fact that one of the caterers, Kenkey Boutique, quoted in its proposal an unrealistic figure of GHC34 (about $16) to feed a supporter a day as against $68 by Monees Foods in Osu, managed by Mrs. Gertrude Quarshiegah, the widow of the late Major (rtd) Courage Quarshiegah, former Minister of Agriculture in the Kufuor-led NPP government, and $67 by Amber Foods, Trade Fair. The Committee eventually pegged the amount at $35 across board but this was misunderstood by some people who are imputing corruption in claiming that an agreed figure of GHC34 between the Committee and the caterers in Ghana was deliberately changed to $35 by the Committee members on reaching Brazil.

The former Minister had explained that the GHC34 ($16) fee for two meals a day was not feasible with current international food prices, even after the Committee had issued a statement to clear the air.

An impression had been created that there were attempts to short-change the nation with the change in currency but with the testimony given by Haruna Futa, there could be some justification for the $35 figure instead of GHC34 if the Commission is able to ascertain the case he presented about the ‘kanzo’ price.

Though the Commission is yet to prove or confirm the absence of any corrupt intentions with regards to the supporters’ feeding fee, there have been some comments from persons to that effect.

It stands to argue that if a plate of ‘kanzo’ could go for $25 in Brazil then GHC34 for two meals a day could materialize.

Haruna Futa confirmed Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah’s statement to the effect that the fans that went to Brazil under state sponsorship were well catered for in the area of food and accommodation.

He recalled that the supporters were housed in air-conditioned rooms for two or six with each person sleeping on a comfortable bed.

He was, however, stopped from giving account of what prevented the fans from being at the match venue for Ghana’s last match against Portugal. The Commission asked him to limit his testimony to events he witnessed personally.

Hauna Futa, though a leader of a supporters’ union, said he went to Brazil on sponsorship from Kenpong Travel & Tours so was not privy to all the happenings in the Ghanaian camp but always had reports from his representatives who gave him good reports on goings-on.