Sports Minister-designate, Mustapha Ussif
Ghana used to host one of the best sporting activities in Africa through basic level education to tertiary level.
This was done through various activities to inspire pupils at the basic level to take up sports as one of the disciplines in human capital development.
But, this beautiful nurturing program hitherto used for talent hunt, has since lost its pride of place in the development of education in the country.
However, the Minister-designate for Youth and Sport, Mustapha Ussif, has assured Ghanaians that he will collaborate effectively with Ghana Education Service (GES) and other key stakeholders in the sporting sector to revive the sports festival in the country.
He believes many talented Ghanaians got the opportunity to shine through the sports festival platform that must be revived.
According to him, the festival remains an anchor upon which talent hunt could be carried out and capacity building achievements obtained for nation building.
Speaking on a wide range of issues bordering on sports in the country as part of his answers during his vetting in Parliament on Thursday, Mustapha Ussif impressed the Appointment Committee with laudable initiatives he intends to roll out to improve sports in the country.
These include funding mechanisms for the development of sporting activities, national teams, infrastructure, departments and agencies.
In order to deal with funding challenges, the Minister-designate said aside from the engagement of private management of sports infrastructure in the country, he will also employ innovative ways to enhance Internally Generated Funds (IGF's) of the National Sports Authority (NSA).
Mustapha Ussif also promised to involve the media to develop an interest in helping to drive sponsorship campaign for thriving businesses and enterprises in the country to adopt national teams.
He cited the module applied by President John Agyekum Kufuor in the use of sponsorship by Goldfields Ghana to enhance the chances of Ghana Black Stars qualifying to World Cup in 2006.
He also explained the use of GNPC sponsorship to drive the team to qualify to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa during President John Evan's Atta Mills administration.
