The National Sports Council (NSC) has rubbished a statement made by the the Chief Executive Officer of Sportnet Ghana Limited, Mr Daniel Asiedu Asare, that the NSC cannot manage the four national stadia in Accra, Kumasi, Tamale and Sekondi.
Reacting to the unfortunate remark, the deputy public relations officer of the NSC, Isaac Franklin, described Mr. Asare’s assertion as a loose talk and baseless statement from a wounded lion.
"The Sportnet CEO is really reeling in pain because the NSC has ceased purchasing sporting items from his company, following his ineffectiveness and shoddy transactions.
"Mr. Asare unleashed an unwarranted attack on the NSC so that we bring him on board again, but his unfounded and understatement cannot persuade us to do business with him again, since he is unreliable and hasn’t changed attitude.
"The Council feverishly ensured that the four stadia successfully hosted the 26th Africa Cup of Nations this year, as well as last year’s Zenith sponsored 4-Nation tourney.
"We’ve got our men on the ground working tirelessly on national interests, but not to satisfy themselves.
"The Council contracted Zoomlion waste management to take charge of sanitation projects at the four stadia just after President John Kufuor tasked the NSC to effectively manage them.
"Furthermore, NSC beefed up security at the four venues, ensured that the pitches were set for matches, hoisted participating countries flags before every match, and controlled all electronic systems used during the GHANA 2008 soccer tournament, among other significant duties.
"Why should Ghana task private bodies to manage the stadiums to satisfy their selfish needs?
“Why didn’t people advocate for privatisation of the Accra and Kumasi stadia before Ghana won the rights to host the tournament?
"The NSC finds it difficult to understand how vigorously certain people are lobbying to take-over the four national stadia.
"Why won’t they advocate for the take-over of all the regional venues?
"President John Agyekum Kufuor was wise enough to hand over the stadia to the NSC to use its rich experience to efficiently manage them.
"The national stadiums are not goldmines.
"Therefore, it behoves all persons campaigning for the stadia take-over to put up private ones, in addition to those of the Kufuor-led government".
