Open letter to the president

PRESS RELEASE

26TH January 2016

FROM: NPP NATIONAL WOMEN ORGANISATION

Open letter to the president –PRESIDENT FAILS TO FULFIL PROMISE TO PAY OUTSTANDING BONUSES TO BLACK QUEENS

Your Excellency, The President of Ghana,

After the humiliating treatment meted out to our national women’s football team, the Black Queens, when they were held hostage at Mplaza Hotel on their return from qualifying and winning Gold in the All Africa Games in November 2015 they have to date, sadly still not received the balance owed. The situation was so embarrassing to Government because although these young female athletes had succeeded in making Ghana proud by winning gold they were treated like prisoners by the former Minister For Sports Dr Ahmed Mustapha, instead of being given a heroines welcome. Each member of the squad was owed $23,000.00 as accumulated outstanding bonuses from qualifying games. The breakdown is –Rio 2016 Olympic Qualifier $6,000.00, All Africa Games Qualifier - $6,000.00 and All African Games - $11,000.00. President John Mahama your intervention of instructing the Ministry of Sports to pay a paltry sum of $5,000.00 each to the squad of twenty eight (28) enabled them to leave the hotel. A promise is a promise and so as you deemed it fit to intervene, it is inappropriate that you should fail to honour your side of the understanding to these young female footballers. I am by this letter imploring you to ensure that the outstanding amount of $18,000.00 owed each member (totalling $504,000) is paid.

Although a memorandum of understanding was signed for the outstanding chunk to be paid the Black Queens have still not received their balances due to them, so Christmas was very bleak ‘s leader and in my role as a women’s activist and Consultant in rights, this sad situation has been brought to my attention. I wish to state that this is a breach of the Dzamefe Commission’s recommendation and yet again another broken promise made by you, Mr President. At the time Mr Kwesi Nyantakyi, the President of the Ghana Football Association also assured the ladies that their bonuses would be paid more timely, however, the heavy silence from his office is also unfortunate and demoralizing. It is important that these scandals over payment of bonuses to our female and male football players should become a thing of the past. To ensure this we add our voice to the recommendation of the Dzamefe Commission, that there should be a committee to monitor, evaluate and ensure that the follow-ups of payment of bonuses are fulfilled in a timely manner.

It is important that when people, especially women sacrifice to serve mother Ghana so well, they should be appreciated, recognised and so I am calling upon the Ministry of Sports, the GFA and you, Mr President to immediately organise a befitting welcome for them with a

State Banquet, where all the balances of their bonuses would be paid and they should be decorated with the Order of the Volta for all their struggles to win gold for Ghana and make us proud. This would inspire them to scale other heights and encourage other females to play football. It would also help to reduce and or eliminate the discrimination against females in football and encourage sponsorship and endorsement from the corporate world, increase turnout of spectators for their tournaments and strengthen women in football at all levels.

Thank you very much.

Yours faithfully

Otiko Afisah Djaba

NPP National Women Organiser