The cash-strapped Ministry of Youth and Sports is grappling with a multi-billion Center for Sports Excellence commissioned by former Minister Enoch Teye Mensah in his hometown Prampram.
Planarchitects, the private consultants engaged by the ex-Minister has presented an estimate for an expenditure of ?77 billion over three phases to complete the project to provide Ghana with international standard sports facilities but current Minister Edward Osei Kwaku insists the grandiose project does not feature in the plans of the Ministry, one of the poorly resourced in the country.
Sources at the Ministry told the Agenda that the siting of the project and its grandiose nature were influenced by the former Minister, who is also Member of Parliament for Prampram.
They contend that if there was the need to undertake such a major project, it ought to be sited at the National Sports College at Winneba, which was purposely set up to aid the development of sports in the country.
"The Institute," according to a proposal from the consultant, "is to be provided with international standard sports facilities which will project Ghana as the focus of sports theory and practice within the West African sub-region.
Speaking to the Agenda, Hon Osei Kwaku said his ministry has no resources to embark on such a gigantic project. “At the moment, our priority is to dug out and replace the tartan tracks at the Kumasi and Accra Sports stadiums to provide training and facilities for athletics competitions.” He said because money is a constraint, the ministry intend to concentrate first on the Kumasi tracks.
He said after the tartan tracks had been replaced, his ministry would turn its attention to upgrading playing fields around the country, which have very appalling facilities.
