The Minister for Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif has criticised the media for focusing on the negative aspects of Ghana’s hosting of the 2023 African Games.
Instead, he suggests that the media should highlight the positive aspects of the event.
At a press conference on Monday, Ussif claimed that Ghana is receiving international praise for hosting “spectacular games.”
He said, “Every international official that we have engaged is applauding us for hosting spectacular games so far. So let’s all embrace and position Ghana as a sports destination. There are a lot of positives that we can talk about. Let’s focus on them.”
The minister’s comments come amid criticism from Ghanaian athletes regarding the lack of support from authorities.
Winnifred Ntumi, who won Ghana’s first three medals, including a gold, stated that she had to use her own jersey to compete in weightlifting.
Cyclist Abigail Tetteh revealed that she and her two colleagues couldn’t finish the women’s race because they had self-funded their bicycles and obtained aluminium ones instead of the required fibre bicycles for better competition.
The badminton team had to be transported in the back of a pickup to Borteyman for their event, while team captain Leslie Addo complained of being given boots, not his size to compete.
Delays in the men’s cycling event occurred due to the ambulance not having fuel. In the same event, top Ghanaian cyclist Michael Naaba withdrew mid-race because of his faulty bicycle, accusing authorities of not providing him with the necessary equipment, forcing him to use his own, which was not in the best shape.
Despite these challenges, Ussif maintains that the games have been successful so far. He attributed the issues faced by the cyclists to the failure of the Cycling Federation to provide a list of necessary equipment.
Ghana won the bid to host the games in 2018 and had five years to prepare, but failed to meet the deadline, forcing the games to be rescheduled for this year.
The games will end on March 23, 2024.
