Old Tafo MP questions Sports Minister’s World Cup travel figures

The dispute follows the minister’s appearance before Parliament’s Sports Committee, where he said every member of the government-sponsored delegation had returned after the tournament.

Speaking to Asempa FM, Assafuah alleged that the minister’s account did not reflect the true situation, claiming that some sponsored travellers had remained in Canada.

“I know that he sponsored his driver, Mr Otchere, who did not come back. The guy is currently in Canada,” Assafuah said.

He also alleged that a secretary from the Chief Director’s office, who was among the sponsored delegation, had not returned.

“There is a secretary at the chief director’s office who was sponsored as part of the 431. That person is still not back. Meanwhile, he’s telling the people of Ghana that 431 people came,” he said.

The Old Tafo MP further claimed that some people who travelled under the programme had falsely presented themselves as staff of the National Sports Authority (NSA).

“Per my information, there are a number of people who represented themselves as staff of the NSA, who were not staff,” he said.

Assafuah also referred to a report by Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail, which he said indicated that 45 people had sought asylum in Canada after the World Cup.

“What does that mean? It means that there were people who were sponsored on a visa for the World Cup, and as soon as they go to Canada, they fail to come back,” he said.

The allegations directly contradict the Sports Minister’s testimony to Parliament’s Sports Committee, where he maintained that all 431 sponsored travellers had returned to Ghana after the tournament.

Source:Fiilasports/ghanasoccernet