A former Minister of Youth and Sports, Edwin Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, has described as outrageous, the government’s budget for Ghana’s participation in the just ended 2019 African Cup of Nations in Egypt.
For the former minister under the John Mahama administration, the 6.3 million dollars budgeted for the Black Stars and the entire Ghana’s contingent “doesn’t make sense”.
Sports Minister Isaac Asiamah on Wednesday told Parliament that the government spent a little over 4.5 million dollars of the budgeted amount from the team’s camping in Dubai till their exit from the tournament in Egypt in the round of 16.
Of the expenditure, 924,168 was spent on airfares, 187,050 dollars as per diem for the 23 players, 129, 600 dollars ass per diem for technical staff was and additional 90,750 as per diem for additional technical staff.
A total of 965, 405 was paid to the players as winning bonuses, 347,027 dollars as winning bonuses for technical staff and 177,000 as winning bonus for additional technical staff .
Accommodation cost the nation 1,143,519 dollars; feeding 419,300 dollars while 41,750 dollars was spent on match tickets and 44,574 dollars on medicals.
Authorities used 8,541 dollars on visa fees, 43,092 dollars on internal transportation and 42,576 dollars as incidentals.
The figures has caused public uproar with some critics questioning aspects of the expenditure while others are demanding further particulars spelling out all the beneficiaries and how much was spent each of them.
Commenting on the issue Thursday, Nii Lantey Vanderpuye told Onua FM’s Yen Sempa host, Bright Kwasi Asempa that “we don’t understand and I am surprised about the payment of the winning bonuses”.
He said “we won only one match and you said you paid that much? Then it means each player had 41,000 dollars and it doesn’t make sense”.
“Allowances and bonuses must be reduced because it does not make sense, unless the Minister would want to come back and explain further”, he said.
By Kweku Antwi-Otoo|3news.com|Ghana