I will give equal attention to all sporting disciplines - Minister designate
The Minister designate for Youth and Sports, Mr Isaac Kwame Asiamah, has pledged to give equal attention to all the sporting disciplines in the country.
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When he appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament yesterday, he stated that no sporting discipline should be referred to as a lesser sport, as all the disciplines were important and required attention.
Responding to a question posed by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hohoe, Dr Bernice Atiku Heloo, on the concentration of attention on football when it came to sports, he said: “I will not be a minister for only football. There are 40 other disciplines and I will promote all with a special desk at the ministry.”
He said a College of Sports Act would provide the framework for the support of all sports, adding that he would also create a Youth in Sports module, with special focus on women’s participation in sports.
Mr Asiamah indicated that he would see to the establishment of at least three sports colleges in the northern, central and coastal parts of the country to encourage students who excelled in various sporting disciplines to pursue careers in sports after their university education.
Corruption
Speaking to the issue of corruption and mismanagement in sports administration, he said “the law will work if someone embezzles funds. I will provide leadership that fights against corruption”.
In response to a question posed by the MP for Asunafo South, Mr Eric Opoku, on the specific interventions that would be put in place to remove the perception of corruption in football, the minister designate said due process would be followed in fighting the canker.
He said to weed out corruption from the Middle League, proper officiating was required, saying he would engage all stakeholders to ensure that that happened.
On how soon corrupt officials would be brought to book, Mr Asiamah said he would seek legal advice before taking any step.
Relationship with GFA
On the kind of relationship that would exist between him and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) if he became the Youth and Sports Minister, he said he would not deal directly with the GFA but that the association would route its dealings through the National Sports Authority (NSA).
Touching on the level of autonomy that the GFA must enjoy, he said the NSA must be made to work.
Based on the premise that the sports industry in North America annually made US$60.5 billion while US$1.5 trillion was made globally, the MP for Bawku Central, Mr Mahama Ayariga, asked what would be done by the nominee to develop media rights, make sports a major source of employment and also make it contribute to GDP.
In his response, Mr Asiamah said sports was no longer for pleasure or leisure but that it was key to economic growth, stating that ambush marketing, which he explained as sports merchandising through full-page advertisements, was a disincentive to sports. He, therefore, pledged to encourage more investments in sports.
Youth development
Touching on youth development, he said it was important that resources were provided for youth development, for which reason he would create a Youth Development Authority and bring all the scattered youth programmes under one umbrella.
He said he would also ensure skills development, leadership training and job creation for the youth.
Answering a question by the MP for Tema East, Mr Titus Glover, on talent hunt modules such as the academicals which were no more, Mr Asiamah promised to bring back all talent hunting programmes.
He also pledged that modern stadia would be put up in the five remaining regions, namely, Eastern, Volta, Upper East, Upper West and Brong Ahafo, after which communities such as Tema which embarked on sports projects would be assisted.
On the way forward to make the local league exciting, he advised that players must be retained, instead of selling them off when they reached their prime. He also promised to engage sponsors to support the local league.
He further promised that the NPP government would live up to its manifesto pledge to create a sports fund and that he would lobby for part of the communication tax, as well as use sports lottery and betting, as the main source of the fund.
AFCON
An otherwise very cordial vetting almost turned feisty when the nominee indicated that through his influence at the just-ended African Cup of Nations tournament in Gabon, the nation made savings of about US$1.4 million out of the initial budget of US$4.4 million.
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