Brazil 2014 Inquiry: FA boss, Afriyie Ankrah face probe today
More revelations are expected to unfold this week, considering the rich line-up of witnesses to make an appearance as the Justice Dzamefe Commission continues its fact-finding mission to unravel Ghana’s 2014 FIFA World Cup campaign in Brazil.
Advertisement
This week’s suspense-filled proceedings will see the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MOYS), the former Sports Minister, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, and Fred Darko, chairman of the Planning Committee and Project Director of the Supporters and Ambassadors Project.
Others who may be invited are the top brass of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), led by its president, Kwesi Nyantakyi, and some players of the senior national team, following the fallout from last week’s sittings.
The first three sittings last week produced some startling revelations from the Ministry of Finance, Bank of Ghana and the MOYS, whetting the appetite of Ghanaians for more in the coming days.
Last Friday, the Chief Director of the MOYS produced four claim sheets regarding how much some beneficiaries earned at the World Cup, and went on to disclose that each of the seven Black Stars Management Committee members got US$82,500 as appearance fees, while the 23 players also had US$100,000 each, same as the 10 technical staff.
It also came to light before the commission that a drummer attached to the Stars, Joseph Langerbell, also received a substantial honorarium which Graphic Sports investigations later revealed was US$5,000.
At a point, Justice Dzamefe asked the MOYS representatives to brief the commission on the exact role the drummer played to warrant that amount, and the chief director, Abudulai Yakubu, explained that Langerbell always travelled with the team to entertain the players before and after matches.
Again, Alhaji Yakubu revealed before the commission that no minutes were taken in all the meetings the MOYS had with the GFA between the period of the World Cup budget submission and the approval by the Presidency.
A day earlier, Bank of Ghana’s Head of Banking Services, Mrs Elly Ohene-Adu, had told the commission that two separate cheques of US$3.3million and US$700,000 were paid into the National Football Teams’ Dollar Account on June 23, 2014 at the request of the MOYS as appearance fees for the Black Stars.
As the commission’s work generates more interest by the day, the usual duo of Alhaji Yakubu and the ministry’s chief accountant, Prosper Apasu, are due to continue with their interesting evidence today and tomorrow.
While the witnesses so far were all discharged after single appearances, the MOYS began their testimony last Thursday, reappeared the following day and are in line to give more evidence today and tomorrow, aside from some in-camera sittings.
Afriyie Ankrah will follow next on Wednesday to brief the commission on the details of how supporters and ambassadors were organised for the tournament, among other issues, which Alhaji Abudulai parried to him at the previous sittings.
