National Sports Authority (NSA) on the brink of bankruptcy?
The National Sports Authority (NSA), the supervisory body under which the 41 sporting disciplines in the country operate, has gone bankrupt with a debt in excess of GHc2 million in default of electricity bills hanging around its neck.
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Out of the total debt, GHC846,900 represents the bill for the use of floodlights, aside spending GHC6,851 every month on malfunctioning floodlights at the various stadia.
Furthermore, the NSA owes Meridian Travel and Tours and Goshen Travel and Tours $25,600 and $25,000 respectively. Indeed, Meridian Travel and Tours last Monday impounded a 33-seater bus belonging to the NSA following a court order.
In addition, both agencies have sought a court order to garnishee the accounts of the authority until they are paid.
To compound it all is the latest court order in favour of Litina Travel and Tours Agency which is demanding $380,000 and GHC45,000 from the NSA for denying it the opportunity to airlift Ghanaians to the 2015 All Africa Games and contracting African Origin Travel and Tours instead, despite winning the bid through tender.
Narrating how the NSA became an insolvent entity, the head of Public Affairs of the NSA, Frederica Davies, told the Graphic Sports that sometime between 2011 and 2012, these travel agencies provided air tickets for a number of Ghanaian contingents on national assignment but did not receive payments for their services.
“We believed that the ministry was aware and guaranteed on our behalf because correspondence showed but we are now indebted to this tune,” a befuddled Madam Davies stated.
She noted that for some years now monies from the ministry for sporting associations had gone to those sporting associations without passing through the NSA and this practise compounded the problem.
Buttressing her point, the Chief Accountant of the NSA, Solomon Otoo, noted that the entity was indeed bankrupt and that they were at a loss over what to do to remedy the situation
He added that the Internally Generated Funds (IGF) from the authority were woefully inadequate and that if nothing was done about it in the next few days, the authority risked a shutdown.
SUMMARY
Amount owed ECG — Over GH¢2 million
Amount owed travel agencies — $50,600.00
Amount owed Litina Travel and Tours Agency —$380,000.000 and GH¢45,000.000
