‘Where is the love, Mr President?’
The Ministry of Youth and Sports wishes to point out that an article published on the back page of the Friday, October 6-22, 2015 issue of the Front &Centre Column is full of inaccuracies and misrepresentations aimed at maligning and tarnishing the image of the Minister, Dr. Mustapha Ahmed and the entire ministry.
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The Ministry of is not averse to criticism. In fact, it does appreciate the contributions of journalists to the development and promotion of sports in Ghana.
However, the ministry believes that the use of unsavoury language, direct insult, personal attack and incipient criticism by the columnist, Ekow Asmah, is a matter of concern and deserves condemnation by all well-meaning Ghanaians.
The ministry wants to clarify the columnist’s misconceptions. Firstly, it is far-fetched that the columnist set out to tarnish the image of the ministry on the grounds that it (the Ministry) could not meet its financial obligations to the Black Queens in full by September 23, 2015. Secondly, it is mere mischief on the part of the columnist that the Black Queens were maltreated by the ministry.
Thirdly, against the backdrop that during the impasse that preceded the payment of US$5,000, the minister appealed to and not coerced the Black Queens to accept US$2,000 each.
It is rather sad that the columnist diabolically described this as “maltreatment”.
Fourthly, the writer’s allusions that the minister “threatened to eject” the players and used “blunt methods” was a calculated attempt to evoke populist passion against the person of Dr Mustapha Ahmed, Minister of Youth and Sports.
Fifthly, the fact that an amount of US$5,000.00 was paid to the players and management officials across the board on the directive of the President is enough to explain why Coach Basigi was not short-changed as alleged by the columnist.
Finally, the Black Queens were part of a contingent of 17 disciplines that represented Ghana in the All Africa Games. It is, therefore, sad, unfortunate and discriminatory that the columnist sought to create the impression that the All Africa Games held in Congo, Brazzaville was a soccer tournament.
In the candid opinion of the ministry, the columnist would have done a more credible story if he had cross checked his claims with the National Sports Authority.
Posterity would have considered Mr Asmah as patriotic if he had chosen to contribute positively to the development of sports instead of over-concentrating on shortfalls and failing to make suggestions to bring about improvement in the sector.
In addition, the President was on a duty call and was not available to honour ALL MEDALISTS (emphasis mine) of the All Africa Games and this should not be the sole determinant of his love for sports; we are persuaded that he will accord them due recognition at a later date.