Mahama promises to implement Dzamefe recommendations
President John Dramani Mahama has given a firm assurance that the recommendations contained in the report of the Dzamefe Commission of Inquiry will be implemented.
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"We will work with you (Commission) to ensure that the recommendations are implemented," the President said after receiving the 400-page report from its chairman, Mr Justice Senyo Dzamefe, at the Flagstaff House Monday.
Apparently, to demonstrate the seriousness he attached to the whole exercise, he immediately handed it over to the Deputy Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Mr Dominic Ayine, for study and necessary advise by the AG's office.
Details of the report were not disclosed, but the President said, " Ghana football and sports management overall will be much better for it after the commission report."
The commission chairman had earlier made reference to a number of commission reports in the past which were left to gather dust without seeing implementation, and said they would not want their report to traverse that path.
" We have gone step further to make sure our recommendations are implemented. We have set up a report implementation committee to see to it that our recommendations are implemented. We have recommended a quarterly commission review colloquium, that would be finding out how far the recommendations are implemented. We don't want the report to gather dust like the Gbadegbe report did," he said.
Background
The commission of inquiry was set up after the Black Stars' disastrous participation in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. It started work on August 14, and took four months to complete its sittings.
Other members of the commission were Mr Moses Foh-Amoaning, a legal practitioner, and mr Kofi Anokye Owusu-Darko, a sports enthusiast.
Terms of reference
The commission's terms of reference included inquiring into matters about the preparation of the Black Stars for the tournament and possible lapses that caused the early exit of the team; the management of the the Black Stars team and events in their camp in the tournament, and Ghana's treatment of Ghanaian football fans who were sent by the Ministry of Youth and Sports to support the team.
The commission was also tasked to advise the government on the financing of activities of the senior national team and other national teams; enquire into all other matters of public interest in respect of the Black Stars participation in the tournament, and to make recommendations to the government to ensure that as far as practicable, all the findings were implemented.
Low point
President Mahama said events that took place in Brazil marked a very low point in the country's football history and led to disappointment in the Black Stars team, but fortunately, the near excellent performance of the team in the last African Cup of nations had brought some level of hope into the team.
He commended the the commission members and their supporting staff for their sense of patriotism saying even though it took a while for them to submit their report, the was well spent.
Dzamefe
Justice Dzamefe said although they completed their work on December 14, CI 65 gave the commission 60 days within which to write its report.
He said the commission resorted to forensic audit to ensure that matters relating to finance were dealt with without any hitches.
He thanked the office of the president and all other persons who supported the commission in its activities.