2023 African Games was a monumental disaster and total embarrassment – Minority

Ranking Member on the Youth and Sports Committee of Parliament, Kobena Mensah Woyome, said for a total cost $240 million, the organisation was poor.

The 13th edition of the African Games came off in Ghana from March 8 to March 23, with athletes from all across the continent participating.

The Games encountered some challenges when it started, especially with some Ghanaian athletes complaining about a lack of logistics and support in their disciplines, while some of the venues for the competitions weren’t ready.

However, things later picked up, with the Games coming to a successful end last Saturday with a colourful closing ceremony at the University of Ghana Stadium.

The Minority in Parliament, however, believes the organisation was shambolic and described how things turned out as an embarrassment to the country.

“The just-ended games were a monumental disaster and total embarrassment to our dear country. The Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government spent a staggering 240 million dollars on the just-ended games yet, the organization and management of the event were poor and shambolic,” Mensah Woyome told journalists on Tuesday.

“Quite apart from the fact that it lacked the clear combined effect of economic viability, the organization of the games lacked clear-cut policies for tourism promotion and trade facilitation. This could have given us some economic value for the huge expenditure on the game.

“Given the current state of the Ghanaian economy, which has been rendered bankrupt by the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government. Emerging details about the hefty expenditure of the games raised concerns among Ghanaians.”

Meanwhile, the Executive Chairman of the Local Organising Committee of the 2023 African Games, Dr. Kwaku Ofosu-Asare, has rejected the claims by the Minority.

Dr. Ofosu-Asare said although Mensah Woyome is entitled to his views, he believes the Games were successful and brought a lot of social capital to Ghana.