Ghana’s contingent to Rio will need GHc 26m – Nii Lantey

Minister of Youth and Sports, Nii Lantey Vanderpuije has revealed that Ghana’s contingent to this year’s Rio Olympics will need about GHc 26 million for the trip.

The Sports Ministry according to the minister, have only GHC 7 million for all sports federations for the year after breaking down the amount approved for the sector by the government of Ghana.

Laying bare the challenges at the Sports Ministry, Hon. Vanderpuije called on the media to support and avoid negative publicity about sports in the country to help attract corporate sponsors.

“We will need about GHc 26 million for our Olympics team to be able to go to Rio. How do we manage?" he asked.

“It will call for prudence, it will call for ingenuity, it will call for support, and you (journalists) are the ones who can do this for us. We want to seek for your support to get the corporate bodies out there to come to our aid,” he added.

The former broadcast journalist noted, “the budget is not only for sports, it is for Youth and Sports so if we take out the ones for our youth training sectors for the programmes at the National Sports Authority, just about GHc 4 million will be left”.

“The Black Maidens and the upcoming Black Stars match against Mozambique will drop all the GHc 4m; I am being frank with you,” he said.

Hon. Nii Lantey Vanderpuije also added that he won’t interfere with issues of bonuses. He wants to organise an open forum for all heads of the various federations and explain issues to them.

“I have for the past been saying that I don’t and I will not determine issues of bonuses for sports in this country; I am referring to only sports for men and women, the boxers will have to get bonus, the Black Maidens, the people who are competing in the Judo and everyone will have to get bonuses,” he made known.

“Every sector deserve bonuses, if we don’t have the money, what do we do? So my policy is that we say it as it is; all of us must sit down as a family, discuss it with all the sports federations and ask ourselves how we can share what we have,” he stated.