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Sports News of Wednesday, 20 June 2012

Source: gary al-smith/supersport.com

Red flag over 2010 World Cup expenditure

Clement Kofi Humado, Member of Parliament for Anlo and Minister for Youth and Sports has defended his report of World Cup spending to parliament on Tuesday. According to him, the alleged shortfall of $9 million dollars being alluded to by Ghana's political minority is "without grounds."

The situation has been necessitated by an alleged increase in amounts said to have been spent by Ghana at the 2010 World Cup, which have, allegedly, increased by more than two million dollars ($2 million) since last September, when the then Youth and Sports Minister gave an account in parliament.

Background

At the beginning of September 2011, the then Youth and Sports Minister, Akua Sena Dansua was invited to parliament to explain the income and expenditure trends in Ghana's participation at the 2010 World Cup.

Miss Dansua battled through what she said were "mischievous attempts" by the minority to "makes issues when there were no issues". The New Patriotic Party’s ranking member on Youth and Sports, Isaac Asiamah, has always maintained that there are "glaring inconsistencies in the spending", after he challenged Dansua for an itemized expenditure incurred during Ghana’s participation in the football showpiece.

The total expenditure quoted at the time was seven million dollars ($7 million), but the minority insisted the expenditure lacked details and substance. At the time, their attempts to ask supplementary questions of the minister was blocked by the Speaker in line with the Standing Orders of the House which allowed only an hour for question time.

Key sticking points

According to Clement Kofi Humado, $150,000 was used on the Black Stars effort for protocol (an improvement on the $100,000 touted by Akua Sena Dansua); a category - as yet unexplained - went to media and involved $50,000; reception costs were $125,599; refreshment costs totalled over $34,000.

He defended the alleged inconsistencies between his and that predecessor. "It is a simple matter of knowing that in accounting when you say 'as at' then you must know that whatever deductions are being made are correct by that time," he told SuperSport.com.

When asked if Akua Sena Dansua was wrong in some of the figures she presented last September, Humado was cryptic in saying he was not there at the time and "would not be in a position to say yes or no", given that contexts were differing.

Isaac Asiamah described these figures as "very fishy and inconsistent" on Wednesday morning to Accra-based Oman FM.

The current situation

Isaac Asiamah has again raised issue of "outrageous and “profligate" spending, as he told parliament when the minister was quizzed on Tuesday. Asiamah expressed shock at the minister, whose figures do not tally in key areas with what his predecessor gave last year.

"Akua Sena Dansua said we spent seven million; now Honorable Humado is telling us that it is nine million. How is that justified and why the changes?," Asiamah told SuperSport.com

The minister, on his part, shot back by saying the report given by Sena Dansua was only interim, and that what he read in parliament was the final, actual figure.

Asiamah lost momentum of the case last year because his line of questioning was not focused, SuperSport.com has learnt. Dansua had challenged Asiamah's understanding of the issues, accusing him of "being in haste to cause mischief".

Dansua had complained that the minority were talking about monies spent on Black Stars supporters when parliament had asked for specific spending figures on the team's participation in South Africa.

"Complicity" accusations

Speaking on Accra-based Peace FM on Wednesday morning, Isaac Asiamah railed against "corruption and graft that is clear from the submissions of the two ministers".

He complained that "accountability is not forthcoming because of the differences in statements" and vowed to present a motion on the floor to drag the sitting Sports Minister back to the House to answer questions about the expenditure until answers were clear.

On his part, Humado said he was in his constituency in the Volta Region in Ghana's east and apologized for not having required documents at the moment. He, however, promised to defer the matter to his Public Relations and Accounting departments for an exhaustive statement to be issued to the media by close of day.

Permutations

Clement Kofi Humado has not taken the fighting stance that characterized his predecessor's submissions in parliament and in the media. Parliamentary watchers tell SuperSport.com that the sitting sport minister is gaining some favour on the issue, as has given the body language of an open person.

"Dansua was always aggressive and ready to fight at any question, but Humado knows how touchy this issue can be so he always sounds diplomatic and reconciliatory." the parliamentary source told SuperSport.com

Humado's stance may be so because he wants to avoid taking any political stick for issues that occurred when he was not in office, our source notes. Indeed, Dansua had, last September, challenged the minority to present the 2006 report of expenditure by the Black Stars (when they were in power) before demanding that of 2010 (when her government was in office).

"Don't forget that Dansua had had railed that the minority did not even present a one-page report of expenditure in 2006 and wondered why they are pontificating about 2010 expenditure," furthered Patrick Semaku, an Accra-based sport lawyer and accountant.