Ahaji Jawula fails test of accountability

Investigations by the Crusading Guide has revealed that part of the $45,000 money which was to cover air tickets for a friendly ‘A’ match between Ghana and Egypt was ‘diverted’ by Alhaji MND Jawula (in PIC far right), the then Ghana Football Association (GFA) boss.

Our investigations have further revealed that Jawula peddled an obvious untruth when he told the private bi-weekly in an earlier story that he received only $20,000 from the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) as money for air tickets. In that interview with the former GFA Chairman explained why the money was not captured in the GFA accounts thus: “the $45,000 was not income for GFA but for the airlines, I cannot account for it because the tickets have been used.”

Information fished from the Universal Travel and Tourist Service (GH) Ltd, the travel agency that was in charge of the Ghana-Egypt match indicated that the out of the amount, the GFA used only $31,390, as money for the air tickets for the 32 people who travelled to Egypt for encounter.

The rest of the money could not be accounted for by Jawula. There was also no record of Jawula having refunded the rest of the money to the GFA. On a Universal Travel and Tourist receipt dated 13/6/2002, intercepted by the Crusading Guide, there was an indication that an amount of $31,390 was received from the GFA as ticket money for 32 people, (30 people making up for the team and 2 senior officials) scheduled to travel by Egypt Air (Business Class) to Cairo for the match.

Evidence available also indicated that the two air tickets bought for two senior official (Business Class) were at the cost of $2,890.00 while that of the 30 people was at the cost of $28,500, totalling $31,390. The paper had also laid hands on a receipt proving that an amount of $45,000 was duly received (1/6/2002) by the GFA to meet the airfare for the Black Stars from the Egyptian Football Federation. This however, runs counter to what Alhali Jawula told the Crusading Guide in an interview.

When questioned on the issue, the former GFA boss submitted that instead of $45,000 only $20,000 was received from the Egyptian Football Association as ticket money. He told the paper that he was being vilified.

“Somebody must have an interest to blow the headlines and embarrass me. What is the interest of somebody? Somebody wants to damage me. Anas (the reporter), I am wondering why somebody should show interest in that”, he said. Though Alhaji Jawula claimed that he was not accountable to the GFA, all transactions including the receipts of the $45,000 was on GFA letterheads.

As published earlier, a letter written on 13 April 2002 by the then GFA General Secretary, Mr Wolarnyo Agra, to his Egyptian counterpart, had stated that instead of 30 tickets, the GFA had proposed that money, according to the letter, was to reach the GFA latest by 10 May 2002 “to enable us purchase the tickets. Experience has shown that we usually require re-routing for our Europe based players and that creates problems when we don’t handle the tickets ourselves,” Agra explained.

In addition to that, Alhaji Jawula was expected in Cairo from 27 to 30 May 2000 for the CAF inter-club meeting and kindly ask your (EFA) to contact him and hand over the amount of $45,000 to him (cost of the airfares).”