GFA's Pappoe snipes at minister

Alhaji Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak’s frantic bid to hold onto power has been dealt a severe blow after the vice president of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) launched a blistering attack on him describing him as "irresponsible". The beleaguered Minister of Youth and Sports, who has been asked to proceed on leave following corruption allegations, said in a radio interview that his bid to rid the GFA shady dealings led him into trouble.

Mubarak accused the GFA of inflating air ticket and hotel accommodation prices and bizarrely claimed that a drummer of supporters’ union Langabell Otoodonu, who also helps the Black Stars with errands, was paid US$8,000 as winning bonus

But Fred Pappoe was furiously having none of that, daring the Asawase MP to bring evidence to back his allegations otherwise the GFA would respond.

“If indeed he said that then these comments by Mubarak are irresponsible,” Fred Pappoe shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Again and again Mubarak is blaming everybody including the ants in the streets of Accra for his plight but not himself.

“How can he say that Langabell was paid US$ 8,000 winning bonuses and we inflated prices for hotels and tickets? This is totally outrageous without any basis. This is the talk from a desperate man.

“We are going for the tapes of what he said in the interview and we will respond if he made those allegations against the GFA.”

The GFA’s official reaction is expected to further pile pressure on President Atta Mills to sack the minister was accused of sending his girlfriend to a football match in Ivory Coast at the state’s expense including per diem.

Edith Zineuali, secretary of Majority Leader in Parliament, Alban Bagbin, was said to have travelled with Alhaji Muntaka Mubarak twice, at the expense of the taxpayer.

The Minister’s plight has been worsened by the documents over some GH¢1.4 million (¢14.1 billion old cedis) cash request he endorsed to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning for April, 2009 expenses of National Sports Council, details of which sound very horrendous.

Out of the sum, which observers say were outrageous for a lean budget trumpeted by the Mills government, ¢13.1 billion was meant for traveling expenses and per diems, with the remaining ¢1 billion for night allowances for one month.

According to a bizarre Activity and Expenditure (A&E) Form which was belatedly sent to the Ministry of Finance for the request of the ¢14billion , while ¢8 billion of the amount was for Foreign Travel Plus Per Diems, another ¢3 billion was also earmarked for Foreign Travel Costs and Expenses.

The April budget endorsed by the Minister also itemized ¢1 billion for local travel costs, another ¢1 billion for night allowances, and a final ¢1.1 billion for what was referred to as ‘other travel and transport expenses’.