Minister of Sports and Recreation, Kofi Iddie Adams, said three staff members who travelled for the World Cup have not yet returned to the ministry, prompting efforts to locate them.

Adams clarified that the situation did not concern his personal driver, as had been claimed, but three other staff members whose absence was reported after the delegation returned.

“When we got back from the World Cup, the report I had was that three of our senior staff have not returned to the Ministry,” he revealed on Accra-based Asempa FM.

The minister explained that the ministry initially tried to contact the employees through their next of kin, but those efforts failed.

He said the ministry subsequently began following the established administrative procedures for dealing with employees who fail to report for duty.

Adams said the ministry had since contacted one of the three individuals, who reportedly said he had secured employment at another agency in Ghana.

However, he said the whereabouts of the other two remained unknown, adding that officials had not established whether they were still in the United States, had returned to Ghana or had travelled elsewhere.

The minister said the ministry was waiting for the applicable 180-day period to pass before escalating the matter to the American Embassy if the two staff members remained unreachable.

He said the embassy would then be asked to help establish whether the individuals could be traced.