Ghana will not allow IOC to coerce her into the laws - Minister

Accra, Aug. 4, GNA - Minister of Youth and Sports, Ms Akua Sena Dansua has said that Ghana will not allow the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to coerce her into engaging in any action that conflicts with her laws.

Ghana for a year now has been dialoging with the IOC to end the impasse that has engulfed the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) over who has the mandate to lead the movement.

The Minister has however taken an entrenched position and insists "it is the view of government and the Ministry that even though Ghana is amendable to changes, in line with the principles being espoused by the international bodies like the IOC, until the new National Sports Law is enacted, SMCD 54 of the 1976 remains the law that governs sports development in Ghana".

Ms Dansua said even though Ghana is prepared to revise her sports laws and develop mutual respect between her structures and those of the international sporting bodies, the nation will not be stampeded into doing so.

The existing law which underpins sports development in Ghana is SMCD 54 of 1976 and is the authority from which the National Sports Council (NSC) derives its mandate to appoint Executives of National Sports Associations, leading to the election of Executives of the Ghana Olympic Committee.

The law has however come under severe scrutiny from the IOC lately as it insists the old order of appointment into the National Sports Associations be replaced with a new one that will ensure fresh elections into the associations are conducted on competitive basis.

The directives which came into force after Mr Benson Tongo Baba and his outgoing executives challenged the legality of Prof. Francis Dodoo's newly elected executives after the former lost their hold in an election is one that surprises the Minister.

Ms Dansua said "strangely, the legality of the SMCD 54 of 1976 is now being challenged by the people in the outgoing GOC who benefited from it in the past and this challenge finds favour with the IOC".

The Minister said the entrenched position adopted by the outgoing executives of the GOC led by B. T. Baba "is causing the nation a lot, in terms of finance and infrastructure", and added that the saga at the GOC goes beyond the issues of office accommodation and other petty ones being put across by the outgoing GOC administration but also hinges on accountability.

She said like Ghana, many African countries facing similar challenges with the IOC have brought their cases to the attention of the African Union Conference of Ministers of Sports for redress and it is the hope of the Ministry that an amicable solution can be found in good time.