Accra, Oct. 29. GNA - The Vice President, Mr John Dramani Mahama on Friday unveiled a new logo of the National Sports Council (NSC) with a call on the support of the private sector and the corporate bodies to ensure the development of sports in the country.

Mr Mahama noted that the private sector play an important role in the sponsorship and development of sports nation-wide and the government would expect more help from stakeholders to ensure that sports, especially the lesser known ones are given are necessary assistance. The Vice President who said this in an address to formally launch the re-branding of the National Sports Council on Friday regretted that developing countries devote most of their budget on facilitating support for educational, health, water, food and other social needs of the people to the detriment of sports.

Mr Mahama said there was therefore the need for the Sports Council re-brand its activities to attract the private sector and corporate bodies to support it in its avowed aim of developing sports in the country.

He regretted that National Sports Festivals, Inter-regional and inter schools sports which in the past used to be the breeding grounds for identifying sports talents has lost its focus because of financial constraints.

The Vice President therefore said the re-branding of the Council should come with a proper orientation and pro-active attitude of the staff to ensure they derive the needed support to able to make use of their facilities.

Mr Mahama advised the staff to do away with beaurecracy tendencies to attract more support and develop a new perspective of turning the Council into a viable venture to would see the corporate bodies as partners in development.

Ms Akua Sena Dansua, Minister of Youth and Sports stressed the need for a policy regime with a motivated staff ready to achieve the desire goals of ensuring that sports is developed to its highest pedestal. She announced that it was the plan of the Ministry to decentralize its activities by developing especially youth and lesser known sports and to formulate policies that will aid in ensuring that sports are geared towards a national cohesion.

On the Ghana Olympic Committee impasse, Ms Dansua said the Ministry has written to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to make its position clear that it would not take any decision that will be detriment to the country's sovereign neutrality that will affect its development and has thus enjoin on all concerned parties to team to find an amicable solution.

Mr Kojo Bonsu, Chairman of the Board of the National Sports Council said a new era of sports development is been evolved and it is for the staff to position themselves and encourage the various Associations to develop programmes that would be self sustaining to be better placed place din international events.

He noted that it was about time that the old identity of 1952 was changed to give a refreshing new outlook and image of the Council that would be able to influencer its stakeholders and trhe corporate bodies to support it develop sports.

Mr Worlanyo Agra, Chief Executive Officer of the National Sports Council in a welcome address, said the event is to open a new era of identity by unveiling its pragmatic facilities to attract the corporate world to make use of them.

He said that it was envisaged that the new branding of the Council will enhance efficiency on the duties of the staff that will bring out the best in their performance to attract the support the corporate bodies to compliment government support to sport development in the country. 29 Oct. 10