Panellists Call For Presidential Commission On Sports

Accra, Sept. 3, Panellists at a symposium in Accra have called for the establishment of a presidential commission which will ensure the provisio n of infrastructure for sports. The panellists said until such a presidential commission for sports is established and the public see concrete efforts of government to provide sports facilities, all the talk about the Legislative Instrument (LI) on Tax Reb ate for sports sponsorship will be of no rpt no consequence. Mr. Kwame Saarah Mensah, a former PNDC Secretary for Youth and Sports , Mr. Eddie Blay, the Reverend Osei Kofi, Ms. Ethel Jacks and Mr. Ohene Karikar i, all resource persons, were unanimous in their presentations at a symposium on ''A Day with The Champions.'' It was organised by the Sports Writers' Association of Ghana (SWAG) to commemorate this year's ''International Day of the Sports Journalist'' wh ich fell last July 2. According to the panellists it is possible for government to provide basic infrastructure by making budgetary allocation over a period of time. Bi-lateral and cultural arrangements could also be entered into with other countries for the provision of such facilities, they said. The cliche that ''government alone cannot shoulder the responsibility should give way for a more pragmatic approach to the issue if we really want our sports to move forward,'' they stressed. ''Merely putting in place a Legislative Instrument, and asking people to take advantage of it because of some reliefs, is not encouraging enough. Government must show some commitment and others would emulate it,'' they added. Mr. Saarah Mensah, whose dilation cut across his athletics days through sports management and administration, did not mince words when he said th at favouritism in the selection of players, lack of transparency in the administrative dealings and lack of recognition when the active days of t he sportsmen are over, were the bane of Ghana sports. According to him, "when you are on top, everyone loves you but the moment you are down, your're quickly forgotten. "A system should be put in place whereby our sportsmen would not feel so neglected or unwanted after all their sacrifices," he suggested. This vie w was shared by all the panellists. Ohene Karikari, one-time Africa's fastest athlete in the 1970s who was denied an appearance at Olympic Games because of boycotts, reiterated the plight of old sportsmen and women and said it is about time that their situation is brought to the fore. This view was shared by Osei Kofi, the former diminutive right winger whose amazing skills earned him several accolades including "the wizard dribble r" and the "dribbling magician". Both Kofi and Eddie Blay, acknowledged that they owe their successes mainly to the sporting press. On her part, Ms. Ethel Jacks, Africa's longest-ever reigning women's table tennis champion (1964 - 1976), recounted what determination, dedication a nd perseverance can do in the lives of any sportsman or woman. For her, it was sheer determination to emulate something she saw while on a training course in China in the early 60s that accounted for her success behind the board. In his address, Mr. B.A. Holdbrook-Smith, a SWAG Patron who was chairman of the symposium, said both sports writers and sports administrators are par tners in the development of sports and should not see themselves as rivals or e nemies. According to him, it is possible for Ghana to recxapture the heights of the past and even do better. The chairman therefore stressed the need to invest heavily in sports andbuild upon the talents which abound in unlimited quantities.