African Games volunteers sleep in darkness due to unpaid prepaid credit - Okudzeto Ablakwa alleges

Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has alleged that volunteers for the 2023 African Games have gone four days without electricity at their camp base.

The MP, in a tweet on X (formerly Twitter), alleged that the volunteers' prepaid credit had not been paid for four days, resulting in a power cut.

In the tweet, he claimed the authorities have pleaded with the volunteers to purchase the prepaid credit with their money as they wait for funds from the government.

Okudzeto Ablakwa's allegations are to oppose Sports Minister, Mustapha Ussif's assertion that Ghana has held the best African Games.

"As Ghana’s Sports Minister, Mustapha Ussif goes about bragging that he’s organized the best African Games, hundreds of his volunteers are without prepaid credits and have been sleeping in darkness at the games for more than 4 days.

"Disgracefully, these volunteers have been asked by authorities to purchase their own electricity. (See their intercepted distress messages to Ministry officials attached). A US$243 million tournament is unable to pay for prepaid credits, and yet the Minister is demanding praise," he wrote.

Ablakwa further labelled Ghana's African Games hosting as the 'next big scandal'.

"I reiterate that Ghana’s hosting of the 13th African Games is the next big scandal. We shall delve into the multiple scandals soon. For God and Country. Ghana First," he said.

The Sports Minister in a press conference on Monday, March 11, 2024, stated that Ghana has earned praise for putting together 'spectacular games'.

"Every international organization (and) officials that we have engaged, every one of them is applauding Ghana for a very spectacular organization of the games, so far. So, let us all embrace and come and position Ghana as the sports destination that we are all yearning to position it.

"That is my appeal to the media, are there a lot of positives that we can report, let's focus on them and report so that we can position our country, thank you," he stressed.

As Ghana’s Sports Minister, Mustapha Ussif goes about bragging that he’s organized the best African Games, hundreds of his volunteers are without prepaid credits and have been sleeping in darkness at the games for more than 4 days.

Disgracefully, these volunteers have been… pic.twitter.com/XZrVcyH1w7

— Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa (@S_OkudzetoAblak) March 13, 2024