The Member of Parliament for Nsawam-Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, has urged the government to establish a dedicated fund for the maintenance of sports facilities across Ghana.
In recent years, many of the country’s sporting venues have suffered neglect, leading to their deterioration. Addressing Parliament during the approval of a GHS 65 million budget for the Ministry of Sports and Recreation, Annoh-Dompreh, who also serves as the Minority Chief Whip, emphasized the need for a structured approach to facility upkeep.
“There should be a line budget dedicated for the maintenance of these sports facilities because we’ve invested so much into these infrastructures, and it cannot be the case that we leave it as it is until we have a tournament coming before we go in there,” he said.
He further stressed the importance of consistent maintenance to protect national assets.
“It has to be traditionally done and is something we must do to make sure that the national assets don’t run down. We (parliamentarians) will approve the budget contingent on you [Chairman Henry Ernest Norgbey and Ranking Member of Sports Committee of Parliament] following up, Chairman, follow up to make sure we get allocation for capers,” he added.
Neglect of sports infrastructure has had severe consequences, with both the Baba Yara Stadium and the Cape Coast Sports Stadium facing bans from hosting CAF and FIFA-sanctioned matches due to poor maintenance.
