Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has noted that he will continue to make public the unethical actions on the part of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) irrespective of the criticism he is subjected to.
In an interview with Accra-based Asempa FM, an Executive Council member of the GFA, Nana Oduro Sarfo said Mr Ablakwa needed to stop meddling in cheap political commentary and focus on his mandate to influence policymaking.
Mr Oduro Sarfo said this while reacting to Samuel Okudzeto Ablawa’s expose on the Sports Ministry’s budget for AFCON 2023.
In a social media post, the NDC MP published an official government document that showed the country allocated in excess of $8.5m for the tournament in Côte d’Ivoire.
Speaking on Asempa FM on Tuesday, Oduro Sarfo first claimed that the MP made the document public as a diversionary tactic.
“He should concentrate on his job of passing bills in Parliament and stop engaging in small, small cheap politics in football,” he said.
In response via a post on X, Mr Ablakwa described Mr Sarfo’s actions as barking while indicating that nothing will stop him from demanding full accountability.
“A certain GFA official says I have no right to expose their unconscionable and lootocratic US$8.5million Black Stars budget. He can rave, bark, howl, growl, roar and rant but nothing will stop me from demanding full accountability,” he wrote.
Mr Ablakwa earlier revealed that the GFA made a budget of $8.5million for the Black Stars as they participate in the 2023 AFCON tournament despite being aware of the fact that the winner of the tournament will be given $7 million.
For Mr Ablakwa, such insensitivity by the government cannot be allowed to continue when many including victims of the Akosombo dam spillage continue to suffer due to neglect by the government.
“When as a Member of Parliament I see thousands of my beloved constituents go to bed each night in tents because of VRA’s catastrophic spillage from the Akosombo and Kpong dams, and when after 5 long months government and VRA callously claim they don’t have money to construct resettlement homes for my people; good conscience cannot permit me to be silent and watch evil triumph.
“Our fellow compatriots including women, the aged and children would not have to live in tents donated by the US government and the Red Cross if they had GHS105million to replace their damaged homes. My beloved constituents have done nothing wrong to deserve this; rather, they are going through all these suffering, indignity and destitution so the Akosombo and Kpong dams would be preserved for the entire nation to enjoy electricity.
“This struggle is about JUSTICE and no one can intimidate us. I salute the group of courageous and patriotic sports journalists who have today formally notified the police of their intention to demonstrate on the 14th of February, 2024. My displaced persons and I shall be joining this protest. We shall remain resolute and relentless in the pursuit of justice, probity, transparency and accountability,” he wrote.