Over 40 hoteliers are threatening legal action against the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for failing to settle their payments after hosting guests for the 13th All-African Games in Accra.
The hoteliers claim that, despite receiving only 20% of the agreed payment from the Ministry, their repeated attempts to collect the remaining amount have been unsuccessful.
The 13th All-African Games, which concluded on March 23, saw over 13,000 participants, including 5,000 athletes, 3,000 technical officials, 3,000 volunteers, and 2,000 guests from 54 African nations, with many staying in Accra’s hotels.
The LOC, in collaboration with the Ministry, negotiated the accommodation rates prior to the event.
However, hoteliers received only a partial payment upfront, with the remainder promised for settlement immediately after the games.
Despite the event’s conclusion months ago, the outstanding balance remains unpaid. One hotelier, whose 40-room facility was fully booked for the entire three weeks, expressed frustration, stating, “we are disappointed at the turn of events. We have been to the ministries and the LOC several times and the accountant keeps giving us excuses that they are doing auditing. For how long are they going to do the auditing when we have clients to settle? We credited the food items to feed them, the toiletries etc. We credit a lot of them items, so the suppliers are also after their monies”.
“We are prepared to sue both the Ministry and the LOC, so we can unlock our monies”.
Another hotelier expressed disappointment, highlighting ongoing difficulties with the Ministry and LOC. “We’ve visited the ministries and the LOC multiple times, but the accountant keeps citing auditing delays. We’ve incurred costs for food, toiletries, and other essentials, and our suppliers are now demanding payment.”
The hoteliers are prepared to sue both the Ministry and the LOC to recover their funds. The LOC confirmed their role in negotiating rates but referred inquiries to the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
An official from the Ministry indicated that a statement will be issued in due course to address the situation.