Mustapha Ussif and President John Mahama
Former sports minister, Mustapha Ussif, has questioned President John Dramani Mahama for not allocating funds to cater for sports infrastructural development in the country.
He explained that the absence of capital expenditure in the 2025 budget approved by Parliament indicates that there will be less investment in sporting infrastructure, which is a major concern for the people.
The Member of Parliament for the Yagaba/Kubori constituency also disclosed that the exemption of capital expenditure in the budget would lead to the abandonment of some stadium projects that were not completed by former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s administration.
“Mr. Speaker, His Excellency [Akufo-Addo] launched an ambitious sports stadium project in the then 10 regions, which we christened the Youth Resource Centers. All 10 regions were given the opportunity to have 5,000-seater sports stadiums, and two of them have been commissioned. Yet, in this current budget, there is no allocation for capital expenditure for the Ministry of Sports and Recreation.
“This is sending a signal that the remaining eight stadiums will be abandoned by the government. For a government that says the newly created regions will be given the opportunity to have sports stadiums, to abandon the ones we have started will be very unfortunate,” he said.
This comes after Parliament approved a GH¢65,899,456.00 budget allocation to support sports development in the country, following discussions on Thursday, March 27, 2025.
Watch Mustapha Ussif’s remarks below:
Under former Pres. Akufo-Addo, the University of Ghana Sports Stadium has been upgraded to international standards…. – Mustapha Ussif (Former Sports Minister)#GHOneNews #EIBNetwork#GHOneTV #EIBSports pic.twitter.com/JW3wvSj4pW
— GHOne TV (@ghonetv) March 27, 2025
Meanwhile, watch as Ghanaians applaud Black Stars for excellent performances against Chad, Madagascar
SB/EK