Contractual agreements between the Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC) and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) will continually be effective to promote and support the Black Stars, according to Youth and Sports Minister, Hon. Isaac Asiamah.
A purported cancellation of the contract between the two bodies has been rife in the media when Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Hon. Osei-Kyei Mensah-Bonsu hinted that the deal which is worth about $3 million over a five-year period will not be renewed.
“A Committee of Parliament – Mines and Energy met with the GNPC over their annual budgetary allocation and the committee pointed out to them that their sponsorship of the Black Stars and its supporters was not worthwhile,” according to the MP for Suame Constituency.
But addressing a press conference on Monday, April 25, 2017 in Accra, Hon. Asiamah revealed that the move to truncate the deal was needless because strict measures have been put in place to enable GFA channel issues related to funding to the ministry of sports to ensure transparency and accountability.
”I speak as the Minister for Youth and Sports. The GNPC deal will continue, the support for the national team will continue, we are going to ensure that we place much emphasis on transparency and accountability this time round. We will ensure that there is proper oversight by the ministry of youth and sports. Hon. Asiamah said last Monday.
Meanwhile, spokesperson of GFA, Ibrahim Sannie Daara, has unequivocally denied receiving official notifications from the oil exploration firm over the alleged cancellation of the deal.
He further stated that their interactions with the sports minister, Isaac Asiamah, have revealed that the reports were mere fabrications that must be treated with a pinch of salt.
“It is not true that the contract has been cancelled. The sports minister spoke to us on Friday and assured us that the deal has not been cancelled. Ignore any report about the termination of contract,” Saanie Daara averred.
GNPC signed a contract with the Ghana Football Association in 2013 to replace mining firm, Goldfields, as the headline sponsor of the Black Stars. The deal has come under serious scrutiny with critics saying that the venture by GNPC is a fruitless one.
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