The Executive Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the 2023 African Games, Dr. Kwaku Ofosu-Asare, has clarified that $2.9 million was spent on the Games Management System, not $4.5 million, as stated by the Chairman of Parliament’s Select Committee for Youth, Sports, and Tourism, Kobena Mensah Woyome.
ATOS, a technology integrator which was employed for the 2024 Paris Olympics, was the company hired to execute the job.
Woyome, who had accused the LOC of allegedly spending in excess of $4m, expressed concerns over the actual expenditure for that requirement, with focus on accreditation tags.
In a press conference held at the Accra Sports Stadium on Monday, the LOC explained that accreditation tags are a “subset” of the Games Management System, which also includes TV graphics, the Commentators Information System, Sports Entry and Qualification, Games Results, Final Results, among others.
The Local Organising Committee for the 2023 African Games held a press conference on Monday, September 30, 2024 to ‘clarify’ reports on expenditure for the event
“We paid the company [Atos] $2,995,000, which amounted to GH¢35,940,000 and not $4.5m; you can quote me anywhere,” Ofosu-Asare said.
“It is important to note that during the organization of the Games, Hon. Woyome met the LOC on three separate occasions at the instance of the Parliament Select Committee and never sought to procure information from the LOC itself to satisfy the queries pertaining to the issuance of contracts.”
The Sports Minister, Mustapha Ussif, is expected to appear before Parliament for an overall breakdown of the continental event’s expenditure.
The African Games, which marked the nation’s first hosting rights, was held from March 8-23, 2024, during which Ghana won 69 medals.
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