Chairman of the Protocol and Welfare subcommittee for Ghana’s World Cup campaign Kojo Adu Asare has admitted that the committee did not follow due diligence before selecting Africa Origin, Kenpong and Travel Matters to airlift fans to Brazil.
He said this Monday, when he appeared before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Ghana’s World Cup campaign.
Mr Asare admitted that the three travel and tour agencies were chosen based on their unique strengths and that the only mode of communication between them was verbal, nothing was documented.
“We didn’t give them written responses, we called representatives and owners of the various companies and scheduled appointments for them to meet with us”.
But when questioned whether it was the right method in choosing the companies, he acknowledged the subcommittee could have done a better job at selecting the companies but added, that the three companies individually did not have what they needed and that was why they were put together.
He said some of the proposals were also sent in by the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
Ghana’s poor performance at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil prompted the Sports Ministry to set up a three member committee to investigate issues of player indiscipline and poor decisions taken by the management team, as well as general poor performance of the team.
But President John Mahama later upgraded the committee into a Commission of Inquiry.
So far, Ministry of Finance, Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Bank of Ghana, Former Sports Minister Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah, Fred Darko and Kenpong Travel and Tours.
The rest are Travel Matters, African Origin and Sports Tourism, Bammed Travel and Tours, Elizabeth Ofosu Agyari, Kojo Adu Asare and Akah Anthony.