The Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for the Accra 2023 African Games will procure up to 332 vehicles for the three-week event.
The LOC will procure 55 buses, 29 Land Cruisers, 106 Saloon Cars, 26 minibuses, 78 Wagons, 30 Ayalolo buses, 5 trucks and 3 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado’s for the tournament.
The details of the planned expenditure on vehicles are contained in the LOC’s Transport Management Handbook for the Games.
Although the document mentions the specific cars and the various brands the LOC intends to buy, conspicuously missing was the estimated cost of this expenditure to the state.
On Monday, MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, alleged that the LOC had budgeted to spend a ridiculous amount of US$48 million (GHS602 million) on “operational expenses”.
The amount was six times more than Parliament’s approved sum of GHS100 million for the same purposes.
The figure works out to around a 6-day weekly expenditure of GHS200.6 million, and a daily operational expense of GHS 33.4 million for the 18-day competition.
The MP intercepted and published a letter written and signed by the chairman of the LOC, Dr. Kwaku Ofosu-Asare.
In Dr. Ofosu-Asare’s letter addressed to the the Chief Executive Officer of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST), seeking sponsorship, the LOC chair mentioned the estimated budget for the entire tournament.
According to Hon. Ablakwa, BOST responded positively and has already paid US$500,000 to the LOC as part of their sponsorship.The games will take place from March 8-23, 2024.
Mynewsgh.com
