Legal practitioner and Member of the Justice Dzamefe Commission that investigated Ghana’s poor campaign at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Moses Foh Amoaning, has described recent developments over government’s inability to pay winning bonuses to the national female football team, the Black Queens, as a clear breach of the commission’s recommendations.
The Black Queens won gold at the just ended All Africa Games in Congo, but are yet to receive their bonuses from the sports ministry.
The players are also demanding bonuses which have piled up in the last three years. In all, each player is expected to receive about $23,000.
[contextly_sidebar id=”B8c8eT2s4AsBpnuCo40EhOZMINQQKCAY”]The ladies are currently lodging at the M-Plaza hotel in Accra, and have expressed their resolve not to leave until they receive their monies.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Tuesday, an obviously worried Foh Amoaning, attributed the recent trend to a lack of implementation of the Dzamefe Commission’s recommendations.
“We recommended that the ministry sets a four member committee and get these things clarified…It saddens me for the government and the presidency because we spent a lot of money on the commission and all we have agreed on, nobody is doing anything about it,” he said.
“What a joy it would have been if these ladies had arrived from Congo;, they are met at the airport; they’ve won gold, they’re taken to the presidency, the president commends them and they are given their due as agreed upon,” he added.
“Now look at what is happening; they are held up in a hotel refusing to leave because nobody wants to pay,” Mr. Foh Amoaning lamented.
Although Mr. Foh Amoaning acknowledged government’s acceptance of the recommendations on remunerations and player bonuses in its white paper, he believes the full implementation will require more commitment.
There were reports that the sports ministry airlifted money to pay the senior national team, the Black Stars, during a qualifying match in Rwanda, contrary to the condemnation of a similar act at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
“I think the ministry and people in public authority must know that, they are acting for and on behalf of the people of this country; so when things happen they shouldn’t keep all of us in the dark. Tell us the fact and if there are things that you are to apologize, you apologize and we move on. It appears that the minister said he didn’t know about it and it wasn’t very tidy and I think it is about time that these things are done. But clearly, they recognized that they had breached the recommendations and they were not happy themselves,”
Meanwhile President of the Ghana Football Association(GFA), Kwesi Nyantakyi, who visited the ladies on Monday assured of his outfit’s commitment to ensure that the bonuses are paid in due time.
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By: Pius Amihere Eduku/citifmonline.com/Ghana