Citi Sports editor Nathan Quao puts out his expectations of the newly-nominated Sports Minister Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye in this open letter. Nii Lante Vanderpuye’s nomination was announced on Monday by the Flagstaff House.
Dear Hon. Nii Lante Vanderpuye, congratulations on your nomination as the new sports minister. I am sure you are pleased with the decision because it means that when the President stayed up all night to think of someone who could run our sports ministry, your name came up.
He overlooked a lot of names and I am sure, he was told of some other people who could do the job but he stuck with you and now you must go through Parliamentary approval (which is almost procedural unless something major comes up).
I am writing this letter to you just to remind you that you must do your bit to get sports back on track in this land of ours. You will be the 8th sports minister in 7 years. That says a lot about the Ministry and the domain called sports in Ghana.
We have attributed so many reasons to the failure of your predecessors and one of them is a lot of those who have gone before you are not “sports people” and thus do not fully grasp the intricacies and nuances of the space. You, quite fortunately, are a man of sports.
You have written about it, spoken about it and you have even run it a point with Liberty Professionals football club.
Thus, we will not call you “a novice” to the area. I have listened to you speak so many times on the need to improve sports so I am humbly reminding you to let that reality guide all you do as Sports Minister.
This year, we will be aiming to go to the Olympic Games in Brazil. I do not know how many of our athletes will qualify but their journey to that event will depend on a) their efforts on the tracks and fields and b) your efforts as minister.
You must show a genuine interest in the welfare of these athletes and you must ensure that they have the funds they will need to prepare and take part in all the qualifying events. Too many times, we have cited the absence of funds as a problem in relation to sports in Ghana.
In your time as sports minister, we would like to see an end to that. If you want to concentrate your energies on something in particular, you have the right thing at your door: boxing.
You are the Member of Parliament for the Odododiodoo constituency which has an area like Bukom, Ghana’s boxing hub. All of Ghana’s glory in boxing has been prepared there but the people there do not have a modern boxing gym; the most crucial element in the process of developing boxers. The best thing you can do is to provide them with one.
We have been told of a lot of promises by those who came before you and several other people but nothing has been done in that regard. You have the opportunity to correct that “wrong” and there is no need to miss such a chance. On the issue of policy, there is, first, the sports bill and then, the recommendations in the Dzamefe Commission report.
The sports bill has been passed about like a hot potato and the latest update I got when I spoke with the man you are taking over from, Dr. Mustapha Ahmed, was that it was not too far from the floor of Parliament. Please make sure that it comes before the House so that it can be passed.
The future success of Ghana sports lies in the legislative approval of the sports bill. Concerning the Dzamefe Commission report, guidelines on a variety of issues can be found there and so, it will be prudent to go through them and take decisions on them.
The major one being the bonus of the Black Stars and the rest of the national football teams. We have danced around the situation for so long and we need closure on it.
Players need to be told what they are getting into when they lineup for their country. Reminding them that playing for their nation is a matter of pride is a good idea but if we have decided to give them a monetary reward, then we need to be clear on what it is.
More importantly, we need to stick to whatever we say and pay them at the right time.
We will not accept stand-offs between footballers and the country when they have honoured their part of the bargain. Finally, please find out from the government why there are cuts in the sporting component of the national budget.
Is it that the state does not care about sports or there are no available funds for that? Why have we not found other ways of providing the financial support to sports in Ghana?
I want you to also remind the President to talk about sports when he is putting together his manifesto for the campaign period ahead.
The domain needs more respect from the people running our country. We all want you to succeed that is why I have written this open letter. I wish you all the best in your duties as the new Sports Minister.
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By: Concerned sports reporter, Nathan Quao