Ghana government accepts World Cup Commission recommendation to surcharge wrongdoers
The Government on Thursday issued a white paper on the 2014 World Cup Commission of Enquiry presented to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General a few months ago.
Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah Oppong, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, who was briefing the media on the highlights of the White Paper said government had accepted the recommendations to surcharge all names that had been associated with malpractices from the beginning to the end of the World Cup.
She however did not mention the names that would be surcharged and punished in the report.
On August 4, 2014, government commissioned a three- man Committee, chaired by Justice Senyo Dzamefe, following the negative fallout from the Black Star campaign in the 2014 Brazil World Cup competition.
Established by Constitutional Instrument (C.I 82 with CI 65, giving it the guidelines to operate, the Commission had Moses Foh Amoaning, a private Legal Practitioner and Kofi Anokye Owusu Darko, a Football enthusiast as the other members.
The terms of reference included; the preparations of the Black Stars team before the games, management of the team, financing of activities leading to the competition, treatment of the funds generated and to make recommendations based on the findings.
Mrs Appiah-Oppong said the government had accepted the recommendation of the Commission to assign implementation responsibilities, in relations to payment of penalties, and the return of state property.
The Minister said government had also accepted the recommendation for the establishment of three teams on Technical and Management, Funding and Financial Administration and Management, Marketing and Sponsorship to ensure the implementation of the recommendations.
Mrs Appiah-Oppong said government also accepted the recommendations of the Commission that supporters should seek their own sponsorship to participate in tournaments and the state should not directly employ public or state funds to airlift, accommodate and feed supporters.
She said government however did not accept recommendations that a special investigative team be set up enquire into matters that require further investigations, a situation she added, would be solely done by the Bureau of National Investigations.
The Minister said government would take steps to initiate the Commission Stakeholders Review Colloquium as recommended in two years after the publication of the white paper instead of the recommended one year.
Source: GNA