The Minister for Sports and Recreation, Kofi Iddie Adams, has dismissed suggestions that delays in the release of funds by the Finance Ministry were responsible for the organisational challenges during the African Athletics Championship.

Speaking in an interview with JoyNews on May 18, Mr Adams said that although government funding had not been released in full ahead of the event, the ministry had enough resources to take care of critical expenditures and ensure the competition proceeded smoothly.

His comments come amid criticism over certain setbacks recorded during the competition, with some observers attributing the challenges to the delayed disbursement of funds from the government.

However, Mr Adams rejected those claims, arguing that the concerns raised had little to do with the timing of financial releases.

The minister also questioned some of the allegations made about poor athlete welfare and logistical shortcomings, suggesting that a number of the claims were not backed by evidence.

“We shouldn't run away from the reality of someone speaking to just an athlete, without evidence, and saying that was the feeding arrangement,” he stated.

Mr Adams further dismissed reports that defective sporting equipment had been supplied by the Local Organising Committee (LOC), referencing claims involving a broken vaulting pole.

“We shouldn't run and say that someone used his own vaulting pole and it broke, and they said it was provided by the LOC, when it's not the case,” he added.

While acknowledging that discussions could still be held regarding the timing of fund releases, the Sports Minister maintained that the specific issues complained about during the competition were unrelated to government financing.

“Release of funds can be an issue; we can look at that. But those things that have been complained about were not because of the non-release of funds,” he explained.

Mr Adams also revealed that he was unable to confirm whether the entire budget allocation for the competition had been released or fully utilised, noting that such details remained the responsibility of the accounts department.

“I'm not aware that the entirety has not been released or has not been fully used. Mine is to see to it that the documentation is done. It's only the accounts people who can tell whether everything is received or not received,” he said.

Despite the criticism surrounding the event, the Minister described the overall organisation as successful, particularly praising transportation arrangements and the general execution of the competition.

“But I think largely, we were able to go through the competition. It went very well. Transportation was perfect. Everything went through,” he noted.

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Sports Minister says money delay did not affect championship organisation

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