Dr. Kwaku Ofosu-Asare Defends $250 Million African Games Expenditure Before Parliamentary Committee

Dr. Kwaku Ofosu-Asare, the former Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the 13th African Games, has robustly defended the US$250 million expenditure on the event during a hearing before Parliament’s Youth and Sports Committee. Addressing concerns regarding the budget, Dr. Ofosu-Asare dismissed comparisons between the 2023 African Games and the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). He argued that such comparisons are fundamentally flawed due to the massive difference in the scale and scope of the two continental tournaments.

According to Dr. Ofosu-Asare, while the 2008 AFCON involved only 16 nations competing in a single discipline (football), the African Games hosted athletes from 53 countries participating in 23 different sports and eight demonstration disciplines. He emphasized that the $250 million investment was necessary to cover comprehensive requirements, including large-scale infrastructure development, accommodation, feeding, and the complex operational logistics required to manage thousands of athletes and officials across multiple venues.

A significant point of discussion during the session was the management of the event's funds. Dr. Ofosu-Asare revealed that, contrary to historical precedents where the LOC typically manages its own operational budget, the Ministry of Youth and Sports took direct control of the financial resources for this edition. He noted that under the leadership of the Ministry, led by Mustapha Ussif during the planning and execution phases, the financial oversight was centralized, which modified the LOC's traditional role in fiscal management.

The parliamentary inquiry into the funding of the 13th African Games is part of a broader effort to ensure transparency and accountability in the utilization of public funds for major sporting events. Dr. Ofosu-Asare maintained that the expenditure must be viewed through the lens of long-term benefits, noting that the infrastructure developed for the Games serves as a lasting legacy for Ghanaian sports, despite the administrative shifts in how the budget was handled between the LOC and the Sports Ministry.