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The briefing given to Parliament by the Sports Minister Isaac Kwame Asiamah said to be the budget for the AFCON 2019 has been challenged by Kumasi based Sports Journalist Bright Kankam Boadu.

According to him, the Sports Minister only gave a statement of expenditure in Parliament as there is nothing to prove that the quoted amount is the actual budget for the 2019 African Cup of Nations which was held in Egypt.

“This is not a budget for the AFCON 2019; it is a statement of expenditure. How much we have spent at AFCON is what the Minister of Sports told Ghanaians in Parliament but should it be the case? We don’t know how much was budgeted for the AFCON but the two captains of the Black Stars knew,” he stated.

Expressing his viewpoint on Okay FM’s Ade Akye Abia, Kankam Boadu turned his arsenal on Parliament for failing to compel the Sports Minister to disclose the budget for the 2019 African Cup of Nations before the tournament begun in Egypt.

“I will not blame anybody but Parliament because it is Parliament which represents Ghanaians. Many Ghanaians don’t know the essence of Parliament. Why will the Minister put it out? . . . Parliament could have compelled him to come out to tell Ghanaians this is how much we have budgeted for our camping in Dubai and this is how much we have budgeted for the tournament in Egypt so that there can be deliberations in Parliament to reduce maybe the number of supporters we intended to take to Egypt,” he fumed.

He reiterated that even though it has not been the practice in the past administrations to disclose the budget for tournaments, the status quo should have changed by compelling Hon. Isaac Asiamah to divulge the budget which the government has put down for the tournament.

He stressed that “out of shame, Hon. Ayariga backed the Sports Minister because he started it when he refused to tell Ghanaians the budget for AFCON during his tenure and when we asked him to disclose the budget when he came back; he got upset and insulted Dan Kwaku Yeboah”.

The Kumasi-based Sports Journalists also urged Ghanaians to vote for Parliamentarians who will have the interest of the nation and Ghanaians at heart by enacting laws which will bring about development and not be clouded by partisan motives.