National Sports Authority will not manage Tarkwa and Aboso stadium — Kessie

The Municipal Chief Executive of Tarkwa Nsuaem (MCE), Mr Benjamin Kessie has stated that they will not release the Tarkwa and Aboso stadium to the National Sports Authority (NSA) when completed.

He said, “The history about the Sports Authority is not the best, they have not been able to manage the state stadiums, and moreover, this is not a state stadium. NSA does not have the exclusive right to be managing every stadium, it is not in the Act”

According to Mr Kessie, through series of engagements the Municipal Assembly, Apinto Divisional Council and other stakeholders have put together a comprehensive management plan for the edifice.

“The Tarkwa and Aboso stadium is for the residents of Tarkwa Nsuaem, and solely funded by the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation (GFGF) for a community. We think it is appropriate to involve people within the same community to manage it” he pointed out.

Mr Kessie revealed this to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) when the GFGF had the final stakeholders meeting and site inspection at the Tarkwa and Aboso stadium.

The MCE said, “We must meet at the board room to resolve certain differences.” Our traditional leaders have raised concerns about naming the facility and others which l think is laudable, so we will meet and see how to go about those important issues.

In fact, I am impressed with what I have seen and satisfied with the work done. We are only asking that whatever observations we have made even at this final stage should be considered before the commissioning”

The Gyaasehene of the Apinto Divisional Council, Nana Adarkwa Bediako III, reiterated that “the maintenance culture in NSA has not been encouraging, the records are visible, and we do not want this beautiful facility to go into their hands

At best they can advise, we have the competence and together with the municipal assembly we will be able to put together a solid team to manage this facility.”

The Executive Secretary of the GFGF, Mr Abdel-Razak Yakubu, on his part said, they have a lot of stakeholders on this project, like the Ghana National Ambulance Service, National Disaster Management Organization, Ghana National Fire Service, Ghana Police Service, Ghana Health Service, Electricity Company of Ghana, Ghana Water Company Limited, traditional authorities, media, among others.

He said the services of all these institutions would be required for the smooth and safe running of the stadium when the Foundation hands over, “so we invited them to come around, take a tour and give us feedback. They have pointed out a few things that need to be corrected.”

Most of the stakeholders who interacted with the GNA after the meeting were amazed with the kind of work done so far and lauded the GFGF.