Sports Minister storms out of GOC Congress over late start

The Sports Minister, Isaac Asiamah, was left red-faced at the late start of the Ghana Olympic Committee’s Elective Congress on Tuesday at the Alisa Hotel.

The Minister arrived at the venue for the event at the advertised time of 9:00am, but after waiting for about 30 minutes, he decided to leave.

He was slated to give a speech at the Congress to open the event. The speech would have been the Minister’s first major public one since he was sworn into office.

The incident has been  confirmed by officials of the Ghana Olympic Committee and the spokesperson of the Sports Ministry, Elvis Adjei-Baah.

Adjei-Baah went on to state that the Minister’s action was a follow-through on President Nana Akuffo-Addo’s calls on public appointees to respect time. He gave his admonition when he gave his State of the Nation to Parliament on February 21.

“Mr Speaker, there are some areas of our lives in which we can all demonstrate the change for which the people of Ghana have voted: punctuality, sanitation and the care of the environment. Over the years, it has become acceptable for official functions to invariably start and close late. We invite people to functions for 9:00am and start at 10:00am.”

“I have heard some offer the preposterous excuse that there is something cultural about not paying attention to time. Mr Speaker, let us show that we acknowledge that change has indeed come by being punctual to functions. I intend to set a personal example.”

The Minister’s speech was read on his behalf by Director General of the National Sports Authority, Joe Kpenge.

The GOC’s Elective Congress is to vote for a new administration to run the affairs of the committee for a four-year term.

The current President of the committee, Prof. Francis Dodoo, will go against Ben Nunoo Mensah, President of the Ghana Weightlifting Federation for the position of president.