The Minority in Parliament has declared that the World Cup visa scandal extends far beyond the removal of the Director General of the National Sports Authority (NSA), calling for the immediate dismissal and prosecution of high-ranking government officials.
Addressing the press at Parliament House, the Ranking Member on the Youth and Sports Committee, Hon. Vincent Ekow Assafuah, asserted that President John Dramani Mahama’s sacking of the NSA chief does not resolve the broader institutional misconduct uncovered by the documentary trail.
“This cannot end with one dismissal. The President has removed [the NSA DG] we acknowledge that decision but the public should not be made to believe that the removal of one official automatically answers every question arising from the document,” he stated.
Demands for Sacking and Criminal Prosecution
Insisting that administrative action alone is insufficient, the Minority is demanding the immediate removal of both the Minister for Sports and Recreation, Hon. Kofi Adams, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA).
“We therefore call for the immediate dismissal of Honourable Kofi Adams, the Minister for Sports and Recreation and the immediate dismissal of the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Tourism Authority,” Hon. Assafuah declared. “Their continued stay in office in the face of the questions surrounding the roles of their respective institutions cannot be allowed to undermine public confidence in the investigation,” he stressed.
The Minority stressed that if evidence points to criminal wrongdoing, formal prosecution must follow, as job termination does not equal legal punishment.
“And where the evidence establishes that the minister, the GTA boss or any other official knowingly participated in, authorized, facilitated, or enabled criminal conduct, we call for their prosecution,” Assafuah said. “Let us be clear. Dismissal is not prosecution. Moving out from offices is not accountability for criminal conduct. Where there is evidence of a crime the appropriate law enforcement and prosecutorial authorities must pursue the matter.”
He added that “where administrative responsibilities are established, the appropriate officials must be dismissed or sanctioned.”
Allegations of Unreturned Travelers and Broad Institutional Involvement
Challenging narrative attempts to center the entire scandal around a single official, Hon. Assafuah alleged that several individuals who traveled to the United States under these official institutional setups have failed to return to Ghana.
“According to the information available to us, several individuals who travelled to the United States under the purported institutional arrangement have to date not returned to Ghana,” he stated.
Naming specific individuals allegedly still abroad, Assafuah noted: “One, the assistant to Yaw Ampofo Ankrah is still not back in the country. Mr. Sevin Otre, the driver of the Minister for Sports and Recreation is still not back to the country. The secretary of the then Chief Director is still not back to the country.”
He urged that “these matters should be independently verified through immigration records and the relevant travel documents,” adding that “this is important because it challenges any attempt to reduce the entire matter to the conduct of Yaw Ampofo Ankrah alone.”
According to the Minority, the documentary evidence points to network-wide involvement across the NSA, the Ministry of Sports and Recreation, the Ghana Tourism Authority, Tribe Culture Fest, and various linked individuals.
Exorbitant Visa Fees, Unofficial Agents, and Unanswered Questions
The caucus further raised serious allegations regarding the commercial exploitation of visa allocations meant for official GTA duties, with non-staff members reportedly charged extortionate rates.
“Our investigation also raises questions concerning allegations that individuals who were not GTA staff were being offered or processed under these arrangements at fees reportedly ranging from seven thousand USD to fourteen thousand USD per person,” Hon. Assafuah said.
He demanded that the GTA “must explain to taxpayers why individuals outside the Ghana Tourism Authority were allegedly being processed or offered access to visa opportunities associated with allocations intended for the Authority’s World Cup related activities.”
The Minority also questioned the role and deliverables of Tribe Culture Fest, as well as the involvement of two fixers overseeing visa slots.
“What report was produced following the preparatory work and what amount, if any, remains outstanding… all the reports following the preparatory works are also available. We will make it available to the media,” he said.
Hon. Assafuah pressed for answers on two operatives identified as “Chase” and “Diesel,” who were allegedly brought in to handle US and Canadian visa allocations.
“There are also questions surrounding two individuals identified to us as Chase and Diesel, who were allegedly engaged to oversee visa processing activities involving the United States and Canadian allocations. The public deserves clarity on who these individuals are, who engaged them, the authority under which they operated and what role they played in the processing of applicants,” he added.
Calling for a comprehensive, independent, and transparent investigation, the Minority insisted that the probe must cover Hon. Kofi Adams, GTA leadership, NSA officials, Ministry of Sports officials, Tribe Culture Fest, and all individuals connected to the collection of funds and compilation of travel lists.
“We therefore call for the investigation to cover the Honourable Kofi Adams, the leadership of the Ghana Tourism Authority, officials of the National Sports Authority, officials within the Ministry of Sports and Recreation, Tribe Culture Fest and every other person whose conduct is implicated by the documentary evidence,” Hon. Assafuah stated.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
