The Ghana Cycling Federation has cleared the air on claims made by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif, over the poor equipment used by cyclists during the African Games at Ablekuma, Accra.
Some of the cyclists had complained of using their own bikes in the multi-sport event, blaming authorities for the situation.
'They oiled the chains of our 'old' bicycles just before the start of the competition' – Ghanaian cyclist couldn't hide her frustrations after missing out on a medal at @Accra2023AG.#OnuaSports pic.twitter.com/SY8uWNT5zs
— #OnuaSports (@OnuaSports) March 10, 2024
Addressing the issue, Mustapha Ussif said all federations were asked, prior to the Games, to submit their requisition to the Ministry for importation.
The Yabaga-Kubori Member of Parliament, therefore, blamed the Federation for lack of the proper equipment for the Games.
But in a statement issued on Wednesday, March 13, the Federation said it had been in constant correspondence with the Chief De Mission for Ghana.
It, therefore, said what the Minister said on Monday “is not the case”.
“The federation from time to time engaged the CDM on its request for the games by following up with email WhatsApp chats and calls over the period as shown in the attachment below,” the statement said.
“The federation is compelled under the circumstances to come out with this statement to clear the air on this matter as the Minister’s statement sought to apportion blame on the federation for not making a request for equipment for the games which is not the case.”
The statement indicated that the result of the engagement is the venue for the cycling competition for the Games.
“We have engaged the Ministry, LOC and the CDM throughout and it is the collaboration with them that eventually delivered a decent venue for the games with start and finish lines, crash barriers etc for which we are grateful.
“We urge all to put the unfortunate incident behind us and focus on the games,” it added.
“The Federation will continue to work hand in hand with the Ministry and LOC for a positive outcome of the games moving forward.”
