The Office of the Minister of Youth and Sports has clarified that vehicles to be used for the upcoming African Games will be rented and not bought.
This statement comes in the wake of a disclosure via the Local Organizing Committee (LOC)’s Transport Management handbook that the LOC “intends to procure” 332 vehicles for use during the Games.
The Games run from March 8 to March 23 with competition from multiple sports disciplines to be played out at primarily the University of Ghana Stadium and Borteyman Sports Complex.
However, the office of the Sports Minister has communicated that the vehicles won’t be bought but rented from brands including Toyota and Volkswagen for the African Games.
For the near three week competition, 29 Landcruisers, 3 Toyota Prado’s, 106 Saloon Cars, 78 Wagon Cars, 55 Team Marco Polo Buses, 30 Ayalolo buses, 26 minibuses and 5 trucks will be used.
In the lead up to the competition, the expenditure involved in hosting the Games has come under heavy scrutiny with Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, chiding the LOC over a spike in the budget for operational expenses.
The budget approved the Parliament of Ghana according to Honourable Ablakwa was 100 million Ghana Cedis but that figure has shot up to 602 million Ghana Cedis ($48 million). (Click highlighted text to read full story)
Contingents representing competing nations have started to arrive in Accra for the Games with Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia among the first to arrive.
