MP Okyere Darko-Mensah Raises Concern Over Poor Maintenance of Sports Stadia in Ghana

Hon. Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, Member of Parliament for Takoradi, has raised concern over the poor maintenance and sustainability of sports stadia in Ghana, warning that most of the facilities are deteriorating due to lack of proper upkeep and commercialization.

The Takoradi MP made the remarks in Parliament during debate on the Report of the Public Accounts Committee on the Follow-up Report of the Auditor-General. The report examined three audits: _Regulating Small-Scale Mining for a Sustainable Environment_, _Sustainability of Sports Stadia in Ghana_, and _Administration of Scholarships by GETFund_.

According to Hon. Darko-Mensah, Ghana’s sports infrastructure is "going to waste" because the National Sports Authority and relevant stakeholders have failed to put in place measures to maintain the facilities and generate revenue from them.

He called for a new approach to managing the stadia, including commercializing them to ensure they are self-sustaining and do not continue to burden the state.

"We are not taking good care of our stadia. Most of them are going to waste. There is the need for us to commercialize these facilities so they can maintain themselves and contribute to the economy," he said.

The MP’s comments form part of Parliament’s consideration of the Public Accounts Committee’s report, which seeks to address issues raised in the Auditor-General’s follow-up audits.