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Mr. James Nunoo, a Board Member of the Ghana Rugby Football Union (GRFU), severely criticised  the previous President of the GRFU, Mrs. Gifty Annan-Myers, for meddling in the affairs of Ghana Rugby and in fact undermining the efforts of the new administration.


“It has come to my attention that Mrs. Annan-Myers has not only been in contact with managers and coaches of the CentWest Rugby Association but also with managers and coaches of the Greater Accra Rugby Association (GARA) with the intention to spread malicious falsehoods and lies to the world governing body, World Rugby, about the present administration,” Mr. Nunoo said.


According to Mr. Nunoo, Mrs. Annan-Myers was basically kicked out of Ghana Rugby at the previous Election Congress of the GRFU in June 2014 after she had left Ghana Rugby in a mess with nothing to show after eleven years of her reign as President.


“The end of Mrs. Annan-Myers’ reign as President came about as the result of a palace revolution by all Rugby stakeholders who just could not see any future for the Game in Ghana under her leadership or rather lack of leadership,” he said.


Mr. Nunoo continued to say, “Mrs. Annan-Myers tried to wriggle her way back into Ghana Rugby at the 2014 Congress by falsely claiming that the position of Women’s Representative on the GRFU Board was an elected position while the Constitution clearly states that it is a nominated position.”


The Ghana Rugby Association (GRA), now operating as the GRFU, was established by Mrs. Annan-Myers in 2003 and according to Mr. Nunoo the newly elected administration was shocked to find that Mrs. Annan-Myers left the GRFU with only about 35 pounds in the bank and with no other sustainable source of income such as sponsorships.


“This will not be the first time that Mrs. Annan-Myers works against the new administration by communicating with the world governing bodies after Ghana Rugby has basically washed its hands off her. In 2014 after she had been kicked out of Ghana Rugby the new administration discovered that Mrs. Annan-Myers was still organising training courses with African Rugby without notifying or involving the new administration,” Mr. Nunoo said.


Another shocking discovery by the new administration, according to Mr. Nunoo, was the discovery that World Rugby had undertaken an audit of Ghana Rugby in 2013 as part of the process to apply to apply for full membership of World rugby that would have given Ghana Rugby acces to development funds.


“Despite a very clear follow up pathway proposed by World Rugby on the 2013 audit Mrs. Annan-Myers filed the audit report and did not even share it with members of her Executive Council in order to get things in place for follow up meetings with World Rugby. This neglect by Mrs. Annan-Myers was not only a clear act of rejecting best practice governance but it indeed cost Ghana Rugby immeasurably,” Mr. Nunoo said.


It will be remembered that Mrs. Annan-Myers was the CEO of Ghana International Airlines (GIA) when it went down the drain in 2010.

Mr. Nunoo also said that the new administration, as first priority, undertook a thorough investigation into the state of Rugby in Ghana after taking over in June 2014 and was further shocked with what it discovered.


“After 11 years there were no audited financial reports and no records of registered members or of players or of coaches or of referees or of schools or of youth players. And despite this Mrs. Annan-Myers declared to World Rugby that there were more than 4,000 rugby players in Ghana,” Mr. Nunoo explained.


“Statements made to World Rugby as inputs to the 2013 audit by Mrs. Annan-Myers and her administration still amazes me to this day and she has left it to the new administration to tell the truth and and to bear the embarrassment,” he said.


Mr. Nunoo said that Ghana Rugby was handed over by Mrs. Annan-Myers in a total mess and left with a clean slate in June 2014 - a situation that necessitates that many winds of change will have to blow and have in fact started blowing in order to rebuild the game of Rugby in Ghana.


According to Mr. Nunoo the activities of Ghana Rugby was bankrolled in the form of loans by some Directors and specifically the President to the tune of more than 670,000 Ghana cedis over the 17 month period since June 2014 and he wondered how much money Mrs. Annan-Myers risked to help build Rugby in Ghana over the 11 years of her reign as President.


“In the process of transformation there will always be people who may not be happy with the inevitable changes but the new administration has, from day one, had a very open door policy and any unhappiness or concerns by individuals or rugby bodies should and can be discussed and clarified at any stage,” Mr. Nunoo said.


He continued to say that should the information about Mrs. Annan-Myers’ planned and unwanted interventions turn out to be true he will personally take her to task even if it has to be via the justice system.