The Seven Member Committee set up by President John Evans Atta Mills to oversee donations from the public for the U-20 team will not be entitled ot any sitting allowance, a member of the committee, Mr. Kojo Bonsu has hinted.
Mr. Bonsu, who is also the country representative of the giant sports kits manufacturer, Adidas, says the work of the committee would be entirely sacrificial, adding �no member will be given any sitting allowance in the entire period of the sitting.�
Mr. Bonsu made the disclosure when he granted an interview to Angel Fm, a local radio station in Kumasi. He noted that the whole country and for that matter each single member of the committee reveres in the historic victory of the Satellites in the just ended U-20 tournament held in Egypt, and would therefore do anything to show appreciation for the significant achievement by the team.
In pursuance of its promise to give the Black Satellites a befitting and lasting reward, the government yesterday inaugurated a seven-member committee to supervise inflows and disbursement of all public donations that will accrue to the team. The seven-member committee has Mr. Okoi-Nikoi Dzanie, chairman of the Ghana Hockey Association as its chairperson, and made up of members including the GFA Chairman, Mr. Kwesi Nyantakyi, Mr. Worlanyo Agrah, National Sports Council Boss, Prof. Francis Duodu and Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, special aide to the President.
Mr. Bonsu said it would be wrong for anybody to imagine that members of the committee are going to make hay from the responsibility given them, contending that members of the committee are highly respected individuals who have all excelled in their respective endeavours. However, not all Ghanaians appear to be happy with the decision by the government to set up a committee to determine the kind of package to be given to the Satellites team.
The Minority Leader and MP for Suame, Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, has described the decision as bogus and fraudulent, arguing that the government could have gone straight ahead to announce a befitting package for the gallant satellites without going through the pain of setting up a committee.
According to the Minority leader, the setting up of the committee clearly demonstrates that the government lacks the will to reward the team, indicating that the lackadaisical approach by the government has the tendency to dampen the spirit of the individual players who sacrificed their lives for the country.
Hon. Mensah-Bonsu noted that even though nobody expected the government to promise heavens for the boys, the best thing for the government to have done was to announce the little package, based on the economic strength of the country.
The Minority Leader recounted a similar scenario which occurred in 1978, when the nation promised to give state houses to the senior national team after they won the African Cup of Nations, �which never came to fruition.� �We need to cut our coat according to our size and not to wait for a whole committee to come out with recommendations before we reward our dear citizens who have brought such a great honour to our nation?�
<<Print>>