2017 Budget: Sports Ministry Receives 46 Million Cedis

The Ministry of Youth and Sports has been allocated about GHS 46 million for its activities for the 2017 year.

This was revealed when the budget statement was read to Parliament on Thursday by Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta.

The amount marks an increase in the allocation to the Ministry from the GHS 22 million it received for the 2016 calendar year.

The budget statement revealed that the 2017 allocation was made up of compensation for employees of the ministry, goods and services, capital expenditure and retained internally generated funds.

The statement said that there would be focus on completing the construction of the University of Ghana Sports Complex.

The budget also mentioned that there would some feasibility work done in relation to the rehabilitation of the national stadia in Accra, Kumasi, Tamale and Essipong.

In the 2016 budget, the renovation of these stadia was mentioned but no work was done on these edifices.

In terms of national teams, the budget states that the Black Queens, Black Princesses, Maidens, the Black Starlets and the Black Stars will all be involved in national assignments.

The Black Starlets will be in Gabon for the African U-17 Championships while the Black Stars will resume qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup.

Observers say that once these teams have been mentioned, there should be no issues with funding when they go to the Ministry when in need.

However, a closer look at the budget reveals that the Ministry of Youth and Sports receives nothing from the nation’s development partners and the ABFA (Annual Budget Fund Amount from Oil Revenue).

Here is a breakdown of the budget:

Compensation of Employees (837 workers) – 14,377,052

Goods and Services- 30,457,092

Capital Expenditure- 1,000,000

Retained Internally Generated Funds- 1,076,131

Development Partners’ Funds- 0

GRAND TOTAL- GHS 46,910,275