The Ministry of Youth and Sports has revealed that a total of $2.5 million was paid directly to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) for broadcasting the 2023 African Games.
In a statement signed by the sector Minister, Mustapha Ussif, it was noted that payments of $1 million and $1.5 million were made to GBC on March 13, 2024, and May 22, 2024, respectively.
The statement also clarified that an additional $1 million was paid to third parties as per GBC’s instructions, in line with the contract.
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During his appearance before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday, August 19, 2024, Ussif confirmed, “GBC was the official broadcaster for the 13th African Games, and I can confirm that full payment has been made to GBC.”
Although he couldn’t specify the exact total, he mentioned, “I can’t recall the precise amount, but I know it exceeds $3 million.”
However, the Director-General of GBC, Professor Amin Alhassan, clarified that the state media house received only $105,000, not $3 million as stated by the Sports Minister.
“We facilitated payments to foreign third parties who handled the production, not for the benefit of GBC. GBC’s share, I repeat, was $105,000, and that is what we received.”
Despite this, the Ministry maintains that payments to third parties were made solely based on GBC’s instructions after an agreement was reached and signed.
It was reported that some media organizations quoted $6 million to produce the events, but the Ministry opted for GBC due to their lower quote of $3.6 million. The agreement with GBC was based on the understanding that the state broadcaster would engage third parties to help fulfill their obligations. The total agreed amount was $3.6 million.
“From the total amount, $2.5 million was paid directly to GBC in two tranches: $1 million on 13th March 2024 and $1.5 million on 22nd May 2024.”
