Accra, Jan. 25, GNA – Dr. Bella Bello Bitugu Chef de Mission for the Winter Olympic Games, has cited numerous reasons for resigning as the leader of the upcoming competition in Beijing, China in February.
His resignation letter sighted by the GNA Sports indicated members of the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC), who gave him the nod to lead Ghana’s contingent have been silent on preparations for the Games.
Dr. Bitugu who was given the nod barely 12 days ago lamented that he had been asking for clarification, documentations, letters, and information all to no avail.
He said, “I write to tender in my resignation for the position of Chef de Mission for the Beijing Olympics Games. I have come to this rather hard and unfortunate decision because I am not comfortable or assured and I do not think courtesy is being observed. I have asked a number of documentations to assure me and further inform me of this role but I have not been provided with adequate information.
“Technically, I was given this role barely 12 days ago within which I have a lot to do. In all this time I have been asking for clarification, documentations, letters, and information. They either come in bits, or don’t come at all or it keeps procrastinating.”
The Technical Adviser to the Minister of Youth and Sports added, “For instance, I need a letter to officially engage me, to indicate my roles and responsibilities and to name the contingent (number of people and their corresponding names) who would be accompanying me as my team members but it has still not come.
“I have made this request several times but to no avail. I have also asked for a letter to seek permission from my employers to release me and it has also not been delivered.
“We need to undergo COVID-19 test as it is a very strict regime. Given the time constraint, I asked the President if I could pre-finance the test and start the process so I could be refunded but there has been no response to that.
“I have no idea about the ticket, flight date, where our funds would be coming from, which parts GOC and the Ministry would be taking up respectively.
“The athlete in Switzerland keeps talking to me about what he needs and the situation he finds himself in and I have no concrete and satisfactory responses to give him because I don’t have the information to answer his questions.
“These and many others I have requested on and on but I have received little or no responses.
He concluded that, “Last Saturday, January 22, I wrote requesting for a meeting but there was no acknowledgement let alone a response. So yesterday, January 23, I wrote and said if I don’t get written responses to all these questions and actions then I would have to determine the way forward.
“Even though I received two draft letters from the Secretary-General earlier today, this is inadequate, incomplete and do not answer all the issues at stake.
“My decision is thus to resign and I put it in writing for the records even though I am not supposed to because I don’t have any written letter of my appointment and engagement. I will also disengage myself from the platforms that have been created for such a purpose.”
He wished Ghana Sports well and added he was ready to contribute to the development and progress of sports in the country if only the terms and conditions are right and approached the right way.
GNA