By Rihana Adam
Accra, July 24, GNA – Mr. Mustapha Ussif, Minister of Youth and Sports (MOYS) has said his outfit was not involved in the visa acquisition processes for some Ghanaian athletes who absconded after reaching Norway to participate in a Marathon.
He said the ministry had clear-cut guidelines for acquiring visas for Ghanaian athletes for international games, adding that, the said athletes did contact the ministry neither did they follow the guidelines.
At a press briefing on Wednesday, he said, “any federation recognized by the National Sports Authority (NSA), who wants to travel for international or national competitions normally writes to the NSA, which is then forwarded to them for recommendation.
“But in the Norwegian case there was not any request from the NSA or MOYS, so the ministry was not aware of their trip, and the team did not represent Ghana.”
He added that the ministry does not issue letters directly to the embassies for visa, but rather writes to the Ministry of Foreign Affair to work on their behalf.
He also warned individuals who hide behind the scenes, using federations or athletes in the name of visas to desist from that evil act.
He said, “let me use this opportunity to warn all those who are hiding behind our hard working and patriotic athletes in the name of securing travelling opportunities to people stop that”.
Mr. Ussif also appealed to embassies to verify information concerning visa to athletes before granting them.
“I want to use this opportunity to appeal to all Embassies and High Commissions that any time they get requests from a federation without the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and also supporting document from the MOYS they should verify before and failure to do so would be at their own risk.”
Reports of 11 Ghanaian athletes and officials who were issued with Norwegian visas to participate in a marathon hit the media early this week.
According to the reports, the athletes failed to participate in the event and absconded upon reaching Oslo, Norway.
This has since attracted the attention of the Ministry of National Security, MOYS and the National Paralympic Committee (NPC).
GNA