Magnus Rex Danquah
Chief Operating Officer of Ghana 2008, Magnus Rex Danquah has thrown more light on the Sports Fund after a Consultative Forum in Accra recently.
The Executive chairman of Rics Consult, a renowned PR and marketing firm has revealed that the Fund in question is a clear departure from previous ones as Sports Development Fund, Sports Endowment Fund etc due to its intended legal backing.
To him, the Fund leverages activities of the various sporting disciplines in the country; which tasks them and their respective heads to be results oriented.
He said all being equal, the Sports Fund would be operationalised in the next seven months after it has gone through channels like Cabinet and Parliament for approval.
Consequently, he has proposed a nine-member independent Board of Trustees, chaired by a government appointed personality upon Sports Minister’s advice who will review all applications for its accessibility.
The 2009 African Hockey Nations Cup chief mentioned that the formation of the Board will involve top guns heading sectors like mining, banking and oil and gas who have interest in sports.
He said “Definitely we will need some quantum for sports infrastructure and certainly maintenance of existing ones. Possibly ¢50m a year for maintenance will help maintain them to attract high profile teams like Real Madrid.
“The Fund is not to provide a budget, it is to compliment a budget. It is to leverage and change the face of sports, it would make it compulsory for associations to work.”
Responding to how the Fund would be disbursed, he said “If the fund has 100m, it doesn’t mean we are going to use all the 100m. The Fund should have a position that any money that is accrued to it, 50% will go into investment to grow the Fund, only 30% would be disbursed in any given year and then 10% for Strategic Interventions because they are very key.”
He decried the constant cliché that sports is a big business, yet steps are not taken to realize its potential and suggested that media rights for events is accorded the needed attention.
A representation from the Attorney General to ensure its legal backing; Ghana Statistical Service to touch sports contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) were present at the Forum.
By Kofi Owusu Aduonum