Dr. Nana Ayew Afriyie
Chairman of Ghana’s National Anti-Doping Committee (NADC), Dr Nana Ayew Afriyie has expressed optimism that the country will become compliant to the World Anti-Doping Association’s (WADA) rules ahead of the All-Africa Games in 2023.
The Youth and Sports Ministry has tasked Dr Afriyie’s Committee to produce a legal framework aimed at establishing an independent national anti-doping commission.
And in his quest to create the framework, Dr Afriyie told media practitioners that his Committee will engage members of the Africa Zone VI Regional Anti-Doping Organisation (RADO) to ensure that Ghana becomes code compliant and avoid being banned from international sporting competitions.
He said during the Africa Zone XI RADO Board Meeting “The Committee was inaugurated last September and we were con cerned with organising the RADO conference.
“On Friday, my team will be here and Ghana is faced with the Code Compliance Questionnaire, an over 300-page questionnaire and if you don’t tackle it before the deadline you become non-compliant and what it means is that you don’t take part in any international games.
“We are hosting the 2023 games, the Black Stars have games and everybody expects us to be involved in international tournaments so we can’t afford to be banned. Our main task is to become code compliant this year and we will work on the legislative and pass the law in 2020.”
The Youth and Sports Minister, Isaac Kwame Asiamah in the RADO meeting said government was committed to ensuring that all Ghanaian athletes compete fairly in the face of increasing pressures to win medals and trophies at all cost.
By Kofi Owusu Aduonum