A view of the newly commissioned Alajo Astro Turf Park
President Akufo-Addo yesterday commissioned the Quaye Mensah Astro Turf for the people of Alajo in the Ayawaso Central Constituency of the Greater Accra Region, a project whose sod he cut on January 4, 2020.
The colourful ceremony was graced by a galaxy of former Ghanaian stars among them Stephen Appiah aka Tornado, John Paintsil, Emmanuel Armah ‘Senegal’, Haminu Draman, Razak Ibrahim and Fatawu Dawuda.
It is a project for which the President recalled the lobbying of the Greater Accra Regional Minister who is also the MP for the Ayawaso Central Constituency, Henry Quartey, whose construction was under the aegis of the Coastal Development Authority.
For a constituency which produced the likes of Abedi Pele Ayew, Anas Seidu, Yaw Preko and Mohammed Kudus, the President said “we want to see more talents discovered from the constituency.”
He said “through your hardworking MP, roads have been asphalted in the constituency and before the end of the year a Children’s Hospital would be commissioned in the constituency.”
The President announced ongoing projects in Accra among them Salaga Market and the commissioning of a host of others before the end of the year. Ten 5,000-seater sporting facilities are being built across the country.
The man whose lobbying skills made it all happen, Henry Quartey, poured tributes upon the President for the confidence he has reposed in him as evidenced in the various appointments he has held since the assumption of power by President Akufo-Addo.
Speaking in Ga, the minister described the President as a man who walks his talk, the astro turf being commissioned an evidence. He recalled how the lobbying for the project took him to both the President and the Vice President.
Before his assumption of office as President of Ghana in 2017, there were only two astro turfs in the country, but today there are 125 of such facilities strewn across the country. They are intended to be used for sporting and recreational activities.
The Youth and Sports Minister, Mustapha Ussif, who described the President as a sports-loving personality, paid glowing tribute for his supportive role in its development.
He pointed at ongoing projects which would enhance further the development of sports. The National Sports Stadium, he noted, was given a facelift by the current government, adding that the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi was not left out as is the facility in Cape Coast.
Gracing the ceremony were the Deputy Chief of Staff, Emmanuel Adumua-Bossman, the Mayor of Accra Elizabeth Sackey and a host of MCEs among others.
By A.R. Gomda