Wednesday May 9th 2001
Images of people jumping from great heights to escape the tear-gas, the confusion and the stampede, the injured and the dead, the club colours draped on the dead, the living and the hope. The hope came from one supporter alive but injured at the Military hospital. As I visited the wounded he called out to me and told me not to worry…he told me that but for the officiating things would have been different. He was concerned about the club and not his terrible injuries. He wanted to get out so that he could watch our next match. He believed the development and direction was right. I was astounded and could only keep my quiet!
Friday May 11th 2001
This was a sad day. It was a day when the Muslims amongst the dead were buried. They were buried as was their tradition and the afternoon service was attended byHis Excellency President J.A. Kuffuor and His Excellency Vice President Aliu Mahama. There had been threats of disturbance but this was not to be. The violent rampage by some of the youth in Nima was truly unfortunate. It now appears that it was orchestrated and not representative of the people in Nima at large! Their pain was understandable but the resulting violence was not. The politicising of their feelings was also truly wrong!
In the current dispensation such actions are totally out of place. Given that it also occurred around the time of the anniversary of the “Kume Preko” deaths I would hope that this would have reminded us all of the need for that matter not to be forgotten!
The Police
With the recent attacks on the Police I think that the time has come for us to look at ways of mending the broken bridges. They have become the easy and obvious target for many and in many ways this is understandable.The IGP made it very clear of the fact that there would be no cover-up.We must give him the opportunity to handle the matter as professionally as I am sure he will do! I am sure that those responsible will be exposed. We do need to move on and there is a need for leaders to start encouraging a situation where it can be understood that the actions of a few policemen does not represent the entire Ghana Police Force.
Whilst I cannot and will not condone the actions of those officers at the stadium that evening I think it important to note that we now have an excellent relationship with our force in Kumasi. We have not had the use of tear gas at the Kumasi Sports Stadium during my tenure and I am sure that will be maintained. For our supporters I continue to ask for your patience and understanding in these trying times! We will need to work together as Ghanaians for our total good and thePolice are a part of this!
The Management of Sports in Ghana
I am so sad that this tragedy that we have now experienced may be the wake up call that is needed to put us on a program to ensure that we move forward, never return to this situation and start achieving the targets that we as a nation are more than capable of achieving!
I fully sympathise with the Government’s position although I have been a little concerned about the time it has taken to move forward. Clearly the legacy of E.T. Mensah has meant that it requires a great deal of strength and clarity of mind to take over this Ministry.
I believe that in the short term our sports should be handled in the following way. I believe there is a case for the establishment of a Sports Management Board that could be handled out of the Office of the President. This board would be tasked to manage, develop and run sports in Ghana. I believe that this board could be chaired from the office of the President and include a number of influential and knowledgeable people who would be tasked with a specific area of sports development. The members could be responsible for the following areas; General policy, planning and finance, marketing and sponsorship, soccer, boxing and athletics, other sports, the youth, the development of facilities. I would include two lawyers and two accountants on this Board to be able to relook at matters left (like the various probes and monies spent on the feasibility plans into a stadium at Prampram etc!)
Although there are existing structures in place there is a need for them to be redirected from a different platform. With respect to soccer the time has come for the Government to move. I believe that they should present a number of candidates (more than usual) to the ExecutiveCouncil for consideration. Given the seriousness of our recent tragedy it is important that the backgrounds of the people to be considered are taken into account. We shall all make our opinions known and would hope to be able to influence the final decision!
The Stadium Disaster Fund
On Sunday the Government launched a stadium disaster fund with the first monies being donated by Ghana Telecom. The Government also announced that all the families would be catered for by the Government and that their medical bills as well as the sum of c2.5m would be allocated to pay for the cost of funeral preparations!
Before the establishment of this fund we had been fully supportive of the Joy FM fund, which was set up immediately after the tragedy. Indeed we had asked a number of organisations who had come forward to donate directly to this fund. Collecting money for a worthy cause can sometimes be easy but the disbursement can be tricky! There is a need for major decisions to be made and these include the establishment of Trustees to ensure that whatever is agreed in terms of disbursement and management is carried out. At this stage the Joy FM management will have to decide on what to do with their fund which apparently has raised close to ¢200,000,000(two hundred million cedi’s). There may be a strong case for incorporating their fund into that of the government’s. There may also be a case for the Government appointing someone from Joy FM onto their own team, which will determine how the monies will be disbursed!
I wish to thank all the companies who have made the contributions they did. It shows the unique qualities that we have as Ghanaians. I have taken note and I hope that all do the same and realise that this is our future…our ability to work together in times of distress. Our culture dictates that we care for every human being and this has been proven to be the case!
Saturday May 12th 2001
Whilst watching the English FA Cup betweenArsenal and Liverpool I received a visit from a young Hearts of Oak supporter. He is a member of the famous Chapter O. He had been at the stadium the night of the tragedy and he had seen us all working hand in hand to try and save the living and removing the dead. I later saw him at the Military Hospital the same night. This young man restored a lot of my faith in soccer. Even though some people who should know better don’t, this young man clearly did know better. It was a revelation to hear this young Hearts of Oak supporter exhibiting the kind of objectivity that will ensure that we all get through this. He recognised the need (as we do) for us to come together to make things work. He appeared to have the foresight to also recognise the need for the two teams to be seen to be working together in certain specific areas, which would be of mutual benefit! He comported himself with class! He surprised me by indicating that he saw me carrying closer to 30 bodies and that he had visited some of the people saved to tell them of how they were saved. He also pointed out that one lady in particular had later died!
My telephone did not stop ringing throughout the day. The need to be in touch with as many affected families as possible was key!