By Love Wilhelmina Abanonave
The Member of Parliament for Sissala East, Issah Bataglia, has criticised public officials who sign contracts without fully understanding their contents, warning that such practices could commit the state to questionable agreements.
Speaking on GBC’s Current Agenda, Mr Bataglia said the Minister for Sports and Recreation, Kofi Adams, should have conducted the necessary checks and due diligence before signing any contracts presented to him.
“We have top people in this country who sign contracts in Chinese without a translator,” Mr Bataglia said, highlighting what he described as weaknesses in the scrutiny of public contracts.
His comments come amid public scrutiny of the Ministry of Sports and Recreation and the National Sports Authority (NSA) over alleged irregularities in visa facilitation arrangements for supporters and officials travelling for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The controversy centres on about US$623,000 in alleged visa facilitation fees linked to Ghana’s participation in the tournament.
The issue emerged following investigations into allegations that individuals who were not employees of public institutions were presented as staff of the Ministry of Sports and Recreation and the NSA to facilitate their visa applications to foreign embassies.
On October 1, 2026, President John Dramani Mahama directed the NSA Director-General, Yaw Ampofo Ankrah, to step aside pending police investigations into his alleged involvement in the matter. Professor Emmanuel Osei Sarpong has since been appointed acting Director-General of the NSA.
Following the development, the Minority in Parliament, led by the Ranking Member on the Youth and Sports Committee, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, called for the immediate dismissal and prosecution of the Minister for Sports and Recreation, Kofi Adams, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Maame Afua Houadjeto.
Addressing a press conference in Parliament on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, Mr Assafuah alleged that some officials had facilitated visa applications for individuals who were not employees of the Sports Ministry by preparing cover letters presenting them as ministry staff.
The Minority also alleged that the GTA submitted a list of 50 people to the United States Embassy as media personnel for World Cup-related activities, but only two were genuine journalists.
Investigations are ongoing to establish how the funds were approved, who benefited from the arrangements and whether the appropriate procedures were followed.
