By: Sheikh Tophic Sienu @desheikh1
Coming events, they say, cast their shadows and a famous Nigerian proverb says “If the frogs in front fall in a pit, the rest take caution.”
I thought the newly appointed Sports Minister Hon. Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye would have taken a cue from the previous Ministers who held the position before him. At least experience they say is the best teacher. If for nothing at all, Hon. Mahama Ayariga and Dr. Mustapha Ahmed are still around to help with some ideas. But …
The appointment of Sports Ministers has been an issue of greater concern to me and many who have Ghana sports at heart; 19 Ministers in a matter of 16 years is an issue of great concern. The Ministry, since 2014 has seen three ministers and that tells you how the Presidency is toying with our sports. But this is a topic for another day.
Despite the fact that the Ministry has become a ‘Tom and Jerry’ for the Presidency, when the new Sports Minister was designated, I was personally happy because I felt at long last, a sports person has been appointed for the Ministry.
Some of us have advocated that the Sports Ministry is a special Ministry just like Health and Defense and for that matter we needed a SPORTS PERSON to steer the affairs of the most vibrant Ministry in the country. So the appointment of Hon. Nii Lante Vanderpuye came as a relief to us since he has been in the industry before.
Apart from being a Sports Commentator, Hon. Vanderpuye has been a horse rider before as well as an apprenticed referee. He has also led the Ghana Weightlifting Federation at a point and his experience will, in no doubt help the industry.
However, what the frogs in front did to fall in the pit, Hon. Vanderpuye is doing same and that scares me as he is attempting failure, instead of success.
Many have chastised me on social media and other platforms for raising the alarm but I will still do it because I don’t want Hon. Vanderpuye to fail. Yes he MUST not fail.
When Hon. Mahama Ayariga was appointed in 2014 after the World Cup debacle, I wrote a letter to him pointing out the negative approach he adopted for the office. I warned that he will fail if he does not change his ways. He listened not and in the end, he was booted out of office. Many believe that he is so far the worse Sports Minister of our time [I don’t believe that though].
Mahama Ayariga upon appointment organized the Eminent Football Administrators Forum to brainstorm and carve a policy for the direction of sports in the country. The foundation of the industry was shaken as many felt that Hon. Ayariga was going to deal with the perceived ‘rot’ in the industry.
The farther Ayariga could go was not beyond ten months as the media that hailed him for the Eminent Administrators Forum were the same media that tagged him as arrogant and insolent.
Dr. Mustapha Ahmed came and his inefficiency was unveiled when all federations nearly boycotted the All African Games over lack of funds. All the disciplines had challenges with their preparations for the competition until a day before departure that news broke that they have been given tokens.
Dr. Ahmed topped it all with winning bonus agitations with the Black Stars as their winning bonus publicly went into arrears for the first time since 2006 and above all left the Black Queens stranded after their Gold Medal winning exploits at the AAG.
Having all these parts of the barrel of experience for Hon. Nii Lante, I expected the new Minister to thread cautiously in the hottest government institution in the country.
Many have advised that I hold on with my sentiments until Hon. Nii Lante fails before I charge on him. If I do that, I have not been fair to the man and my social responsibility as a journalist has not been shirked. I will tell him now because I DON’T WANT HIM TO FAIL.
I was alarmed when Hon. Nii Lante took to the media and was granting interviews here and there pointing out who and who he will be attacking and who he will be supporting.
I was not amazed he was talking but I was, with the zeal and determination he was spewing the words. Within two days after his vetting, Hon. Nii Lantey had granted interviews to over 20 radio stations in the country, minus television stations and the online media. I really felt alarmed and said to myself that I have to alert this man, he MUST not fail like the others.
Below are some of the comments he has made so far, and still counting; 1. ‘I will crush mafia at Sports Ministry’: “If there is a mafia, I am ready to face that mafia head-on,” he told Starr FM.
- "I think he [Avram Grant] is a wonderful coach but I am going to insist that he spends lot more of his time in Ghana to transfer knowledge and technical know-how to our coaches to build them up."
- “It is an irony for me that people [GFA] who are able to attract the necessary sponsorship and funding will still take a major chunk of the budget that is meant for the whole ministry and the other sports disciplines."
- “I can assure Ghanaians that all sporting disciplines will receive equal attention under my tenure in other to contribute to their growth and winning of more international medals and competitions,” the former GBC sports broadcaster told Asempa FM.
Predictions by Prominent People
I was not surprised then when I learnt that Hon. B.T Baba, MP for Talensi Constituency has predicted failure for the new Minister insisting that he will fail like the others if funds are not readily available for him to execute his duties.
But my question is that, is Hon. Nii Lante not aware that the 2016 Sports Budget is a 40% reduction of the 2015 budget?
Beside Hon. B.T. Baba, member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Youth and Sports, and MP for Atwima Mponua, Hon. Isaac Asiamah, has also predicted massive failure for Hon. Nii Lante Vanderpuye.
“Nii Lantey Vanderpuye will certainly fail as sports minister because he belongs to the same team of incompetence. I don’t see any good thing coming out of his appointment especially when he has little time on his side to work effectively. He is coming to work in a system where nothing seems to be working, and also saddled with bribery and corruption.” Hon. Asiamah told Happy FM
Must we wait for him to fail before we point it out to him? No!
I will not wait. I will tell him now. If he fails to listen, posterity will judge us all.
I remember when I called on Hon. Nii Lante Vanderpuye to pull the breaks on his chants for excellence at the Ministry and to stop talking TOO MUCH, some people called me names. I know the name-calling and the finger-pointing will definitely come but in the end, we shall all know who was right.
Retired GBC Sports Commentator Joe Lartey Snr has supported me by calling on Hon. Nii Lante to stop talking TOO MUCH. Read this:
“I think Nii Lante is a very courageous person. In addition to his courage, he’s had the benefit of University education. So I expect him to perform better.
But what I will say now is that he has to be careful not to be talking a lot at the beginning. Sometimes when you seem to know too much about what you are doing, you fumble. He should tone down,” Joe Lartey Snr told Starr FM.
So what is Hon. Nii Lante craving to achieve?
Please Mr. Minister, kindly tone down. We can’t afford to let you fail.
His Media Experience
Many have argued that Hon. Nii Lante Vanderpuye was a broadcaster some time ago and that he has the needed experience to handle the media in a way that will ensure development and progress. But in an attempt to do that, Mr. Vanderpuye must tread cautiously.
The media landscape has transformed drastically and if he thinks that he was a commentator 30-years ago and that it is the same now, he must be very careful. Where was the new media when he was practicing journalism? Of course he has experience but I don’t think that experience can get him employment at the same media house [GBC] today if he should apply for a job. Please let’s accept that the current transformation in the media has made the job easier and difficult at the same time. Easier because of technology and difficult because of the numbers in the industry now.
When I heard him speaking for the first time on one radio station in Accra, I was startled. I knew other media houses will come calling and the moment he declines speaking to some of the media houses for genuine reasons, that will be the genesis of the creation of enmity for himself.
How many stations can he talk to in a day? In the end, those who did not get his time will charge against him. Hon. Nii Lante must watch these things.
As a result, I suggest that since there is a Public Relations Department at the Ministry, Hon. Nii Lante must allow them to work while he comes out ones a while. If the experienced broadcaster really wanted to be heard, then why not organize a Press Conference and sell your idea to the public and relax for the main task? Starting this way will surely fetch fire for him. Am afraid!
The 2016 Sports Budget
Maybe Hon. Nii Lantey has forgotten that the Sports Budget of GHC36m [$9.05m] which was approved for the year 2015 has been reduced by 40%. I will remind him.
The total amount for the Sports Ministry for the year 2016 is GHC14.4m [$3.6m]. So if Hon. Nii Lante Vanderpuye had forgotten that there was no money, I wish to remind him.
This little amount will be at the center while all the over 30 federations make their budgets ready for the Ministry. Remember we shall be preparing seriously to qualify for the Olympic Games in Rio in June.
The boxing team will be going to Cameroon for the qualifiers. The Table Tennis team is currently in Sudan for the qualifiers while athletics, cycling are all preparing.
With the promises made by the Minister, will he come back and tell the whole Ghana that the budget was not enough? Will the Minister then say he was not aware of the budget before making those promises?
Mr. Minister, please stop talking TOO MUCH to save yourself some of the promises. Else, we will be compelled to ask questions about the promises you make today.
The 2016 Elections
In a few months time, Ghana as a country will be up for elections and as we all know, every politician will be seriously campaigning for votes as MPs will be aiming to retain their seats. I hope Hon. Nii Lante has not forgotten about this. If he has, then I am reminding him.
As the MP for Odododiodio Constituency, he will surely hunt for votes to retain his seat. But as he does that, he must also be working seriously to ensure all his promises are fulfilled. That is why I am of the view that he should avoid talking so that he does not make any promises that will expose his inefficiency and end him up like his predecessors.
For me, I will point it out now.
A word to a wise …
Just take a look at the comments above.
It appears that the Hon. Minister already has some pre-conceived agenda to hunt some people and that is where my greatest disappointment emerged. Indeed, if there is a ‘supposed’ rot or ‘mafiaism’ somewhere, I expected the Minister to stay cool and deal with them rather than coming out to announce for all to know his intentions. Will they then allow you to work? How will you arrest armed robbers if you announce your action plan?
What Hon. Nii Lante Vanderpuye can do to succeed
- Cut the personal media interviews. Allow your PR Department to do the job and only come out once a while. That will even accord much more respect to your office and any news that comes from there will be received with value.
- Meet all the sporting disciplines together. Discuss a roadmap with them and make them all feel under you. Do not treat others differently. After meeting all of them, prune the ‘unwanted’ sporting disciplines from the system to make way for the few ones we can afford to fund.
- If indeed there is ‘mafiaism’ and rot at some of the federations as the Minister asserts, then he should be a silent killer
- Insist for a proper handing-over ceremony to get a brief of what transpired before you.
- Set-up a media team to champion you agenda while you operate on the silent.
It is my prayer that Hon. Nii Lante succeeds even though I know some people have already determined WHERE I am coming from and not WHAT I am saying.
You MUST succeed and it is my hope you do. So please stop TALKING TOO much and do the job on the quiet.