Accra, July 23, GNA - Osei Bonsu Amoah, Deputy Minister for Education, Science and Sports has highlighted lack of facilities as the bane of Ghana sports.

He told GNA Sports that lack of facilities is the only difference between Ghana's sportsmen and women and their counterparts from the rest of the world who grab medals in all competitions.

"We can be very competitive with the right facility. The difference between our sportsmen and women and those in South Africa, Nigeria and the North Africans making the headlines at the Algiers All African Games is lack of the needed facilities".

Amoah said that until that issue is addressed, Ghana will continue to trail the rest regardless of the abundance of talent in the country. "In the long term, investing in multi-purpose sports and sports halls will go a long way in addressing this problem that is depriving the nation her rightful place on the medal tables.

"That in no doubt is the only way to catch up with those countries and overtake them within the shortest possible time".

The Deputy Minister underscored sports as a powerful tool for development and appealed to the private sector to focus on riding on sports to promote their products and the country as a whole. Amoah told GNA Sports that plans are far advanced for Anglogold Ashanti to build multi-purpose and sports halls across the country and encouraged other corporate bodies to follow suit.

He said government was investing in incentives and "event specifics" as a short term measure whilst various allocations in the annual national budget remain part of the long term measure to develop sports.