The National Sports Authority(NSA), an establishment of the State is virtually a collapsed institution.

It has no ability to deliver on its mandate as a fully fledged state institution established by the Laws of this country.

Almost close to a year, the authority has been without electricity due to its huge indebtedness to the ECG.

Power to the state institution has been cut off as a result of a debt of about over GH¢ 4million that the authority owes ECG at the various stadia across the country.

The only reliable bus for the authority that supports various tournaments and competitions of the federations has been seized by an Accra High Court order issued in favour of Goshen Travel and Tours for services it rendered to the Swimming Federation in their tournaments in Kenya, Nigeria and Barcelona in 2012.

Currently, the bus which was purchased in 2010, is with the auctioneer pending the speedy auction of the State asset.

Magnum Security Force is also owed over GH¢ 1.7m for providing security services since 2009 and has not been paid. Apple Healthy Lifestyle is owed GH¢2.6m for supplying gym equipment to the various stadia since 2012.

ZoomLion Company Ltd is also owed an amount close to GH¢ 3 million for janitorial services and has threatened to withdraw its services by 10th March 2017.

Added to all this is the Litina Travels and Tours garnished order it secured from the Accra High Court, Commercial Court number 2, which was probably the last straw that broke the camel’s back.

This was when some six senior officers in the MoYS, in flagrant violation of the Procurement Law, gave a contract to African Origin Travel and Tours when a committee that the same ministry had set up to do procurements under the All African Games Committee, in their technical and financial evaluation report to the Ministry, indicated that Litina Travels and Tours has won the contract and therefore the contract should be given to Litina.

Former Minister Nii Lante Vanderpuiye is on record to have said that the reason for the huge debt of the NSA is as a result of poor record keeping and also lack of legal representation.

Despite some justification in this, it is not convincing by any stretch of analysis and begs understanding of the real issues at stake;

It is factual and undeniable that the NSA’s huge debt is as a result of financial indiscipline on the part of senior officers at the MoYS.

Former Youth and Sports Minister Nii Lante Vanderpuiye alluded that there is lack of legal representation for both the MoYS and NSA.

One may ask, is that not the responsibility of the Attorney General to ensure that the Ministry, for that matter the NSA, is provided with good legal representation. Is it not the job of the Minister to work with the Attorney General’s office to ensure that the Ministry is adequately represented in court?

Why should he be the one lamenting over this when it should be the tax payer and the good people of this country whose monies are going to be used to pay these debts.

It is important to mention that the Honorable Minister should have been meticulous in coming out to say the Moys has no records of these debts knowing very well as much as we all do that the creditors can take undue advantage of the comment on lack of records and make undue claim on government. This is very unfortunate to say the least.