Sports Minister Kofi Adams says the scrapped betting tax could have been a major source of funding for Ghana’s sports development if it had been properly managed.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, he explained that although the idea behind the tax was good, it was poorly implemented and failed to support the sector.
“It would have been if, when they did that, it was being used for sports and not collecting it and using it for many other things that were unnecessary. We would not have had the kind of problem that we had,” he said.
Mr. Adams said a good policy becomes unpopular when executed without a clear purpose.
“When something is good and is done badly, it becomes difficult to immediately change it and say that, because you are having these good intentions, let’s just drift it that way. It doesn’t work that way,” he noted.
The Minister, however, said government is now pursuing a more structured and transparent alternative, a National Sports Fund, which will provide consistent support for the country’s sports industry.
“The government is introducing a Sports Fund that will provide us well-structured funding for sports. We do not have that currently. And because of it, our support for sporting activity has been very limited,” he explained.
Mr Adams said the fund will not rely on new taxes but on levies drawn from existing revenue sources.
“We are not introducing a tax, but since that already exists, we are putting some levies on it and taking a percentage of it. That’s all that we are going to do,” he said.
He clarified that the Finance Minister’s budget would not include any new sports tax.
“The bill that we have sent to Cabinet for approval, which is to be sent to Parliament, does not have any such provision of a new tax,” he said.
“If Parliament, in their wisdom, decides that they want to impose a tax to generate this fund, that will be Parliament’s decision, not what we are proposing now.”
Mr Adams added that the fund will initially raise modest amounts but will grow as data and compliance improve.
“I know initially it will not be much, but as it drives on and we begin to capture a lot of data, it will go into millions,” he said.
He said the fund will be used to develop sports infrastructure, support athlete training, and promote disciplines like football, athletics, boxing, volleyball, and hockey.
“The sports fund will support sports infrastructure. It will support the growth of, especially, key sports areas. Football is one of them. Athletics, I love athletics so much, but we have not funded it enough,” he said.
Mr. Adams said the fund will be managed by professionals, not politicians. “It’s not going to be free money that you just come and take without accounting for any improvement,” he emphasised.
“There will be fund managers who will manage that fund, not controlled by the political appointee, the minister.”
He concluded that with proper funding, Ghana can produce world-class athletes like the United Kingdom has done through its national sports financing model.
“We can also do that again. We can produce athletes that will go to the international level, compete, and win,” he said. “The only reason many of them have not reached there has been funding challenges.”
Source: Abubakar Ibrahim
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