Former Member of Parliament for Adentan Constituency, Kojo Adu-Asare, has for the first time opened up on why he broke down and wept when he appeared before the Dzamefe Commission of Inquiry in 2014.
According to him, the tears were provoked when he reflected on the sweat and resources he and a few others had put into the preparation for the World Cup but they amounted to nothing at the end.
“The pain I was going through was just unbearable so that went through me and triggered the tears. I wondered if that is the end when you dedicate yourself to serve the country. The only money I got from the tournament was $600 paid from $200 for three days as per diem.
“All the sponsorship deals we signed, we don’t even know where the monies went to because Elvis, who was the minister then was sacked before he even returned. His successors also didn’t even want to hear anything Brazil so we worked in vain,” he sadly narrated on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen.
Recounting the drama he said it was one of the most difficult moments of his life as so many things had gone wrong at the same time.
“I remembered what I was going through at the time because I had separated from my ex-wife and I had been serviced an eviction notice by the court so I had to leave the house.
ALSO READ:
“For four months, I was living in a hotel at Westland; Agbey’s place and that was when I was attending the committee meetings from. My mother had also died four days earlier,” he said.
Mr Asare stressed he had high hopes the tournament will go well because they had put in so much work but it only turned out to be a fruitless venture.
The Commission, chaired by Court of Appeal Judge, Justice Senyo Dzamefe, was set up by former president John Mahama to look into Ghana’s participation in the Brazil 2014 World Cup.
Other members were Moses Foh-Amoaning, a legal practitioner, and Kofi Anokye Owusu-Darko, a sports enthusiast.
The Commission’s terms of reference included inquiring into matters about the preparation of the Black Stars for the tournament and possible lapses that caused the early exit of the team.
Others were the management of the Black Stars team and events in their camp at the tournament and Ghana’s treatment of Ghanaian football fans who were sent by the Ministry of Youth and Sports to support the team.
The Commission spent four months probing the events and in all, 85 witnesses appeared before it.
Watch the video attached for more:
