The National Sports Authority (NSA) has insisted that the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipal Assembly "cannot take over" the TnA Stadium, as the dispute over its management intensifies.
The Gold Fields Ghana Foundation, which invested over $16 million USD in the stadium's construction, handed the facility over to the NSA for upkeep in August.
However, less than a month into NSA's management, the Municipal Assembly has expressed dissatisfaction with the stadium’s maintenance.
The Chief Executive, Benjamin Kesse, had said that a committee had been established to manage the facility because “most of the aspects of the stadium are not functioning.”
In response, NSA Deputy Director General, Bawa Majeed, dismissed this claim and affirmed that the NSA remains in charge.
“They have not taken over and they cannot take over like that,” Bawa told Asempa FM.
“We can't take possession of public property like that. The fact that the facility is in the Municipality does not mean it is for the Municipality alone.
“Their [Goldfields Foundation] policy, they don't provide facilities for private entity so they had agreement with the NSA and they will hand over the facility to the NSA but they will advise the NSA to work with the Assembly.
“They spoke to us and we even gave them assurance letter that it is even in our laws to work closely with the Assembly."
The NSA has been under intense pressure in recent weeks due to the poor condition of national stadiums across the country.
CAF recently banned the Baba Yara Stadium for having an "unsuitable playing field" following the Black Stars' 1-0 defeat to Angola at the venue.
Other stadiums in the country also fail to meet international standards, which prompted CAF to instruct the Ghana Football Association to select a venue abroad for Ghana's next 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Sudan in October.
The ongoing stadium crisis led to the dismissal of Dodzie Numekevor as the Director General of the NSA.
Credit: Haruna Mubarak