The government of Ghana has announced plans to give tax holidays to entities that donate or import sports equipment into the country, according to the the 2012 budget. The Minister of Finance, Dr Kwabena Duffour read the 2012 budget for the government on Wednesday and captured pertinent aspects for the sporting sector. Members of the public had been worried that the finance minister did not capture any sport-related plans in his submission to parliament, but officials at the ministry told SuperSport.com those concerns are unfounded. “What Dr Duffour read in parliament was only the abridged version that captures the very major points for public consumption. There are a lot of subtexts in the full version that were not in the abridged version purely for time constraints reasons,” a special aide to the minister told SuperSport.com. The budget statement also says the finance ministry will partner AngloGold Ashanti to construct eight additional multipurpose outdoor courts throughout the country. “Rehabilitation works at the Kaladan, Kpando, Bolga and Ho parks will continue. Football pitches at the 4 main stadia and 16 training fields in the country will be maintained, whilst construction works for new Sports Stadia at Cape Coast and Ho will commence,” it said. Dr Duffour also mentions that “construction works will commence on two multipurpose Sports Halls for the northern and southern sectors.” The so-called lesser known sports were also highlighted in the budget statement. “In addition, the incentive system for all amateur sporting activities will be reviewed for purposes of equity to boost their morale and promote the lesser known sports,” the statement said. The budget mentions, in part, preparations for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympic, the African Cup of Nations, the 2012 African Women Championships as well as the under 17 and 20 women tournaments. “Sports clinics and training programmes will be organized for other pupils and students during school holidays to identify and nurture sports talents.” The theme for the budget was “Infrastructural Development for Accelerated Growth and Job Creation” and the full text is accessible on the Ministry of Finance’s website.