The flagbearer of Yellow Ghana, Samuel Apea-Danquah has filed a Right to Information (RTI) request to the Youth and Sports Minister and the Director General of the state broadcaster, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) to provide information related to the payments for the African Games hosted by Ghana.

This comes after the GBC's Director-General, Prof. Amin Alhassan, clarified that the media house received $105,000, and not $3 million as stated by Sports Minister Mustapha Ussif to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

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Responding to a query from Sam Nartey George, Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram on Monday about the payment status for coverage of the games, Mr Mustapha stated that full payment had been made.

"GBC was the official broadcaster for the 13th All African Games, and I can confirm that full payment has been made to GBC. I can’t remember the exact amount but I know that it is in the excess of $3 million,” he said.

But reacting to the comment, Prof. Alhassan refuted the claims made by the Minister in an interview on GTV on Tuesday.

"We facilitated payments to foreign third parties who came in to do the production and not for the benefit of GBC. GBC's benefit, I repeat, is $105,000 and that is what we got."

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This has stirred controversy among Ghanaians raising issues of transparency and accountability.

In a bid to get to the bottom of the matter, Yellow Ghana's presidential aspirant, Samuel Apea-Danquah has invoked his right under the RTI by writing to the sector Minister to provide details on confirmation of payments, agreements and contracts, the rationale for payments to third parties, financial audit reports, clarification of discrepancies and compliance with legal and financial regulations.

Mr Apea-Danquah in a separate request to the Director-General, wants GBC to give him information on media rights and financial handling of the games as well as the legal representation, TV License project, web hosting, IT management and corporate governance associated with the African Games 2024.

After filing his RTI request, Mr Apea-Danquah told Myjoyonline.com that, "GBC, as a national broadcaster, represents a microcosm of Ghana. Entering into a deal worth $3.6 million with a return of less than 3% defies logic and raises serious concerns. To put this in context, the media rights deal for the English Premier League exceeds $8 billion for the 2024/25 season. The All Africa Games 2024 presented an opportunity for GBC to potentially generate a profit of at least $40 million, by my estimation."

He added "Given the capability of GBC's administration, this situation points to only one logical conclusion. Without delving into speculation, this transaction has the characteristics of potential racketeering, breach of fiduciary duty, and a lack of sound judgment. The only way to bring clarity and accountability to this matter is through the information I am requesting.

Transparency is our most effective weapon against corruption, and the Right to Information (RTI) law is a powerful tool that empowers citizens to demand accountability. This is why I am pursuing this request" he noted.

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