Ghana’s Parliamentary Minority has called for the immediate dismissal and prosecution of Sports and Recreation Minister Kofi Adams and the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Maame Afua Houadjeto, over alleged irregularities surrounding Ghana’s 2026 FIFA World Cup visa arrangements.
The demand was made by Ranking Member of Parliament’s Youth and Sports Committee, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, who argued that the investigation should not end with the suspension of National Sports Authority (NSA) Director-General Yaw Ampofo Ankrah.
President John Mahama recently asked Ampofo Ankrah to step aside while investigations continue into allegations linked to approximately US$623,000 in visa facilitation fees connected to Ghana’s World Cup travel arrangements.
According to the Minority, documents in its possession suggest that the matter involves a wider network of institutions and individuals, including the NSA, GTA, the Ministry of Sports and Recreation and private entity TRIBE Culture Fest.
Assafuah alleged that some individuals who were not employees or affiliates of public institutions were presented as such in correspondence with foreign diplomatic missions to facilitate their visa applications. He also raised questions over alleged cover letters and institutional lists submitted in connection with the visa process.
The Minority is therefore demanding that investigators establish who authorised the payments, how the funds were approved and disbursed, who benefited from the arrangements and whether proper procedures were followed.
The caucus also wants the roles of the Sports Minister and GTA leadership fully examined. It says that where investigations establish administrative responsibility, the officials involved should face appropriate sanctions, while anyone found to have committed a criminal offence should be prosecuted.
Assafuah stressed that the suspension of the former NSA boss should be treated as the beginning, rather than the conclusion, of the accountability process.
The allegations remain subject to investigation, and the calls for dismissal and prosecution by the Minority do not in themselves establish criminal liability against the officials named.
