Ben Nunoo Mensah, President of the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) has returned home after representing Ghana at the 2017 ANOCA congress in Djibouti.
He told Yours Truly that one candidate from Cameroun was disqualified because he sought government support and was disqualified during the elections, making the incumbent president General Lassane Palenfo sailing through smoothly, by popular acclamation.
The president said he met some influential people in the ANOCA and IOC who have arranged for him to meet the president of the IOC in Lausanne, Switzerland to chart sporting ways and opportunities for Ghana.
He also met Allasane Diake who arranged for visit to the Olympic project in Lome and suggested the redesigning of the Amasaman Olympic project, and find ways to bring on board sponsors and partners for Olympic Africa project in Ghana.
He hinted that ANOCA want the facility in Ghana name changed from the Ministry of Agric to the GOC.
Ben Nunoo Mensah also had personal interaction with General Palenfo, who is friend of Ghana and B.T. Baba, and the ANOCA President was very happy for Ghana’ sports development and hailed Ghana as big sports nation.
He favoured the idea of the Junior Olympics for children between the ages of 5years to 15 years from schools.
Nunoo Mensah said officials of ANOCA have promised to lobby for Olympic solidarity projects in Ghana.
He hinted the ANOCA President had invited him to visit Cote d’voire and Lagos, to support him get aid for Ghana Sports facilities development.
He noted that ANOCA is interested in schools sports and hope to invite member nations to compete in future, if the Junior Olympic idea is accepted with
Ghana zone initiating the zonal games or championships.
Ghana is in zone 3 of ANOCA, comprising countries like Benin, Cote d’Voire, Togo, Niger, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Liberia. Planning for zonal championship, among West African nations.
The GOC President also raised the issue of nationality switch, in order for Africa not to lose all the elite athletes to much developed and wealthy nations.
He suggested that if one competes for his or nation at the youth level, he or she cannot change at adult age, unless the former country is compensated.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach was also in Djibouti as the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) General Assembly got underway, although Presidential candidate Hamad Kalkaba Malboum was unable to take part.
Bach addressed delegates gathered at the Assembly, congratulating the continent on their achievements at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro last year.Africa enjoyed their most successful Olympics last year, winning a record 45 medals.
The IOC President’s arrival was the hightlight of the opening day of the Assembly that ended in Thursday (May 11).
The build-up, tough, has been overshadowed by a dispute over the election of the ANOCA President Cameroon’s Malboum was suspended from taking part.
Malboum was unable to take part in the Assembly, having been denied accreditation. He was due stand against incumbent the Ivory Coast’s Lassana Palenfo, the President of ANOCA since 2005.
The decision to suspend him was made by the ANOCA Executive Committee on Sunday (May 7), although they have not yet formally announced the decision.
Malboum has allegedly been accused of illegally using the Government in Cameroon to campaign on his behalf.
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