A shocking revelation has emerged regarding the Ghana Football Association’s (GFA) recent procurement of nine buses for Division One League clubs.
According to documents obtained from the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), one of the containers used to import the buses also contained 40 mattresses, valued at GHC 46,624.79.
The total expenditure associated with this container amounted to GHC 356,380.33.
The GFA had procured the nine buses at a cost of GHC 5,175,000, with each bus valued at GHC 575,000.
However, what was not disclosed at the time was the inclusion of mattresses in the shipment.
The GRA’s response to an inquiry from JoySports revealed that the container carrying the used Hyundai County bus (black matte) also included 25 packs of medium-sized mattresses and 15 packs of student mattresses.
The cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) value of the bus was GHC 212,783.08, while the 25 medium-sized mattresses were valued at GHC 32,597.50, and the 15 packs of student mattresses at GHC 14,027.29.
The total duty on the container’s contents amounted to GHC 96,972.46, with the duty on the bus being GHC 72,116.10.
The discovery of the mattresses in the shipment has raised questions about transparency in the procurement process and whether the GFA had properly disclosed all details of the importation to stakeholders.
The football governing body is yet to comment on the matter.
This development comes on the heels of reports that some of the imported buses had not yet been registered due to missing documentation.
This revelation was gathered by JoySports, which had previously reported that at least one of the Hyundai County buses arrived with other items in its shipping container, which had not been readily identified at the time.
The GFA’s procurement of the buses was part of its efforts to support Division One League clubs.
However, the inclusion of mattresses in the shipment has raised eyebrows and prompted calls for greater transparency in the governing body’s activities.
-BY Issah Olegor
