About 40 hoteliers are threatening to sue the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for failing to pay them in full for hosting visitors during the 13th All-African Games in Accra.
The hoteliers claim that the Ministry paid only 20 percent of the total amount owed and promised to pay the remaining 80 percent at the end of the games, which ended on March 23. Despite repeated efforts, they have been unable to secure the outstanding balance.
One hotelier, whose 40 rooms were fully booked by the LOC for the three-week duration, expressed frustration in an interview with Accra based Tv3: “We fed them for 21 days and nights. Some of us have 30 rooms, others have 40 rooms, and they booked all. They promised to pay the balance before the visitors left but did not. On the last day, we considered locking them out but refrained to avoid tarnishing Ghana’s image.”
Another hotelier added, “We are disappointed at the turn of events. We have visited the ministries and the LOC several times, but the accountant keeps giving excuses about auditing. How long will they audit when we have clients to settle? We credited food items and toiletries, and now suppliers are demanding their money.”
“We are prepared to sue both the Ministry and the LOC to recover our money,” he continued.
When contacted, the LOC confirmed they led negotiations on the rates with the Ministry but directed inquiries to the Ministry of Youth and Sports. An official from the Ministry stated that they would issue a statement to clarify the matter in due course.
The 13th All-African Games saw over 13,000 participants, including 5,000 athletes, 3,000 technical officials, 3,000 volunteers, and 2,000 guests from 54 African countries.
