Ghana’s Ministry of Youth and Sports is set to, in the coming weeks, announce a drasctic cut in the winning bonuses of the Black Stars.
In the proposed plans, the current $10,000 winning bonus will be cut by 50 percent to $5,000. This is set to take effect from September, when the Black Stars engage in their next international fixture, which is an Afcon 2017 qualifier.
The proposed plans are due to what, Joy Sports sources at the ministry say, is an acute need for cuts in spending across the national public service divide – of which the national teams are included.
“Look, we have to understand that these monies we’ve been paying are not sustainable. And although it’s been said many times that we should review it, politics and fear of reprisals from the players has been a concern. But we are determined to do it,” said a sports ministry official familiar with the move.
Public approval
The ministry has been emboldened by a situation where the Ghanaian public has been pining for austerity in key areas at a time when monetary payments have reached a critical stage.
The country’s doctors have been deadlocked with the government over conditions of service, while on Wednesday the University Teachers Association of Ghana also announced an indefinite strike over financial demands.
For the sporting sector, the government has been unable to fully fund the various national teams slated to represent Ghana at next month’s All Africa Games, leading to fears that the country will fare disastrously in Congo-Brazaville.
“It is because of all these that the government is doing this as a matter of urgency and not because we want to. We simply have to save money,” the sports ministry source told Joy Sports.
There has been public outcry concerning what some sections of the public consider to be the astronomical bonuses the players and their managers are paid.
How much players and officials of the Black Stars earn has become of public concern following the events of the last World Cup in Brazil.
In June last year, the players threatened to boycott Ghana’s last World Cup group game against Portugal due to their unpaid $100,000 appearance fee. This caused the government to send over four million dollars in cash on a chartered flight in Brasilia to be disbursed to the team.
Ghana was subsequently eliminated for the first time in the group stage at the World Cup and the government set up a Presidential Commission of Inquiry to look into the Brazil campaign headed by Justice Senyo Dzamefe.
The government was heavily criticized for sending four million dollars in cash to the team at a time the country was suffering economic hardships.
Dzamefe Commission effect?
The commission, in its recommendations, had suggested a new pay structure that included this $5,000 idea. However, the government disagreed in its subsequent White Paper. Its response to the proposal was as follows:
“Government does not accept the recommendation under “Negotiation of Amount’ that the amount to be paid for winning bonus for the Black Stars should be fixed at US$5,000.”
“Firstly, it is inconsistent for the Commission to title the recommendation as “Negotiation for the Amount”, and yet to fix it rigidly at US$5,000. Secondly, the Commission’s recommendation has the effect of freezing the winning bonus at US$5,000 in perpetuity.
“Government is of the view that it should be possible to introduce an element of flexibility into the fixing of the winning bonuses, including the possibility of negotiating it on a ‘per match’ basis. It should be possible, for example, for the winning bonus for a win against Brazil to be higher than a win against a weaker football nation.”
Timing
Analysts say this impending move by the sports ministry is not coincidental.
Joy Sports understands that talks between the Dzamefe Commission (pictured, above) and key government agencies have been going on behind the scenes to, despite the White Paper’s response, push the recommendation through.
This past Monday, August 3, was exactly a year since the three-member commission had started work. In several media interviews on the day, commission member Moses Foh-Amoaning had been obstinate in his belief that his team’s work will not be swept under the carpet.
He had hinted strongly that Ghanaians should expect some significant announcements in the coming weeks.
This move to slash bonuses of the powerful Black Stars playing body will definitely not be easily achieved without a fight from the influential football structure.
