GBC Director General denies receiving $3m for African Games coverage

The Director General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), Prof. Amin Alhassan, has refuted the Sports Minister Mustapha Ussif’s claim that the national broadcaster received $3 million for covering the 2023 African Games.

The clarification came after the minister stated during a Public Accounts Committee session on Monday, August 19, 2024, that the government had paid GBC a sum exceeding $3 million as the official broadcaster for the Games.

“Yes, GBC was the official broadcaster for the 13th All African Games, and I can confirm that full payment has been made to GBC. I can’t remember the exact amount but I know that it is in the excess of $3 million,” Ussif said.

However, Prof. Alhassan contradicted this, explaining that GBC only received $105,000 for its coverage of the Games. He noted that the money was used to cover costs incurred from suspending some of the broadcaster’s regular programming during the event.

“I want to assure every Ghanaian in the public that GBC’s total benefit from the African games was 105,000 US dollars equivalent,” he said on Uniq FM.

“Nothing more was paid as a benefit to GBC and that payment of 105,000 US dollars was as support for the fact that we dedicated an entire channel 24 hours, we suspended normal programming for the GTV sports plus and we dedicated it to the African games and for our role as the official broadcaster.”

“That is what the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation was paid and not in excess of $3 million.”

He added that GBC was only brought into discussions about the Games about a month before they began.

The disparity in figures has sparked controversy, with many Ghanaians expressing concern on social media.

The 13th African Games, held from March 8–23, 2024, were hosted by Ghana across various venues, including Borteyman, the University of Ghana, Accra Sports Stadium, Achimota Golf Park, National Hockey Pitch, and Achimota Cricket Park.

Ghana finished 6th out of 53 participating countries on the medal table, securing 69 medals, including 19 gold—a record achievement for the country since the Games’ inception.