The Minister of Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif, has urged the media to use the 13th African Games (AG) to project the country and its beautiful tourism sites.
Speaking at a media seminar ahead of the Games scheduled to begin March 8 in Accra, the Minister said it was important for the media to provide adequate mileage to promote the Games and the country at large.
The meeting was also to get seasoned journalists including Mr Kwabena Yeboah, Mr Carl Tufuor, Roseline Amoh, Erasmus Quao and Gary Al Smith to share experiences and also offer some guide for the coverage of the Games.
“The Games would provide rich content and also seek to promote sports and Ghanaian tourism. It is therefore important for the media to be prepared and provide the requisite coverage,” he stated.
According to him, the Games offer an opportunity to sell Ghana to the rest of Africa and the world as a whole and must be one the media must not miss out.
The Minister also called for corporate sector support in a bid to stage one of the best sporting events on the continent.
He commended the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for its dedication, adding that, the government was committed to the Games and would work along to ensure its success.
Ghana’s Chef de Mision for the African Games, Mr Ernest Danso said, Team Ghana was preparing fervently with over 500 athletes currently in camp.
“We have prepared very well and would endeavour to win more medals as compared to previous African Games,” he stated.
On Media Rights and Coverage, Mr George Lomotey, a staff of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), disclosed that the opening ceremony would be live on all television stations across the country.
“We intend to give Ghanaian fans the best so all TV stations must come on board and get access to the opening ceremony and other events of the 13th African Games,” he explained.
“We are well-structured to avoid chaos. So we urge all to come on board, secure the needed rights to give Accra 2023 the best publicity,” he added.
There were presentations on Legal and Marketing by Eva Okyere and Yaw Sakyi, respectively.
BY MICHAEL D.ABAYATEYE