Borteyman Sports Complex will avoid “white elephant” status, says Majeed Bawa
The Borteyman Sports Complex is set to serve as the nucleus for the soon-to-be-established University of Sports Development
The National Sports Authority (NSA) has moved to dispel concerns about the future of the Borteyman Sports Complex following Ghana’s hosting of the 13th African Games.
Majeed Bawa, the deputy director general of the NSA, assured Ghanaians in an exclusive interview with asaaseradio.com that the state-of-the-art complex would not become a neglected white elephant.
Bawa emphasised the NSA’s commitment to maintaining the facilities and ensuring their continued use.
He cited the Accra Sports Stadium as a successful example, where the sports hall and tennis courts are regularly booked for competitions and championships.
“The current law is that such facilities would have come under the management of the National Sports Authority after completion,” Bawa explained.
“Once it’s under the management of the National Sports Authority, it will have to organise competitions.”
“If you look at the nature of the Accra Sports Stadium for example, you realise that the sports hall and then the tennis court at the Accra Sports Stadium are always busy because we try to organise competitions and championships in those places and similar things could be done at Borteyman,” he added.
Bawa highlighted the Borteyman complex’s potential to host not just national events but also regional competitions. “Most of the facilities, including the Aquatic Centre, are [number] one in West Africa if not Africa, so zonal competitions and sub-zonal competitions can be held here.”
The NSA deputy director general acknowledged that using the complex would incur fees but stressed that these charges would directly fund maintenance.
“We all agree that for purposes of maintenance,” Bawa said. “If we have to be using the facility until the university is established, the facility has to be maintained and it is not proper for government to dip its hands into the consolidated fund to bring us money for the maintenance when we could charge for the use of the facility to maintain it.”
Bawa also addressed the government’s plan to establish a sports development university in Borteyman. Upon completion, the university will assume management responsibilities.
“It will be under the school because that is what they will use for practicals. So, it will be under the management of the school after all; that is the purpose for which it was constructed and the government wants to use it as a legacy project for the African Games.”
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