<<Print>>

The Ghana Federation of the Disabled (GFD) and its member organizations have disassociated themselves from the scandal in which able-bodied athletes were sent to Australia instead of eligible non-hearing persons. They stated that the blame should be put squarely on the officials of the National Sports Council, who were actively involved in the process. Rita Kyeremaa Kusi, Executive Director of the GFD at a press conference in Accra yesterday, revealed that such acts have been considered by the GFD as criminal and had been strongly kicked against by leaders of the sports wing of the various member organizations on the quite, but that it was now the right time to draw attention to the exploitation of the rights of the disabled in view of the occurrence of this particular scandal. �Over the past years, disabled sports men and women have faced exploitation through visa racketeering and human trafficking activities by people purporting to be working for the National Sports Council,� Mrs. Kusi added. The Ghana Federation of the Disabled is made of member organizations such as the Ghana Association of the Blind, Ghana Society of the Physically Challenged, Share Care Ghana, Parents' Association of Children with Intellectual Disability, Society of Albinos Ghana and the Ghana National Association of the Deaf. It would be recalled that Guide Sports reported that the Deaf Football Australia had threatened to drag the Association of Sports for the Disabled of Ghana (ASBOG) to the International Sports Confederation for the Disabled for sanctions over allegations that ASBOG sent hearing athletes to play an international friendly in Australia. The Deaf Football Australia were demanding the payment of 14,789.00 US Dollars as refund covering the cost of Ghana's contingent to Australia, with Brian Seymour, Secretary General for the Australians writing a letter to his Ghanaian counterparts. It is believed that 25 hearing persons who made the trip were said to have paid USD 4000 each to the organizers, with James Armah, a Sports Development Officer of the NSC as the main culprit. Mr. Armah, a Senior Development Officer at the Ministry Of Youth and Sports James and a General Secretary of Association for Sports for the Disabled (ASBOD) are currently assisting the Police in investigations.