SEKONDI STADIUM CRUMBLING (GRAPHIC SPORTS, PAGE 16)

Barely one year after the Sekondi Sports Stadium had been completed to stage the 26th African Cup of Nations (CAN 2008), its external works executed by various local contractors have developed serious defects.
The external works, both completed and uncompleted, are deteriorating at a very fast rate due to shoddy work.
The problems include broken and sinking sewerage system, broken culverts, sinking ground, choked drainage system, uncompleted pavements, while those completed have their pavement blocks coming out.
The road network outside the stadium is also fast eroding due to the uncompleted drainage systems, as well as creating stagnant waters after a downpour, while the ceiling of the North East entrance is falling.
The Western Regional Sports Development officer, Mr Beresford Ogbame Mensah Amui, led the press to inspect the affected areas to enable them to inform the public about the current state of the Sekondi Sports Stadium and other sporting infrastructure in the region.
“All the work done is zero”, he said, adding “the situation calls for prompt action”.
“Before we blame the National Sports Council for not taking good care of the stadium, we must know the situation in which it is now”, he stated.
Mr Amui said there were a lot of defects on the stadium’s external works, adding that outside the stadium wall and inside the perimeter wall the local contractors who handled the works did a poor job.
“Whoever is in charge should ensure that these are done well”, he added.
He said when the water tank at the stadium burst, the gym, the internet café, as well as the conference room in the main stadium got flooded.
Mr Amui said three emergency gates were being created to be opened to spectators after football matches.
Touching on the activities for the first quarter of the year, he said coaching courses on handball and basketball would be organized for the security and the Ghana Education Service coaches.
He said league matches would also be played between civilians and the security services, while athletics competition would be organized between the regions.
Mr Amui revealed that the residence of the Chinese who constructed the main stadium would be developed into a camping place for those involved in sporting activities.