Tarkwa MCE Benjamin Kessie confirms chasing out NSA over TnA Stadium mismanagement after One Month

The Municipal Chief Executive of Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipal Assembly, Hon. Benjamin Kessie, has announced the decision to terminate their contract with the National Sports Authority (NSA) for the management of the TnA Stadium after just one month.

The newly-built TnA Stadium, funded by the Goldfields Foundation, was handed over to the National Sports Authority (NSA) to manage the facility with support from the Tarkwa Municipal Assembly in August 2024.

However, the Municipal Assembly has confirmed the total takeover of the facility management following the deplorable state of the 10,000-seater capacity stadium, which was commissioned a month ago.

Hon. Kessie confirmed during a press conference in Tarkwa on Wednesday, September 18, 2024, that the Municipal Assembly has decided to abrogate their contract with the National Sports Authority, citing poor maintenance of the edifice.

He also stressed that NSA is extremely unpopular in Ghana after overseeing a piss-poor run of state sporting properties over the years.

“Per the memorandum of understanding signed by the Municipal Assembly, National Sports Authority, and Goldfields, we decided to stay back and watch NSA, and what they have done to the stadium confirms that they have nothing to offer us,” Kessie said.

“Since the commissioning of the stadium last month, several competitions, such as the GHALCA Top 4, Apinto Cup, Super Cup, and others, have been held at the TnA Stadium, where the organizers paid huge amounts of money to NSA.”

“As we speak, the washrooms and pipes laid to keep the pitch in shape are not functioning, and even the current state of the turf is bad. We can't allow NSA to destroy the TnA stadium like they've done to the Essipong Stadium in Sekondi-Takoradi,” he added.

Hon. Kessie also disclosed that an interim management committee led by Mr. James Essilfie has been constituted to manage the stadium for a month as the Municipal Assembly explores options for the facility management.

The construction work on the TnA Stadium commenced four years ago and was completed in June this year for $16.2 million.

Ghana Premier League side Medeama SC is currently the only club in Tarkwa Nsuaem and its environs using the facility for football matches.