Mr. Isaac Kwame Asiamah, Minister for Youth and Sports, has said, the Government is committed to eradicating cheating in sports, by setting up the National Anti-Doping Committee (NADC), aimed at promoting drug free sports in Africa and beyond.

“The committee is to educate and sensitize the youth in doping and the effects of cheating in sports, which the world in general frowns on,” he said.

According to Mr. Asiamah, sports was about participation, but with genuine intentions and fairness, which must be well adhered to, in the promotion of anti-doping in sports in Africa and all over the world.

The Member of Parliament for the Atwima Mponua constituency made this known at the annual board meeting for the African Zone VI Regional Anti-Doping Organization (RADO), held in Accra at the Alisa Hotel on November 21, 2018.

The eleven board member meeting, which had participants from Angola, Botswana, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawai, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini/Swaziland, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, was also to get member countries to protect clean athletes and promote clean sports.

Mr Asiamah said, sports was about participation, but with genuine intentions and fairness.

“Sports is a game, which should be a healthy competition devoid of cheating and using foul means to achieve a results.

“We have to help to eradicate the canker of cheating in sports, Africa and the world has a huge task. We have to all help to minimize the use of banned drugs in our game.”

Dr. Nana Ayew Afriyie, Chairperson for NADC and Member of Parliament of Effiduase/Asokore, in an interview with GNA Sports said, the regional anti-doping organization zone meets annualy to take stock of regional doping issues and other related activities.

“This meeting normally makes us meet annually to take stock of regional doping issues, challenges, testing, education, risk assessment, compliance, which would make the work smooth and this is what RADO seeks to do and have been doing.

“The committee members of NADC are meeting this Friday, where Ghana is faced with the code compliance and questionnaire (CCQ), which is over 300 page document, where if we don’t tackle within a timeline, we would become none compliance like other countries”.

According to him, if Ghana fails to comply, the country would be out of international events and would affect our national teams.

Ghana is hosting All African Games in 2023 and we have to get these things done to avert any compliance issues.

He stated that with the law making and legislative instruments, the committee was looking at ending of next year, where they would take the first six to seven months to focus on policy making and then first three months for engaging take holders and then transforming it into policy draft.

Source: peacefmonline.com