KSI VENUE OF CAN 2008 UPDATE

The Kumasi Venue Organising Committee (KVOC) of next year’s ­African Nations Cup (CAN 2008) is to work out a contingency plan to get alternative training pitches for the Kumasi venue of the tournament.

This is because with just about three months to the start of the tournament, construction works on the four training pitches in Kumasi were still yet to reach any appreciable level in readiness for the games.

Not a single pitch out of the four is ready for the tournament. Thus, in case the contractors, CST Limited, are unable to deliver the training pitches by November ending as promised, the contingency plan would be relied on.

Alternative training pitches to be considered under the contingency plan includes the Ridge Park, where Kumasi Asante Kotoko train­, the GGBL park, Jachie Pramso School Park, Konongo Park, T. I, Amass school park among others.

Prof K. K. Adarkwa, Chairman of the KVOC at an inspection tour remarked that the progress of work on the training pitches was totally unacceptable.

“It is embarrassing and completely unacceptable”, he said.

He explained that so much investment had gone into the training pitches and the contractor has to ensure that construction works were completed for the pitches to be used during the tournament.

“But in case, they are unable o finish then we may have to look at alternative pitches”.

Surprisingly when the Chairman requested from the contractor to furnish him with his­ work programme, he was told that a copy of the work programme was not available on site.

This made Prof Adarkwa furious as he felt the contractor ought to have a work programme on site.

During the inspection tour, it was observed that apart from the Opoku Ware training pitch which had seen a remarkable improvement in the last three weeks the rest were still greatly lagging behind.

The school fields at Opoku Ware Secondary School (OWASS), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Prempeh College and Wesley College are the ones which are being refurbished to be used as training pitches for the tournament.

At Opoku Ware the contractor was about finishing with the planting of green grass whiles at Prempeh College he was still working on the drainage. The Paa Joe and WESCO pitches were being levelled with black soil.