Winnifred Ntumi, a gold winner from the recently concluded African Games in Accra, has criticized the Ministry of Youth and Sports for failing to pay her bonuses.
Ntumi, the first athlete to win a medal for Ghana during the games, said all efforts to get her money from the government have proved futile.
In an interview with Happy FM, she claimed that the Sports Ministry has refused to give the athletes an audience over the owed bonuses.
“I’ve not received the money yet. We (all the disciplines) have not heard from them up till now. Sometimes, when I call, they don’t even pick up. It is with the minister (Mustapha Ussif) and we’ve not heard from him,” he said.
He pointed out that, unlike the frustrating situation she is in now, she was fully paid after winning medals in the previous edition of the competition held in 2019.
“It is very heartbreaking because this is the first time I’ve experienced this. In Rabat (Morocco), I got the money immediately after I finished the competition. This is my home country.”
“I competed on the 10th of March, and today is 18th of April. We don’t even need reasons, but let’s hear from you,” she added.
Winnifred Ntumi won Ghana’s first medals at the 2023 African Games after bagging three medals in the Weightlifting competition on Sunday, March 10, 2023.
Ntumi’s outstanding performance unfolded at the GCB Hall, where she dominated the women’s 45kg and 49kg snatch events, claiming gold and two silver medals, respectively.
Winnifred Ntumi stated that she is not the only athlete yet to receive her bonuses but all Ghanaian athletes who won medals at the 2023 African Games have not been paid.
