The newly elected president of the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC), Mr Richard Akpokavie, has identified the introduction of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) system in Ghana’s sports administration as one of the ways to forge ahead in unity in the sports development agenda.
According to him, when this comes to fruition, misunderstandings would be handled within that sector and not the traditional courts which drags on for a long time and eventually affect development.
My Akpokavie shared this in his acceptance speech on Saturday after his election as president of the GOC.
He obtained a total of 44 votes to beat his contender, Mr Michael Odum Aggrey, who had 19 votes to stage a return to the executive of the committee he work for eight years as General Secretary.
According to him, there are too many disputes in Ghana sports and that is hindering its progress and unity.
“There are several court actions involving federations and we cannot progress if we continue along this path,” he stated.
He said some jurisdictions provide for sports tribunal or arbitration panel to resolve disputes.
“One of the things we need to do is to get every federation to make provision for an alternate dispute resolution mechanism in its constitution or statutes.”
At the level of the GOC, he emphasised, it was important for an ADR system to be established for persons who are dissatisfied with decisions at the federation level to lodge appeals.
“We must make it mandatory such that if you don’t exhaust the ADR system at the federation level and at the GOC, the court should not entertain your case. We must make a deliberate effort to take our disputes out of the traditional court system,” he stressed.
This and many other initiatives, including giving athletes a voice on the executive and at congress, he announced would occasion a retreat for federation leaders to deliberate and chart a path and plan for the next four years of the new administration.
“I am passionate about athlete welfare and empowerment, women empowerment and safeguarding and protection of women and these will be top of my agenda. It is completely unacceptable that our athletes’ voices are not heard at congress and on the executive board. We have to change this immediately such that athletes’ voices will be heard not only at congress but on the executive board and on every GOC committee.”
He added that under his tenure, a lot more women would be empowered to occupy leadership roles in the federations, adding that, “We must take deliberate steps to build the capacity of our women.”
He reminded both new executive and delegates of the three important core values of the Olympic Movement which are excellence, respect and friendship.
“These values are the foundation of the Olympic Movement, aiming to promote sport, culture and education for a better world,” he added.
Moreover, he indicated that the Olympic brand was the most cherished global sports brand and urged members to remember that “once we represent the Olympic family, we must strive to conform to its values.”
“If we want to get the respect and support of Ghanaians and the corporate world, especially to fund our activities, we must do everything to remain united as the leading voice representing the interest of the many young people who play sports,” Mr Akpokavie noted.
BY ANDREW NORTEY
