The Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, has alleged that more than 30 people were misrepresented to the United States Embassy as board members or affiliates of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) in connection with engagements surrounding the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, October 10, the MP questioned why a document he said was sent to the embassy listed more than 30 people as GTA board members or affiliates, when the authority’s board comprised about 11 members.
He called for the Chief Executive Officer of the GTA, Maame Efua Sekyi-Aidoo Houadjeto, to be suspended to allow investigations into the alleged misrepresentation.
Mr Assafuah said the Minority had initially called for the removal of the Minister for Sports and the Chief Executive Officer of the National Sports Authority (NSA), but had extended its demand to include the GTA chief executive after reviewing what he described as evidence relating to the list submitted to the embassy.
“In this document, over 30 people were misrepresented to the US Embassy as board members or affiliates of the board of GTA,” he said.
According to him, the document presented to the embassy was intended to identify members of the GTA board, but contained names far exceeding the board’s stated membership.
Mr Assafuah said the GTA board comprised about 11 people, including representatives of various institutions, and identified Gertrude Emefa Donkor as a former board chairperson.
He said Ms Donkor moved to the Ghana Gold Board and was replaced by Phyllis Engmann.
The MP also mentioned Samuel Seth Passah, whom he identified as a representative of the Ministry of Local Government, Yusif Issaka Jajah and the GTA chief executive among those associated with the board.
He argued that the number of people listed in the document raised questions about how their names had been presented to the US Embassy and whether all those identified as board members or affiliates had legitimate links to the authority.
Mr Assafuah further referred to an individual whose name he declined to disclose, claiming that the person had indicated in a WhatsApp exchange that they obtained a visa on the basis of being a GTA board member, despite allegedly not being a member of the board.
He also cited names he rendered as Pasa Lenda Esidwa, Pasa Lisa Zola and Pasa Antoinette Aram, questioning why they had allegedly been introduced to the embassy as board members.
The MP suggested that the inclusion of several people bearing the name “Pasa” warranted further scrutiny. However, the claims and identities he cited have not been independently established by the account of the interview alone.
Mr Assafuah also challenged the Ministry of Sports’ account of when it first engaged the US Embassy over the 2026 World Cup.
He referred to an email dated February 3, 2026, which he said was sent by Rukmini Kukuaa Coffie, a Public Engagement Specialist in the Emerging Voices programme of the embassy’s Public Diplomacy Section.
The email, as read by the MP, stated: “Dear colleagues, building on discussions from the October 22nd, 2025, FIFA World Cup 2026 stakeholder meeting, the US Embassy is pleased to invite you to the third FIFA World Cup stakeholder meeting.”
Mr Assafuah argued that the reference to an October 2025 meeting and the invitation to a third stakeholder meeting suggested that engagements had taken place before March or April 2026, the period he said the ministry had indicated as the start of its engagement with the embassy.
He also said the Ministry of Sports, including its Chief Director, was copied into the email.
Using the correspondence to support his broader concerns, the MP accused the ministry of providing a misleading account of its engagement with the embassy and questioned whether the Minister for Sports had been complicit or negligent.
Mr Assafuah maintained that the alleged discrepancies in the GTA board list justified a formal investigation and the suspension of the authority’s chief executive while the matter was examined.
“If the CEO of Ghana Tourism Authority misrepresents this to the US Embassy, do you think that there’s a lot more that I have to prove before I can ask for a suspension for investigations to be done?” he asked.
