|
Adako Jarchie
project progresses, BUT….
By David Kyei
10:52 GMT, 09-02-2010
The hopes and joy of the Kotoko
family at the news of the club moving soon to her own training
complex would become a mirage of immediate action is not taken
to salvage the project from going waste.
As at today, thousands of Ghana
Cedis have already been pumped in the way of investment into the
project, but there is more work to be done to bring the site to
an appreciable level for the usage of the facility by the club.
An unannounced visit to the
construction site last Friday was indeed a good one as it gave
Kotoko Express the opportunity to see at first hand how far work
was progressing and how soon it would take the team to start
usage of the facility.
Per observation, it was clear that
the main work of the construction of the pitches was almost
complete, as what was left for the pitch to be given full
clearance was the removal of stones that escaped sieving from
the pitch. A practice the workers at the site referred to as
surface dressing.
With the surface dressing done
with, the way would be cleared for the goal posts to be erected
and it could be fully used for the purpose for which it has been
intended.
However, beyond the silver lining
of the news that the pitch is almost completed, there is also
the bad news that before the pitch is even put into use, it has
started deteriorating so fast that just one or two heavy
rainfall could spell a disaster for Kotoko’s investment.
A walk around the two pitches
indicated that both had a major problem with erosion as a result
of the lack of walls to hold the sand filling at the edges of
the pitch from falling off.
Since a lot of excavation work was
done to be able to get the place levelled for the two pitches,
there is also the need for walls to the constructed at the top
portion of the excavation at the first pitch. If that is not
done in time, rain water will find their way on to the pitch a
la waterfall style to make the place soggy and eventually erode
off its beauty.
Though drains were dug around
pitches to direct off water, the supervisor at the site, Kwabena
Owusu informed this paper that they had been filled up with silt
from erosion from the top.
“My fear with the development is
that if the walls and drains are not constructed before the
onset of the rains, the whole project would be badly affected
that it will take a lot more injection of finances to get it
back”.
“At a period when money is hard to
come by, I will like to advise Kotoko management to endeavour to
get the project completed for the coaches and players to have a
very conducive environment to train”.
When contacted, the management
member in-charge of operations, Ben Nti, acknowledged that
management was aware of the problem at the site and that they
were taking measures to get it done for use in the not too
distant future.
“We have a serious liquidity
problem, especially when we have to combine the project with
playing the league and participating in Africa”.
“Whatever it is, we will live up
to our responsibilities as a management team and get to action
on the project”.
With a few months to go for the
start of the major raining season in Ghana, it is the hope and
wish of this paper that supporters of the club come together to
complement the efforts of management by coming out in their
groups to donate towards the immediate completion of the
project. |
