Save Kotoko's Adako Jachie Projects from ruin

The office complex, dressing room, youth and senior teams’ hostels being constructed by Kumasi Asante Kotoko at Adako Jachie are in near ruins as weeds have engulfed the two structures which have stalled in the last five months.

Numerous calls and passionate appeals by hundreds of Kotoko fans who have been asking about the progress of work at the site moved me to visit the site last week. My first observation was that work has stopped for months.

The Projects, started in 2011, progressed until the resignation of the Executive Chairman, Dr. K. K. Sarpong in July this year. Since then no work has gone on. Checks with the Project Manager, George Amponsah-Duodu revealed that construction has stopped because of the lack of funds.

Dr. Sarpong in his handing over notes I have seen gave a rundown of events concerning the project. He stated that the projects were “being undertaken by direct labour under the supervision of D-Span Consult, an architectural firm in Accra. Purchases of materials and services for the project [were] made by the Project Manager, George Amponsah Duodu.

“The office complex [was] at the flow level of the 1st floor of the 3-storey building. After the initial hiccup suffered during construction due to soil-type difference, works on the first floor [was] about 70% completed. What [was] left before the concrete casting could be done [was] the dropping of the floor bars by the steel benders which [was to take] about two weeks, upon inspection by the engineers.

“Available on site [was] enough chippings, sand and iron rods to complete the flow of the first floor. The Youth Team Hostel, which is also a 3-storey building, [was] at the lintel level. Monies spent so far on the projects, according to the Project Manager amount to GHC 365,399.68 with GHC50, 317.68 going into consultancy and the remainder representing monies spent on Project works” wrote the former chairman.

At the moment, the project has been left to the mercy of the weather and weeds. Kotoko supporters who visit the training ground on daily basis have been expressing concerns over the current state of the project. The appeal from these fans, I interviewed is that, funds should be solicited to first clear the loads of weeds that have engulfed structures.