2023 Africa Games volunteers demand stipends, say they were promised payments

Over a thousand volunteers worked at the various centres for the 13th edition of the African Games, which successfully came to an end last Friday, March 23, in Accra.

Although the volunteers were made aware from the start that they wouldn’t be paid, some have claimed that they were later promised ‘handsome payments” after the Games.

On Tuesday, a number of the volunteers clashed with the Ghana Police near the University of Ghana Stadium, where they had massed up to demand their unpaid stipends.

One of the volunteers told Citinewsroom that they were promised transport fares back to their homes but had still not been given the stipend, while also claiming that they were being forcefully evicted from their hostels where they were camping.

“We the Volunteers for the 13^th African Games have been denied our due including TNT and are being forced to leave the Hostels immediately,” he said.

Another volunteer told Joy Sports: “During the orientation programme, the deputy volunteer manager, one Mr Nelson, and Madam Yobo herself, made mention that it was a volunteering job and that there was no payment at stake but they were going to do something for all volunteers.

"Fast forward to when the programme was over, we had a meeting and at that meeting, they stated categorically they were going to give people some payments which was going to be handsome enough for them to be able to go back where they come from.

"So people were surprised that the following day, they never gave them breakfast, never gave them lunch and even in the nick of time they asked them to pack out of their rooms. What is more worrying is that they never gave them a stipend to feed or to even go back home."

The closing ceremony of the African Games was held last Friday at the University of Ghana Stadium, with Stonebwoy and Wiyaala performing on the night.