Former NSS boss, Mustapha Ussif nominated as Youth and Sports Minister

President Akufo-Addo has nominated former Executive Director of the National Service Scheme and Member of Parliament for Yagaba-Kubori, Mustapha Ussif as the new Sports Minister replacing Isaac Asiamah.

The presidency released the full list of ministerial appointments for the next government in a statement on Thursday, January 21, 2021, and has submitted it to Parliament for vetting and approval.

Mr. Ussif is credited with significant transformation at the National Service.

Among the transformational legacies, the new Sports Minister nominee left at the NSS was the introduction of a paperless registration process, certificate delivery service, personnel authentication process, and many others.

He hails from Yagaba-Kubori in the North East Region and 1st served as the Member of Parliament in the 6th Parliament of the 4th republic.

He later lost his seat to his predecessor in 2016 before being appointed to head the NSS, where he has been serving before winning the Yagaba-Kubori Parliamentary seat in the recent elections with a huge margin.

Ussif had his Secondary education at the Salaga Secondary School. He later continued at Bagabaga Teacher training College from 1998 – 2001.

He then taught at Watania JSS for some time and later went to Anglia Ruskin University at Chelmsford in the UK to study BA (Hon) in International Business Management from 2007 to 2010.

He again undertook an Executive Program in Management Development at the University of Wales and also holds MBA in finance with distinction from the University of Gloucestershire in the UK.

He also worked as a freelance consultant to Action Aid UK and was an active member of the Mines and Energy Committee of the 6th Parliament of the 4th Republic.

Ahead of the December 7, 2020 polls, President Akufo-Addo promised a number of things, some of which includes Zongo Youth Football Talent Hunt (ZYFTAH) programme and rehabilitate all other national sports stadia.

Below is what the NPP promised:

In the next four years, the Government will create opportunities for many more citizens to participate in sports for recreation and laurels, to enhance the image of Ghana at international sports, and as a viable commercial and job creation opportunity for Ghanaians, especially the youth. In this direction, we will:

• Build a fully-functional Multi-Purpose Youth and Sports Centres of Excellence in each of the six newly- created Regions in addition to the Ten (10) already under construction and near completion
  • Host and organize the 13th African Games in 2023. This will afford Ghana the opportunity to construct a National Olympic Stadium Complex to bridge the nation’s sports infrastructure deficit. The Games will also provide the opportunity to address capacity and facility deficiencies for the organization of all sports and more importantly, rebrand the popular inter-schools and colleges sports towards mainstreaming their products into national teams for all international games
  • Upgrade the National Sports College into a National High-Performance Training Centre (NHPTC), equipped with the facilities and human resources, capable of conducting research into sports performance and management related issues and disseminating findings to relevant stakeholders. The Centre will also train and retrain sports coaches and officiating officials as well as offering camping/training facilities to national and international teams.
•  As part of a rapid Elite Sports Performers Development Pathway, house National Sports Academies in three of the Multi-Purpose Youth and Sports Centres of Excellence, one each in the Southern, Middle, and Northern belts. Talents in selected sports disciplines in which Ghana has comparative advantage will be selected nationwide and put in the Academies to school, train and ultimately, compete for the nation.
• Continue to rehabilitate all other National Sports Stadia, and establish sustainable maintenance culture in our stadia management system. The government has already
  rehabilitated and brought to life the Accra Sports Stadium, and rehabilitation of Essipong and Kumasi stadia are ongoing
  • Having cooperated with FIFA, the world football governing body, to reorganize and strengthen the Ghana Football Association (GFA), support the nation’s football teams, especially the Black Stars and Black Queens, through the GFA, to bring back the glory and international stature of Ghana as a force in the world of football, and
  • Under the Zongo Development Fund, introduce the Zongo Youth Football Talent Hunt (ZYFTAH) programme, a special program for the youth in Zongos which will help unearth, develop and promote football talents in Zongo communities through competitions and football clinics in collaboration with local and international partners. Having shown a commitment to promoting the development of football in Zongos by building 10 Astro and Green turfs in Zongos across the country, and with the intention to build more, the Zongo Youth Football Talent Hunt (ZYFTAH) will make the construction of these parks,
  and many more to be constructed, more useful and meaningful to the youth in Zongos
  through competitions and talent-hunt programs under ZYFTAH.