Africa-Press – Ghana. The Bui Tennis Club (BTC) of the Bui Power Authority (BPA), the managers of the Bui Generating Station (BGS) is working closely with the Ghana Tennis Federation to unearth and nurture the talents of youngsters in the dam’s enclave in the Savannah Region.
Mr Wumbila Salifu, the Chairman of the BTC explained that the club, which had 43 members of the BPA and inaugurated two years ago was a member of the Ghana Tennis Federation (GTF).
He said so far it had identified and with support from the GTF nurturing the prospects of 15 youngsters at Jama a community in the dam’s enclave in the Bole-Bamboi District of the Region as part of its social responsibility to improve the socio-economic livelihoods of the rural dwellers around the dam.
“We have also provided scholarship to one of the youngsters who is now at the Bui Academy”, Mr Salifu told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) sport on the side-lines of the closing session of two-day tennis competition held at the BPA’s plant site.
He pledged the club’s dedication to do more to help alleviate the plight of the young people in the dam’s enclave.
Mr Salifu, also the Director of Estate at the BPA said besides recreation and socialization, the club which served as the official tennis club for the Savannah Region also sought to deepen the bond and create relationships among the BPA personnel, both on site and in Accra.
He explained that the BTC organised the competition in honour of the retired Warrant Officer (WO) Adjei Adjetey, its coach who engineered the formation of the club.
“Now that the WO is heading for retirement from active service at the BPA, we need to be grateful and appreciate how far he has given life to the Bui Tennis Club”, he stated.
Mr Duah Isaac Aboagye, the President of the GTF, commended the BTC for their crucial role of helping to develop the sport, noting that though all the tennis clubs were centered in Accra, there were wonderful talents at the regional levels too.
He said he was highly optimistic that with the BTC, tennis prospects in the Savannah region could be unearth, nurtured and harnessed for the progressive development of the sport, saying that: “I think we are have to come on board to support the BTC to build the talents of these young ones”.
Mr Aboagye urged the various tennis clubs in the country to leverage on and market their potential through social media, saying there were several international scholarships available for tennis players.
Mr Charles Lwanga Puozuing, the Upper West Regional Minister, observed that sports were now beyond entertainment and stressed the need for the nation to do more to enhance the growth and development of tennis.
As part of the competition, Mr Joseph Konnuba, the Organiser of the BTC, explained that technical discussions would be held to push forward the progressive growth and development of tennis in the Bui/Jama enclave of the dam.
Trophies and media were presented to the Techiman Holy Family Tennis Club, the Techiman Tennis Club and the Wa Tennis Club for participating in the two-day event which was graced by Tactical Air Command (TAC), Bui, Mr Kwabena Kissiedu Atiemo.
