By Shane Saroya – EM TV Sports, Port Moresby
Host nation for the upcoming Youth Commonwealth Games, Samoa, have refused to issues visas to athletes fro Sierra Leone, amid fears the West African nation could spread the Ebola virus to the Pacific.
Delegates from fellow African nation Ghana raised concerns regarding the ban, saying the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) should at the very least reimburse Sierra Leone for costs attained in preparing a team to compete in Samoa.
CGF Chief Executive, David Grevemberg, said the organisation had done all it could to try to change the Samoan government’s mind, but to no avail.
Outgoing President, Prince Tunku Imran, managed to defuse the situation while delegates from Fiji and St Vincent and the Grenadines suggested sanctions would be inconsistent for what was a health decision made by a sovereign government.
