The election scheduled to take place at the Republic Hall, KNUST, was opposed by a group of aspirants who claim the delegates’ list had been manipulated.
The group led by Emmanuel Atanga, an aspirant vying for Deputy Youth Organiser, described the 47 delegates’ list as fradulent and undeserving to serve its purpose.
The aggrieved group petitioned the National Executives of the party, which led to the set up of a three-member committee to authenticate the issues.
The committee after nvestigation came out with a delegates’ album of 34.
The group however says this did not meet expectation, claiming some institutions were not qualified to exercise their franchise.
Leadership of the Party, as at 6pm on Friday held a crunch meeting including other stakeholders but entrench positions defeated their agenda.
The chairman of the election committee, Nuru Hamidan, said they are meeting all the aspirants at the regional party officeon Saturday to resolve outstanding issues.
According to him, the meeting will determine if they will cast their ballot on Sunday or the election will be further postponed.
Delegates from far and near expressed disappointment over the development as they left the election ground without voting.
“This is not the NDC I know,”,one of the aggrieved delegates said.
“We are sending a message to the rank and file of the party that it doesn’t look so well in the Ashanti Region and with this I fear we will lose in 2024,” another said.
Some top party officials and individuals were seen engaging all aggrieved parties to resolve the issue.
Another blow has been delivered to Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program.
The Washington Post reports that a federal judge in Texas ruled in favor of the Job Creators Network Foundation, a conservative advocacy group that sued to stop Biden from fulfilling the plan. Two plaintiffs are behind the suit: one who has student loans and doesn’t qualify for the $20,000 relief and a second who is completely unqualified.
According to the group’s lawsuit, the administration breached federal policy by not giving borrowers the chance to comment on the debt relief program before announcing it. U.S. District Judge Mark T. Pittman asserted that the program is unconstitutional.
“In this country, we are not ruled by an all-powerful executive with a pen and a phone. Instead, we are ruled by a Constitution that provides for three distinct and independent branches of government.” He added that the program is “an unconstitutional exercise of Congress’s legislative power.”
The plaintiffs said in their case that qualifications for Biden’s plan were inconsistent. With the loan program, single borrowers who make up to $125,000 per year or married borrowers who make up to $250,000 could eliminate $10,000 in federal student debt. Those who received Pell Grants could have another $10,000 forgiven.
One of the plaintiffs, Alexander Taylor, qualified for $10,000 in relief but not the full $20,000 since he wasn’t a Pell recipient. Myra Brown, the second plaintiff, is unfit for the program because her federal loans are held by private companies, making her ineligible for the relief program.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded to Pittman’s declaration, saying, “We strongly disagree with the District Court’s ruling on our student debt relief program and the Department of Justice has filed an appeal. The President and this Administration are determined to help working and middle-class Americans get back on their feet, while our opponents — backed by extreme Republican special interests — sued to block millions of Americans from getting much-needed relief.”
She added that the Biden administration will keep the information of the 26 million people who applied “so it can quickly process their relief once we prevail in court.”
Four school children are reportedly dead and scores of pupils injured in an accident involving a school bus on the Terchire-Adrobaa stretch in the Tano North district of the Bono Region.
The old Benz school car with registration number AW 6315-11 was transporting about 25 pupils of the DS Elite Academy when the car slid off the newly constructed Adrobaa road.
Eyewitnesses narrated that the driver slid off the slippery road upon getting to a sharp curve, causing the car to somersault.
Three of the pupils died on the spot while another was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after. Four other pupils are in critical conditions while the remaining sustained various degrees of injury.
The victims were transported to the St John’s Hospital at Duayaw-Nkwanta and the remaining at Adrobaa health center.
The four with life threatening injuries have been referred to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.
A teacher, who spoke on the matter, indicated that in their 15 years of operation, such an incident has never been recorded by the school.
Other residents also explained the Adrobaa-Terchire newly constructed stretch is an accident-prone area, adding that about four fatal accidents have been recorded in the past weeks.
The Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Communications Committee has said that the objective of the SIM re-registration exercise will not be realised if the current approach adopted by the Communication and Digitalisation Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful is not changed.
Mr. Sam Nartey George cited for instance that, inspite of the exercise, there are pre-registered SIM cards being sold on the market.
He said this on Joy FM’s Top Story on Friday.
The Ningo Prampram MP explained that the existence of pre-registered SIM cards on the markets indicates that the work done so far has not amounted to much.
“As we speak today, there are SIM cards that have been registered, out of the 21 million that have completed stage one and stage two. Some of those SIM cards have been registered by other people’s Ghana Card fictitiously. And as we speak today, there are pre-registered SIM cards registered with Ghana Card on the market. So what is the Minister solving?” he asked.
He asserted that the registration of SIM cards does not in any way stop SIM fraud, adding that it is “a fallacy of fact.”
Mr. Nartey George claimed that Ursula Owusu-Ekuful in her haste to score “cheap political points” has failed in the implementation of the policy.
“The Minister is on record to have said that people have registered more than 10 SIM cards to one Ghana Card. Is that not an admission of failure?.. In her last but one public speech, she admitted and she was now warning people to go and unregister the SIM Cards,” Mr. George said.
It would be recalled that the Communication Ministry on Friday announced that it will proceed to deactivate all unregistered SIM cards on the 30th of November 2022, after several postponements.
The Ministry in a statement said so far, only 70 percent of those who linked their SIM cards with their Ghana Cards have gone ahead to fully register, leaving some nine million SIM cards unregistered.
The relationship between visual arts and climate change is quite murky. While some define arts as an unlimited avenue for expressing emotions, some visual artists see it as a tool to champion climate action.
In Ghana for instance, Christiana Enyonam Attippoe, also known as Christy Black, a young Ghanaian artist is striving to project the need for environmental protection with her artwork.
Dubbed “The Leftover Collection,” the assemblage is made of a variety of artwork named in accordance with the importance of recycling.
“So this one for instance is called ‘Shield’ and I got it from protection. When you recycle, it’s in order to protect the environment.
“Then I have riches – to save energy and save money. While we recycle we reuse, you save money so you get riches. The other one is called purity. Purity in the sense that if you’re not polluting the environment then you’re helping to purify it.
“Then I have energy as well. Recycling saves energy. It saves you time and a whole lot and I have one other one called unity. That one has a lot of colours together with the hard paint in it.
Unity in the sense that the topic or the conversation on green energy or recycling brings a lot of people together, it brings unity,” added.
Christiana is a contemporary artist with a Visual Arts background from Senior High School and has a degree in Marketing from University of Ghana.
She started drawing at her tender age and now has a wide range of paintings which is mainly inspired by nature and curiosity.
Her works are influenced by impressionism, fauvism and realism movement using acrylic paint. You can find her works in portrait, abstract domestic scenes and urban lifestyles.
Her unique works are appealing and memorable. In two years of existence, Christy Black’s brand has been on shows and has won a recognition award at the Women in Entrepreneurship Awards 2022.
She hopes to inspire emerging artists around the world and also bring about socio-economic benefit to society through her artworks.
Speaking on her inspiration for the pieces she presented during the maiden edition of ‘Emerge’ (2022), she noted that “for this particular exhibition I chose my abstract pieces only and I call them the leftover collection.
“Leftover because from all the works I do I get leftover paints that are hard and I need to throw away but I was like if I’m not in any way helping to fight the pollution going on in the environment my work activities should not add to it so I decided to create something out of this,” she said.
Emerge is a collective setup for creative minds, collaborative efforts and shared space which is relentlessly engaging.
Aligned to this goal is the kind of space the Centre for National Culture, Accra and Gyandu Place offer for such possibilities.
The exhibition highlights the postures within a wide range of sensory experiences, experimentation of forms and subject matter.
The exhibition features ten young talented Ghanaian artists whose works represent Ghana’s cultural vernacular and the current transition of our artistic narrative that is making Ghana a force to reckon with.
The artists also employed varied expressions in different media which portrays the continuums and diversities within cultures.
Three Chinese nationals have been arrested by personnel from the Ghana Police Service for allegedly killing a male adult at Bonsa, a town in the Western region.
The suspects, according to a police statement available to GhanaWeb, shot and killed the victim at a mining site on Friday, November 11, 2022.
The three are Wen Jianhua, Yu Shuhui alias Eli and Zhou Daquan.
“The body of the deceased has been deposited at the Tarkwa Municipal Hospital for preservation and autopsy,” the police said in a statement.
It added, “In line with our standard operating procedure and respect for Ghanaian tradition, the name of the deceased victim [sic] has been withheld until his family is duly informed of his demise.
“A search conducted at the residence of the suspects led to the retrieval of the murder weapon.”
“Investigation continues and the suspects will be arraigned before court to face justice,” the statement signed by Kwaky Ayepah, Superintendent of Police concluded.
A new poll says 25 percentof Canadians have begun stockpiling food to cope with inflation prices.
According to a Nanos Research poll for CTV News that surveyed over 1,000 Canadians, many individuals are resorting to cost-saving options when it comes to their grocery shopping behaviours.
While the most common answer among 61 percent of those surveyed was that they were purchasing less expensive food than usual, a quarter of respondents said that they had resorted to stockpiling food in the past month.
Younger Canadians aged 18-34 have been especially hit by rising food prices, as they were more likely than older Canadians to have switched to buying less expensive food.
One of the more troublesome responses that arose was 17 percent of Canadians reporting that they were eating less food as a coping mechanism to higher prices. Accused of “greedflation,” Canadian grocery items have seen some of the biggest rises in price over the year.
The survey also found that women were more likely to change their grocery purchasing habits over men, with 64 percent of women saying they were buying less expensive food compared to 57 percent of men.
Megan Thee Stallion has received an open letter of support from leaders denouncing violence against women.
Shared by the Southern Black Girls & Women’s Consortium alongside influential leaders, the letter expresses support for Megan. The message comes less than a week after Drake appeared to suggest she lied about the 2020 shooting incident in which Tory Lanez is alleged to have shot Megan. “This bitch lie ‘bout getting shots but she still a stallion,” Drake said on the Daft Punk-sampling song “Circo Loco.”
Individuals who signed the letter include Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Financial Services, MeToo founder Tarana Burke, Planned Parenthood CEO Alexis McGill Johnson, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Chair, House Judiciary Crime Committee (Tx. 18th), and musician Ethel Cian.
“You’ve consistently been clear about what happened to you, but instead of being met with widespread support, people who should have had your back have chosen to stay out of the matter,” reads the letter. “You don’t deserve any of this, Megan. You deserve to be heard, to be believed, and most importantly, to be safe. There is no amount of power or prestige that can prevent a woman from becoming a victim of violence and there is no level of achievement that exempts women from our society’s complacency with that violence.”
The signees reminded Megan that she has been “so strong” in the face of accusations she fabricated the shooting incident. “We salute you for the bravery it has taken to defend yourself in the court of public opinion, though you shouldn’t have had to do so at all,” the letter continues. “We raise our voices against those who have made light of this heinous example of violence against women and will drown them out with our demands for society to take what happens to Black women seriously. You are not alone. You are believed, loved, and supported.”
Shortly after Her Loss hit streaming services, Megan denounced the use of her name. “Stop using my shooting for clout bitch ass N****s!” Megan said, seemingly in response to the song. “Since when tf is it cool to joke abt women getting shot ! You n****s especially RAP N****S ARE LAME! Ready to boycott bout shoes and clothes but dog pile on a black woman when she say one of y’all homeboys abused her.” She told artists to “stop attaching weak ass conspiracy theories in bars to my name.”
Read the letter in full and see the list of signees below.
Dear Megan,
You are larger than life in many ways; your name is in lights, your face on billboards, your songs in the history books…and this is still just the beginning of your story. In a very short amount of time, you’ve achieved success probably beyond your wildest dreams, and it seems that each day brings a new announcement about something amazing you’ve done or are preparing to do. Women all over the world consider you an inspiration, in part because you make them feel good about themselves. You’re a special kind of talent and a special kind of person; the place you hold in your fans’ hearts is a testament to that.
As you’ve risen to the top, you’ve also had to endure a lot of obstacles along the way. In the face of triumph and tragedy alike, you always keep your head held high, maintain your poise, and push forward. However, while so many of us celebrate you for your strength and perseverance, it must be said that you have been treated in ways that no young woman–no person at all–should be treated.
It must be said that our culture has failed you, one of its most brightly shining daughters. In July of 2020, you experienced a violation of the highest order at the hands of someone whom you considered a friend. Since then, you’ve had to endure public harassment and taunting not only from that person but from others choosing to stand with him. Bloggers have circulated rumors and excitedly reported on the most traumatic experience of your life as if it were juicy gossip, often perpetuating the idea that you’ve got a reason to lie, that you shouldn’t be believed. You’ve consistently been clear about what happened to you, but instead of being met with widespread support, people who should have had your back have chosen to stay out of the matter.
You don’t deserve any of this, Megan. You deserve to be heard, to be believed, and most importantly, to be safe.
There is no amount of power or prestige that can prevent a woman from becoming a victim of violence and there is no level of achievement that exempts women from our society’s complacency with that violence.
You may be a boss, the “hot girl coach,” and a bonafide superstar, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t experience pain. No one is too ‘bad,’ too famous, too powerful to feel hurt. You’ve had to navigate this deeply difficult experience in the public eye, and while you’ve managed to stand strong and to keep showing up to work in spite of it all, it can’t be understated how unfair it is that you’re in this position to begin with.
Violence against women is still entirely too common and acceptable in our world. We make excuse after excuse to explain away even the most heinous acts, especially when the person accused is a celebrity of any sort. Being a celebrity, however, will not guarantee a woman any sympathy when she is a victim.
Black women are also often fearful of what will happen to their assailant if they choose to involve the law–as you yourself were afraid to do–and are left unprotected by the system and the community alike. If someone as influential as you can be belittled and mocked as nothing but a liar for standing up for herself, that speaks a volume about what a woman who doesn’t have your resources or fame can expect to endure when she’s found herself in a similar position.
An estimated one in three women worldwide has been the victim of sexual and/or domestic violence. Here in the United States, the numbers are higher for Black women, who also experience psychological abuse–such as humiliation, name-calling, and insults–at an increased rate. Women of all races, cis and trans, are suffering daily and we’re all too complacent. From day one, you deserved a chorus of voices saying, “We believe you, Megan,” and though you may not have been able to hear us sooner, know that we are with you now and every step of the way as you continue to heal from this tragedy. We are committed to making the world safer for you and all women, and one of the important steps that we must take to get there is to make it so that women who have been victims of violence can speak about their experiences without being attacked or dismissed.
You’ve been so strong, Megan, but that’s not what we should demand nor expect from you. You deserve the space to cry, mourn and heal as you see fit without having to worry about being judged for having a human reaction to a personal tragedy.
Even in the midst of your own traumatic experience and healing, you recognized that other girls needed to experience joy and partnered with Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium on the inaugural Joy Is Our Journey tour impacting thousands of girls across the south. You have remained committed to the focus of mental health and well being in our community even when your own has been minimized, marginalized, and deemphasized. We want you to know that you are important and you matter to us and to millions of women around the globe. Your life matters. Your work matters. Your joy matters. You deserve joy. We stand with you.
We salute you for the bravery it has taken to defend yourself in the court of public opinion, though you shouldn’t have had to do so at all. We raise our voices against those who have made light of this heinous example of violence against women and will drown them out with our demands for society to take what happens to Black women seriously. You are not alone. You are believed, loved, and supported.
We stand with you Megan.
Dr. Brenda Allen, Lincoln University PA
LaTosha Brown, Southern Black Girls & Women’s Consortium
Laura Brown, LB Media
Tarana Burke, ‘me too’ International
Ethel Cain
Taylor Crumpton, Cultural Critic and Writer
Dr. Tiffany Crutcher, Terence Crutcher Foundation
Allisa Findley, Sisters of the Movement
K.C. Fox, Sisters of the Movement
Angella Henry, DJ Henry Dream Fund
Marc Lamont Hill, Temple University Professor/Journalist
Jessica Jackson
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Chair, House Judiciary Crime Committee (Tx. 18th)
Renee Jarvis, Triangle House Literary
Alice Eason Jenkins, Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium
Michelle Kenney, Antwon Rose II Foundation
Felecia Lucky, Black Belt Community Foundation
Tamika D. Mallory, Until Freedom
Alexis McGill Johnson, Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Margo Miller, Appalachian Community Fund
Carmen Perez-Jordan, The Gathering for Justice
Angela Rye, IMPACT Strategies
Dr. Topeka K. Sam, The Ladies of Hope Ministries, INC.
Beverly Smith, SiriusXM
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA)
L Joy Williams
South Korea’s prospects of making it to the round of 16 were greatly overestimated. According to Opta, Uruguay, which has won the World Cup twice, South Korea, a regular World Cup customer, Ghana, a historic African side, and Portugal with Cristiano Ronaldo are all in Group H of the World Cup in Qatar.
The Supercomputer wanted to know which country will progress from Group H. Supercomputer projected that Portugal and Uruguay will progress to the round of 16 in Group H, according to Opta.
Portugal had 82.6%, whereas Uruguay had 62.2%. Korea, on the other hand, has a 29.1% chance of making it to the round of 16. Ghana’s share is 26.1%.
Opta said South Korea is waiting for star and icon Heung-Min Son to recover from his injury. Without Son Heung-Min, Korea would be in a very difficult situation. This is the lowest.
Heung-Min Son in a post on his Instagram page this week stated that he will be ready to play for South Korea in Qatar.
News of the exclusion of in-form winger Joseph Paintsil has been well-received by South Koreans.
The Asian country will face the West African country in the group stages of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Ahead of the start of the global showpiece later this month, Ghana head coach Otto Addo is scheduled to name his final 26-man squad on Monday, November 14.
Even before the official announcement is made, it has been reported that the most in-form Ghana winger in Europe, Joseph Paintsil has been excluded.
In addition, it is understood that Italy-based striker Felix Afena-Gyan, RSC Anderlecht midfielder Majeed Ashimeru, and some other top players in Europe have been axed from the squad.
After the news reached the portals of South Korea, they are now jubilating with the argument that Ghana will be heading to Qatar with a weak team.
South Koreans are now confident that national team head coach Paulo Bento can easily guide the national team to secure all three points from the game against the Black Stars.
Besides Ghana and South Korea, Group H also has Portugal and Uruguay.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to kick off in Qatar on November 20.
Prior to thoutbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, there had been some predictions of how the world would battle such a pandemic in various movies. “Contagion” – a 2011 movie about a pandemic with similarities like the COVID-19 pandemic, and a 2007, mini series directed by Kinji Fukasakuare, are clear examples of such movies.
Also, there have been theories predicting that the world in the distant future would be an AI community. Movies like “Passengers,” a sci-fi romance film released in 2016; I, Robot, an American sci-fi action film directed by Alex Proyas and released in 2004; WALL-E, a 2008 American computer-animated science fiction film, produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures and co-written and directed by Andrew Stanton, are all predictions of the future ahead.
Well, a Ghanaian artist through his artwork is also presenting his own version of how the future of the world would be like.
Will his drawing be accurate or not? Let’s explore his artwork.
Born Wilson Brefo, the conceptual artist uses pencil, charcoal, graphite and paint to design his art pieces.
This particular art piece predicting the future is titled “The Time Traveler.” It was inspired by a dream, he said.
“It came to me as a vision. I was motivated to work on it because it was a dream. So the time traveler is a piece of art that tells how the future will be.”
The time traveler is a figure with an engine brain. It has two eyes; however, one is the eye of a cat, among other features.
Explaining the part of the artwork with the engine brain, Wilson noted that “this means that human race will be manipulated by some top or highly ranked families or governments or agencies and every body – the intelligent, the dump, the lazy , the hardworking, everybody will be manipulated because no one can escape this top ranked families, agencies, etc.
“Secondly, you can see the eye of a cat, meaning human beings will adapt to modern modifications in the near future. We can also see something like an oxygen holder which I can boast about and say that I’m the one who invented such a thing, because I haven’t seen anything mobile with an oxygen holder like this before. And this oxygen holder was placed here to tell how the deforestation would result in great damages in the future,” he said.
Wilson further explained that when deforestation, etc. ravages the earth, “the oxygen holder will feed or give oxygen to humans wherever we go.”
The Time Traveler
The picture also has a “puzzled-like background” which according to Wilson, tells how the world has already been solved. How? Wilson explains that “everything that’s happening now or will happen in the future has been written already. “Biblically, we know the end is already written so everything in this world has been solved already. So that’s the rationale for one side of the background,” he noted.
The other part of the background is a painting of a depleted environment – a sea with logs floating on it, etc. Explaining the rational for this, he noted that the human race is likely to live in a degraded environment in the near future due to the constant pollution.
“On the other side of the background, I can say due to how humans have destroyed the environment, global warming, deforestation, illegal mining and stuff, humans will meet something like this – green vegetation and stuff will no longer be there and the next human race will not meet something like; we will not have these things to show our children or our grandchildren,” Wilson added.
Will this forecast turn out to be true in a few years? Well, time would definitely tell.
“The information gathered is that there was an accident between Apagwa and Suhum area and the road was actually blocked so it had to reroute through Kyebi. So, we are hoping that it should be here shortly,” he said.
Speaking to JoyNews at the Agric Ministry where the exercise was held, a civil servant who works at the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources said: “To me, it’s a good initiative but since I heard it was a pilot, we are expecting that the next bunch that will come, the price will really go down a bit. Last week I bought one bunch for 15 in the market. It was reasonable, looking at the size. So I can’t see any big difference between what is here and what is in the market.”
Andre Ayew of Ghana in action during the international friendly match between Japan and Ghana at Noevir Stadium Kobe on June 10, 2022 in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan. (Photo by Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images)
There is not much time left before the 20th of November when the Football World Cup in Qatar will begin. Ghana will have to wait until November 24 to play Portugal at 974 Stadium, which is located right in the middle of the city.
Play South Korea next on November 28 before finishing against Uruguay on December 2.
Ghana will play an international friendly match against Switzerland on 17th November in UAE before flying to Doha, Qatar.
The 55-kilometer radius around the city includes every stadium that will host the more than 3 million lucky spectators who have tickets.
There is plenty of free time in between games to explore this little country with just 11,500 square kilometers, but it is home to numerous attractions, some of which are highly cutting-edge and were built specifically for World Cup visitors to enjoy.
Below are the things to do:
Go to FIFA Fan Festival
From November 19th to December 18th at Al Bidda Park in downtown Doha, close to The Corniche, local and international artists will take to the big stage in a veritable feast and vibrant festival of music, culture and lifestyles, which will feature the local gastronomy. The 64 World Cup matches can be watched by up to 40,000 people on giant screens. A special transport service will allow travel between the stadiums and the FIFA Fan Festival, in both directions. The festival was part of the official activity of the World Cup in the last four editions of the tournament. All festival activities can also be followed around the world through the FIFA+ digital platform. during the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Explore the Corniche on foot or by dhow
It is a beautiful promenade that goes from the Museum of Islamic Art to the Sheraton Park, so you can walk at any time of the day or night, it has a 7 km pedestrian lane that extends in the shape of a crescent, around of Doha Bay. The Corniche was created after the dredging of the Doha Bay area, giving it shape and giving rise to the communication route. More recently, the promenade was created and equipped with leisure, sports and dining areas. From the promenade you can get one of the most spectacular views of Doha, with the skyline of its famous skyscrapers. There are many places to eat or drink, there are 150 establishments, three stages for live concerts, water and light shows and even a Bedouin village. Also from the port you can take a ride on a dhow,
Free visits and discounts with the Qatar Museums Culture Pass
The Culture Pass is the official membership and benefits program for Museums of Qatar. Provides members with access to Qatari cultural institutions and exclusive benefits for unique and memorable experiences including the National Museum of Qatar, Museum of Islamic Art, Al Riwaq Gallery, M7, Fire Department, Qatar Olympic Museum3-2-1 and Mathaf and the Arab Museum of Modern Art. The benefits program includes a complete program of benefits to satisfy all artistic passions and the opportunity to enjoy exclusive behind-the-scenes access to tours, lectures and workshops. Culture Pass Plus and Family members can enjoy unlimited access to all Culture Pass program visits, lectures and workshops, which provide the opportunity to learn about heritage, culture, the environment and gain a vision of the future of Qatar. . You can also enjoy a 25% discount at restaurants, cafes and souvenir shops, in addition to offers at participating hotels.
Enjoy international cuisine
Of course, you can try traditional and elaborate Arab cuisine, not only from Qatar, but also from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Yemen… the best place is Souq Waqif and its endless alleys; in case you want to expand the range of exotic cuisines, you have to go to Al Waab Street with fabulous food options, from sophisticated to fast food and affordable. You can try Chinese, Egyptian, Lebanese, Qatari, Thai and Turkish dishes as well as Western dishes. But if you crave a European touch, head to the Qanat Quartier, an exclusive island with Venetian-style streets and its Marsa Arabia with its exceptional marina views and moored luxury yachts. And if nostalgia is Portuguese, there are a dozen to choose from.
Discover the Katara Cultural Village
Aldeia Village is an architectural project still under development, but which can now be visited and was created with the intention of creating a space for culture. It is known as the largest cultural plan in the country. The name of this majestic space is due to the fact that Katara is the historical name used for Qatar before the 18th century. The complex is built in a style that combines oriental architecture and classical romanticism, giving it a unique and different appearance from most of the new cultural buildings in Doha.
Among the best is its amphitheater, an architectural beauty that balances the concept of classical Greek theater and traditional Islamic features. Its construction was completed in 2009 and has a capacity for 5,000 people. Within the village you can also discover the Opera House which offers a luxurious cultural experience with an architectural mix of Oriental and Victorian styles, and the open-air shopping mall located in Katara Square.
Paddling with a kayak on Al Thakira beach
Located about 35 km. of Doha, Al Thakira beach is the ideal place to swim, sunbathe or spend a relaxed day, according to Jetcost.pt. The beach offers peaceful views of the largest and oldest reserves of dense mangroves in Qatar. It is a spectacle when the low tide reveals the delicate roots that penetrate the sand of the marsh. It’s worth renting a boat and exploring the Al Thakhira canals that flow among the vibrant marshes.
It’s a perfect opportunity to teach the little ones a little about ecology: the growth of wetlands in salt water, extreme temperatures, tidal changes and the high water level. They also offer benefits to the environment: they remove carbon dioxide from the air, filter metals from the water, delimit fish farms and protect coastlines from erosion. It is very likely that you will see herons, terns, as well as colorful flamingos perched on one foot among the wetlands.
Camel and 4X4 desert dune tour
In times past, Bedouin tribes moved through the desert and set up camps, grazed their animals and traded. Today, that tradition remains ingrained in Qatari culture with Al Enna, the annual winter camping season, during which locals head out into the desert in camps designed to engage with nature. The desert is an important part of the local culture and is home to an incredible number of activities.
The impressive Khor Al Adaid (the Inland Sea), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located south of Doha and is one of the few places in the world where the sea enters the desert. There’s nothing better than a camel ride through the soft dunes before venturing out on an exhilarating desert safari to Khor Al Adaid, accessible only by 4×4 vehicle. Surfing lovers can live a unique sandboarding experience on the dunes or explore them on a quad, jeep or buggy tour. They can also enjoy Qatar’s favorite pastime, camping, during the day, afternoon or night with one of the many companies offering Bedouin-style camps in comfort in the desert.
Time to relax in Pearl-Qatar
It is one of the most fascinating places in the world known as “the Arab Riviera”, a magnificent island where luxury, leisure and a thriving community coexist. It is an artificial island on the edge of Doha’s famous West Bay district, situated on four million square meters of reclaimed land. Known for its hotels, variety of charming cafes and restaurants, an iconic marina and luxury shops, it is a popular residential area with an upscale community lifestyle, with Mediterranean-style marinas dotted with yachts, residential buildings, villas and hotels, in addition to to offer a shopping experience in its luxury stores and haute couture designer showrooms.
There are also trendy restaurants on the island, from ice cream parlors to five-star dining experiences. Also noteworthy are its squares and pedestrian areas and a wide variety of landscaped areas. At Pearl there are dozens of charming cafes and elegant restaurants, such as Yasmine Palace, which offers four dining experiences, making it the only multi-themed restaurant complex in Doha. It serves an excellent mix of Andalusian, Levantine and Qatari-inspired dishes, all centered around the passion for jasmine.
Treat yourself to dates and coffee in a majlis
Qataris are friendly and very welcoming, faithful to the Arab tradition. It is not uncommon for them to invite them to meet at their house majlis. And you have to accept it, of course. Majlis are a fundamental element of Qatari life. Located next to the house, this is where people gather to discuss pressing issues and it functions similarly to a salon in Western Europe. The majlis are one of the most important spaces in Qatari life. It is usually a space for men only, while women gather indoors. Located near the entrance, the majlis is an independent room that allows visitors to avoid the most private spaces in the house.
Guests at majlis are welcomed with dates and Arabic coffee and served in a characteristically shaped coffee pot (called dallah) in small cups without handles. The most decorated space in the house, the majlis was traditionally the only room with windows facing the street. Less ornate houses were more simply decorated with recessed alcoves (roshaneh), while wealthier residences had majlis windows with stained glass, window panes or plasterwork with symmetrical designs.
From real estate, to finance and other key sectors of the economy, diasporans have been looking to create job opportunities and sustainable employment through these investments.
For Gerald Wilson and Karleen Wilson, the establishment of an oil company focused on the transport and logistics of petroleum products has come at a good time.
Taking their turn on GhanaWeb TV’s BizTech, the couple, Gerald Wilson and Kaleen Wilson, said their company, Seven Streams Limited seeks to meet the logistical needs of its clients by providing comprehensive transport solutions with an array of fleets and full-service portfolios in haulage.
“Our operations for now is focused on the transportation and logistics as well as dealing in the haulage of petroleum products. We seek to create jobs and opportunities in Ghana’s petroleum value chain which is vast and rich in resources,” Co-Director of Seven Streams Limited, Gerald Wilson said.
Touching on why they chose Ghana as their destination to migrate and invest, Co-Director of Seven Streams Limited, Karleen Wilson, said the decision has been in the works for years after they discovered the peace, joy and love Ghana brings after they came for an earlier holiday visit.
“Our partners in Ghana had done an extensive and well-coordinated research on the potential of transportation and logistics in the petroleum industry and this birthed the idea of us establishing Seven Stream Limited to serve that purpose.
“Ghana has been very welcoming to us and we are very grateful to our partners and consultants here who have helped establish this firm. For my husband Gerald and I, we are looking at other investment opportunities, not just in the oil and gas space, in order to create more jobs and opportunities for young people especially,” Karleen Wilson added.
The Ghana Police Service (GPS) has arrested three Chinese nationals for the alleged murder of an unidentified man at Bonsa in the Western Region.
In a press statement dated Friday, November 11, 2022, the Police revealed that the suspects allegedly shot and killed the victim at a mining site.
These Chinese nationals have been identified as Wen Jianhua, Yu Shuhui alias Eli and Zhou Daquan.
According to the Ghana Police Service, after the arrest of the three suspects, a search team was deployed to conduct a search at the residence of the suspects.
After a thorough search, the team of policemen retrieved the murder weapon.
Currently, an investigation is ongoing and the suspects will be arranged before court to face justice.
Meanwhile, the body of the deceased has been deposited at the Tarkwa Municipal Hospital for preservation and autopsy.
According to him, a large chunk of the country’s imports is food-related products and commodities, making it necessary to concentrate on local food production for starters.
Speaking on the Eye on Port program, Mr. Afful who is the Executive Director of the APN Group, said Ghana as a country can look within its borders for the production of food with the support of economic policies that promote local production and exports while discouraging imports.
He went on further to say that if Ghana cannot quickly produce to cater for local demand, the nation could take advantage of the benefits AfCFTA presents.
“At the end of the day, we can try with some of the commodities like rice. We do not need to look far beyond Africa. We can look within the AfCFTA member states and find out who can give us a comparative advantage then we can trade with them. The good news is that with the Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) you do not need the dollar or forex, you can trade in your own local currency and the recipient receives it in his or her local currency,” he averred.
He said the Ghana government can commence by giving local industries stimulus packages to encourage local production of selected commodities.
He likened this proposal to the height of the COVID-19 pandemic where “in the United States for example where they had a national policy where companies with the productive capacity where called upon to temporarily abandon production of their core products and begin production of COVID-support products and they were supported heavily for this. We can take that approach. Can we examine the supply chain right from the farms and support these industries to produce for domestic consumption and export?”
He emphasized that it is no brainer that, overcapacity in selected food commodities will positively affect the price of goods on the market and the plight of the ordinary consumer will be alleviated.
Mr. Louis Yaw Afful said this while touching on President Nana Addo’s statement on the government’s intention to review the standards required for imports into the country.
The President of the Republic during his address to the public on the national economic crisis stated that “in May 2023, that is six (6) months from now, review the standards for imports into the country”.
Nana Akufo Addo said Ghana, “as a matter of urgent national security, will reduce our dependence on imported goods.”
The President hinted at rice, poultry, vegetable oil, toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water and ceramic tiles as focus products.
According to the Executive Director of the APN Group, Louis Yaw Afful, the implementation process for this review should begin immediately.
“The ministries and agencies under the President, by the time he had finished speaking, should be able to have a plan in place that aligns with what he said. They should have an inter-ministerial approach to dealing with this,” he expressed.
He says a similar inter-ministerial, inter-agency approach was adopted during the rollout of the National AfCFTA policy and Action Plan which he lauded.
An unknown gunman has shot and killed a 22-year-old lady, Abubakari Mansura at Gumbihini in the Tamale Metropolis of the Northern Region.
The shooting incident occurred on Wednesday dawn when the deceased visited her fiancée at his house. A photo of an entrance to the residence shows a gate riddled with bullet holes.
They were said to have been attacked by gunmen, during which Miss Mansura was shot dead. It is not known what triggered the attack.
The family of the deceased has accused the police of doing too little to arrest the perpetrators of the crime.
According to the family, Mansura visited her boyfriend during which the unknown gunman attacked the house and in the process, shot her.
A brother of the deceased, Abdul Waris said the police were yet to invite either the landlord or any occupant of the house where the incident happened for questioning.
The family said that the inability of the police to also make any arrests was worrying.
They are therefore calling on the Inspector General Police (IGP) Dr George Akuffo Dampare to intervene before the case goes cold.
A gate to the late Mansuri’s boyfriend’s residence which is riddled with bullet holes
Mr. Waris said their sister had no business with any gunman and therefore efforts should be made to get her killer(s) arrested and prosecuted.
He also bemoaned the silence of the police to console or brief the family on the steps they have taken since the day of the incident.
“It has been more than 24 hours since the incident happened, the little we know is that somebody would have come to console or tell us at least that the police are working on it but over 30 hours now nobody is telling us anything from the side of the police,” Mr. Waris said.
Mr. Waris raised concerns over the increased rate of gun-related crimes in the metropolis and called on the police to beef up security in the area.
“We have people in this town who are in possession of firearms, we see them at our funerals, we see them at important events and nobody is asking questions or arresting these people,” he noted.
Some other residents also shared their thoughts on the insecurity situation in the metropolis, especially at night.
“We are worried about the rising insecurity in Tamale, we are afraid anytime our children go out because you don’t know what will happen to them while they are out, we want government to address this situation,” they said.
Speaking on Eye on Port, a Principal Revenue Officer at the Customs Technical Services Bureau (CTSB), Mr. Bilson Jahdab Atagbah said, contrary to popular opinion, the benchmark system is only an internal risk assessment tool used administratively to detect over-invoicing, under-invoicing, as well as check commercial and procurement fraud.
“We use it to align and sanitize our database and it serves as a guide or yardstick. It is not a valuation method. The Risk Management Unit uses it a lot to see the deviation of the values of a particular product. It aims to get the true reflection of the international price.”
The customs official emphasized that the benchmark system is not for value substitution.
“It only serves as a guide for what we do, to ensure no one is giving a value too low or too high than they are required for the purposes of tax extraction.”
“If you end up paying so much, you’re over-invoicing and we have to detect how you are doing that. By over-invoicing, it is affecting your total profit because the more cost you have, reduces your profit margin therefore domestic tax payment will reduce which means the domestic unit will not have much tax to collect,” he added.
Mr. Bilson Jahdab Atagbah said this misconception was further enhanced during the communication of the discount policy government applied to duties in 2019.
He clarified that the 50% and 30% discounts traders enjoyed on general goods and vehicles respectively was applicable to the duties payable and not unit values.
In a press statement sighted by GhanaWeb, the Minister noted that the move forms part of measures to reduce SIM related fraud incidents in the country.
She added that a total of 20,892,970 subscribers have completed the SIM card registration.
Ursula Owusu-Ekuful added that after consultations with relevant key stakeholders are completed, an announcement will be made regarding persons who genuinely do not have Ghana cards to participate in the re-registration exercise.
The Tema Shipyard Limited Local Union of the National Union of Seamen, Ports and Allied Workers (NUSPAW) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), has released a statement to disabuse reports circulating in certain media circles suggesting that labor and management are divided pertaining to the Labour Restructuring Exercise.
A letter to TV3 dated November 8, 2022, indicated that “NUSPAW which is the certified union and mouthpiece of the workers in conjunction with the Management has gone through all the processes outlined in the Labor Act (Act 651 2003) and wish to state that all relevant procedures have been followed before management arrived at the final decision to carry out the ongoing Labour Restructuring Exercise which your program spoke about.”
The union also hinted that they believe the restructuring exercise is part of the strategies necessary to return the Shipyard into competitiveness.
The others being, massive capital injection and modern technology.
The Union said after several efforts of government to revitalize the Shipyard has been unsuccessful, other approaches such as the Restructuring Exercise has become essential in order to match up or surpass competition in Senegal, Equatorial Guinea and Cote D’Ivoire.
“The operations at these Shipyards are very different in terms of the labor setup. That is why these shipyards are doing very well and far better and operating more efficiently than the Tema Shipyard.”
“Under the able leadership of the sector Minister, Honorable Asiamah, Shipyard workers were paid from government resources for a period of 11 months which we, as workers are most grateful to him.
“The Minister, during a certain period where the Yard has been without vessels for about 4 months, the Minister single handedly secured vessels to the shipyard for repairs to keep the shipyard moving. The vision of the sector Minister and the CEO, Dr. Alexander Adusei Jnr. is to operate the Shipyard in similar model in order to triple the current labour force when the Yard is operating efficiently with Private Capital Injection.”
A Ghanaian identified only as Eric has been shot and killed at Dompim in the Western Region allegedly by Chinese miners working in a forest close to the Bonsa River.
Three Chinese miners have been arrested in connection with the killing.
The incident which happened on Friday, was said to have taken place close to the illegal mining areas at Dompim which was captured in the recent JoyNews documentary, Destruction for Gold.
An eyewitness at the shooting scene claims Eric had gone to the site to collect proceeds from the gold miners but was gunned down by the Chinese miners.
Having cemented its name in the Ghanaian commercial real estate market and evolved into a true destination lifestyle node offering a one-stop for a variety of shopping, business, and health and fitness products and services, A&C Mall lines up various activities in commemoration of its fifteenth anniversary this year.
The occasion commenced on October 17, 2022, and is expected to be climaxed on December 31, 2022, with a special ceremony including a showcase of some of its future projects.
Setting the tone for the celebration would be an anniversary sales event dubbed ‘15 On 15’ scheduled to be held at the A&C Mall car park between November 11 and 13. This would be followed by Black Friday Sales and Treasure Hunt on November 25.
Officials of the mall which has built a reputation of being the nation’s go-to mixed-use lifestyle center while remaining relevant in Ghana’s competitive market, have also factored the need to give back to the society, birthing the desire to carry out a corporate social responsibility from December 1 to 31.
Located at East Legon, Accra, A&C Mall was the first shopping mall to be opened in Ghana. The enterprise, founded by a Ghanaian, Andrew Kwabena Asamoah, was birthed in 2006 and was commissioned by the then-president of Ghana John Agyekum Kufour.
The vision of Mr. Asamoah who had spent three decades in the diaspora was to “ignite the retail sector in Ghana” hence the decision to “come back home and contribute positively to the development of my country.”
A barrister-at-law and a former Director of World Health Organisation Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Mr. Asamoah has served and continues to serve on a number of national and international bodies as well as non-profit organizations.
In 2021, Mr. Asamoah was awarded a Doctor of Business Administration (Honoris Causa) in Leadership and Innovation by the Swiss School of Business and Management, Geneva. He has post-graduate qualifications in Public Administration, Human Resources Development, etc.
He is married to Cecilia Asamoah who is the Executive Director of the predominantly family-run business. Described as the pillar of strength of the family, the mother of four has joined her husband on their many global journeys. Her calm and patient but firm demeanor complements her excellent entrepreneurial and management skills, high work ethic, and top-quality customer service as the company secretary.
The A&C brand is carved from the initials of the couple – Andrew and Cecilia.
As the business marks its fifteenth anniversary, it aims at expanding and enriching its services to meet the needs of its cherished customers. The A&C Corner, a home décor Mall is almost completed and the A&C Village is under construction.
The Executive Director of International Needs Ghana’s Center for Empowerment and Enterprise Development (CEED), Mr. Cromwell Awadey, has urged its 2022 graduands to take advantage of the improved policy environment for TVET in Ghana and the deep penetration of internet coverage in their areas to advance their businesses.
He made this known while addressing the maiden graduation of over 80 girls who have received training from the Centre in Hospitality, Cosmetology and Fashion at Adidome in the Central Tongu District of the Volta Region.
According to him, they are ready for the job market at a time when the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has reported that, the world is facing youth unemployment crisis.
”The International Labour Organization has reported that the world is facing youth unemployment crisis. This crisis, according to the ILO, spares no region. You are entering the labour market at a time of significant and multiple transformations in the global economy and in technology. However, in your case, CEED has prepared you to be motivated by godly values, justice, rights and a sense of purpose. I am therefore confident that you are ready to occupy spaces that offer you the means and opportunity for meaningful participation in the businesses of your choice.
Take advantage of the improved policy environment for TVET in Ghana and the deep penetration of internet coverage in your areas to advance your businesses,” Mr. Awadey said.
He also urged them to prepare for the challenges ahead.
”I am pretty sure you won’t naively expect smooth sailing in the life journey ahead of you. Disappointments, mistakes and even failures all come as part of a package of growing wise, sustaining your enterprises and remaining very successful. So, be prepared for them, stay strong and committed and above all depend on God for a successful business career,” Mr. Awadey remarked.
The CEED, formerly known as International Needs Vocational Training Centre (INVTC) is a private, technical/vocational and entrepreneurial training institute established in 1991 by International Needs Ghana (INGH), a Christian, non-governmental and development organization.
The CEED has the mission and vision of empowering young people through skilled training to be economically and socially independent, secure and empowered to enable them contribute to the development of society.
For many years, International Needs Ghana has made great strides in reaching many communities in Ghana with various developmental projects, bringing hope to many individuals and families by providing skills and empowering the most vulnerable to make the most of the little they have.
The Northbrook Church and Pattinson Park Church, both in the USA are the funding partners of the programme.
A Ukrainian national, Mazen Farakh, who has been on the wanted list of the police for alleged fake currency trafficking, has been arrested.
The suspect, who is alleged to have moved a total of $65 million in fake currency out of Ghana to various destinations was picked up by the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) on Wednesday, November 9, 2022.
He is believed to be at the Airport Police station pending further investigations into the case.
Arrest Warrant
In September, this year, the Airport Police forwarded a warrant for the arrest of Mazen Farakh, issued by the Madina District Court, to the Comptroller-General of the GIS.
Intel revealed that, over the years, the suspect had been able to move an amount of $65 million in fake currency outside the country to various destinations.
The suspect was alleged to be transacting the same business but was picked up after a copy of the arrest warrant and the bio-data page of his passport was sent to the GIS.
Accomplice
Earlier this year, an alleged Nigerian accomplice nicknamed Sam was picked up by the anti-graft institution.
Sam, 52 according to intel was arrested on the allegation that he defrauded Mazen Farakh of $6.5 million but allegedly insisted that he never defrauded the Ukrainian but rather, engaged in a fake currency deal with him.
The three teacher unions who been on strike for the past seven days in protest against the appointment of the Director General of the Ghana Education Service, Dr Eric Nkansah, have called off the strike.
This comes minutes after the National Labour Commission (NLC)secured a restraining order against the teacher Unions from continuing with their strike.
Speaking to the media on behalf of the unions, the President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers – NAGRAT, Angel Kabonu directed all teachers to go back to the classroom from Monday, November 14, 2022, until further notice.
“We are law-abiding citizens, so we have decided to obey the orders of the court, and we have asked all our members to call off the strike and to go back to the classroom,” he said.
Mr. Kabonu maintained that they will continue engaging “the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, and report to the Labour Commission on Wednesday, November 16, on the issues that led to the strike in the first place to find solutions to their demand.”
The three teacher unions – Ghana National Association of Teachers, the National Association of Graduate Teachers, and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers, on Friday, November 4, 2022, declared a nationwide strike over the appointment of Dr. Eric Nkansah as the Director-General (D-G) of the Ghana Education Service (GES).
The group also kicked against the extension of the contract of Lawyer Anthony Boateng for the third time as Deputy Director General, calling it ‘unacceptable.
The former Manchester United and Bayern Munich coach was rumoured to be a very superstitious sportsman who doesn’t joke with his ritual.
Despite admitting that he wears orange pants on matchday, Van Gal denied being superstitious when asked “Is it true what your wife said, that you are superstitious?”
“No. I received orange underpants from her. Do you really think I will wear these orange pants every day? I only do it on match days. This is why I wear it. Out of respect for my sweet wife,” he said.
Meanwhile, Luis Van Gaal has named three players of Ghanaian descent namely Jeremie Frimpong, Memphis Depay, and Cody Gakpo in their 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The Netherlands will play Senegal, Qatar, and Ecuador in the group stage, while Ghana has dates with Portugal, South Korea, and Uruguay.
“My expectation is high. I have got so much confidence in this team especially if you look at the technical team. They are experienced enough to know how to deal with a lot of situations,” he told TV3.
“Their experience will reflect in the players and then the two games they played against Nigeria tell me that the sky is the limit for the Black Stars. Going into Qatar, we have great players.”
“It’s a matter of playing more games together before the World Cup and we’ll be able to have a team. I believe the technical men will turn things around going forward,” he added.
Ghana coach Otto Addo is expected to name his final 26-man squad for the World Cup on Monday.
Information gathered indicates that Coach Otto Addo has called Joseph Paintsil to inform him that he is not in the final Ghana squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
According to Tema Youth owner and Bankroller Wilfred Osei Kwaku, popularly known as Palmer, the Coach called Joseph Paintsil and explained to him why he misses out on the squad.
In an interview with Pure FM, Palmer alleges that Coach Otto Addo told the KRC Genk forward that he will not be in the final squad because of external forces.
Palmer explained, “’I’m sorry Joe, unfortunately, you do not make the 26-man squad; if it was up to me, I would have called you but I’m not the only one doing this [selection].”
In the past, Wilfred Osei Kwaku Palmer had accused the leadership of the Ghana FA of sabotaging the chances of Joseph Paintsil in the Black Stars.
In his view, the player is not being given a fair chance because of his affiliation with the Tema Youth football owner.
Minister for Railways Development, John Peter Amewu, has revealed that the inability of government and its partners to implement the Accra Skytrain Project is due to travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the minister, following pre-feasibility studies the parties were set to undertake a 9-month long feasibility studies to enable the project commence by January 2020.
However, this could not happen because the financiers pulled out of the transaction, causing the agreement to expire.
“The cost of the whole project, at that time, was projected at about US$1.9 billion after the initial pre-feasibility studies undertaken by Africa Investor. However, for a project of this magnitude and complexity, a very detailed feasibility study was required to form the basis for entering into a full concession agreement for its development,” he said.
“Africa Investor and GIIF were tasked to undertake the detailed feasibility study within nine months from date of signature as per the terms of the MoU to determine the feasibility and bankability of the project, after which work would have commenced by January 2020,” he added.
“Africa Investor later informed the ministry that in the light of COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions that prevailed at the time, their technical team could not travel to Ghana to undertake the feasibility studies. In this regard, therefore, their financiers pulled out of the transaction and the agreement automatically expired,” the minister told parliament, Tuesday.
Prior to this development, the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) had made initial payment of some US$2million to Africa Investor Holdings Limited toward the project.
The Accra Skytrain Project
The proposed Accra Train system is an integrated, elevated rail urban transit system that aimed at providing an efficient, cost-effective, reliable, safe and accessible public transport network in the Greater Accra Metropolitan area.
Government, through GIIF, signed a concession agreement in November 2018 with South African firm, Africa Investor, to construct the US$1.9billion Accra Skytrain project.
The Railway Ministry at the time was confident that the project was the solution to the Greater-Accra capital’s traffic congestion problems.
As a world-class mass transport system, the GIIF was optimistic that the project would create 5,000 jobs during its construction and further development of the capital.
Minister on revisiting the project
Mr. Amewu, in his response on the matter in parliament, further noted that even though a project of such sort is a bankable one and government may reconsider it, he does not see a skytrain project being done within the next three to four years.
“This project shows a very high level of bankability, and that was the triggering factor for continuing feasibly studies to extend the time for commencing the project. So the project, as it is, is really a bankable project. The ministry, of course, has an interest in such a very feasible and bankable project, and we will look at it when our situation improves.
“To construct a skytrain worth about US$1.9billion in three years, I still maintain is not possible. Not possible on two grounds; one has to do with the time period, and two has to do with the finances,” the minister stated.
According to them, the allegations are false and unfounded.
In a press statement debunking the claims and providing “the facts”, the BoG said: “The Bank of Ghana’s attention has been drawn to a press engagement by the Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga Central, Hon. Isaac Adongo, on 8th November 2022 during which he provided some false data and made unfounded allegations.”
“The allegations aimed at impugning the hard-won credibility of the Bank of Ghana and its Management,” it added.
The Bank of Ghana detailed the facts as follows:
A (i) Claims on Government
The claims on government represent the stock of debt held by the Bank of Ghana and reflect accumulated claims for over twenty years, including legacy assets such as the Telecom Malaysia Bonds issued in relation to the privatization of Ghana Telecom and Tema Oil Refinery Bonds. At the end of December 2020, the claims on Government stock position stood at GH¢34.1 billion and includes the GH¢10 billion Covid-19 bond purchased by the Bank of Ghana.
It would be recalled that in 2020, a request was made by the Government, through the Minister of Finance, to suspend the Fiscal Responsibility Act due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This was approved by Parliament together with the trigger of Section 30 of the Bank of Ghana Act, 2002 (Act 612) as amended, and paved the way for the Government to issue a Covid-19 Bond which was purchased by the Bank of Ghana at the policy rate, with a moratorium of two years.
At the end of December 2021, claims on Government rose to GH¢34.8 billion, and have recently risen further to GH¢40.2 billion at the end of October 2022, reflecting an increase of GH¢5.3 billion in 2022, which was the result of the pre-mature unwinding of positions held by some banks.
A (ii) On-lending Claims: PRGF, ECF, SDR
On lending claims are facilities granted by the international Monetary Fund (IMF) for onward lending to Government by the Bank of Ghana. IMF instruments and resources have been redesigned to provide budget support rather than balance of payments support, including recent resources from the ECF programme with Ghana and the RCF that was provided during the Covid-19 pandemic, and are therefore on-lent to the Government.
These are denominated in US dollars and revalued in line with exchange rate changes. From the table, these claims have increased by an amount of GH¢17.8 billion from the beginning of the year to October 2022.
This reflects a revaluation of these claims in the Bank of Ghana’s books to accounting for exchange rate developments. This figure does not reflect Bank of Ghana’s lending to the Government but rather resources from the IMF that were required to be passed on to Government in line with approvals by the IMF Board. And the increase in the amount in 2022 does not reflect new cash transactions but rather merely a book-entry figure, driven in large part, by the depreciation of the currency.
A (iii) Government Overdraft
Government overdraft is a short-term bridge financing to the budget. The devastating after-effects of the pandemic worsened the fiscal position in 2021, as Government struggled to meet revenue targets to help with budget implementation.
Even though there was intermittent short-term liquidity extension by the Bank, consistent with the Law to enable the Government fund its expenditures, the Government fully paid back its indebtedness to the Bank of Ghana by the end of 2021. This is evidenced by the Zero overdraft position at end 31st December 2021 in the table above.
In the first quarter of 2022, Ghana’s credit rating was downgraded and effectively shut out of the International Capital Markets. Consequently, there were no inflows from external sources to support budget implementation and the government started experiencing unsuccessful auctions on weekly basis. In the process, the Bank of Ghana had to step in and provide financing to keep government machinery running, and in particular, help prevent a domestic debt default situation.
This activity is clearly shown in the Overdraft line in the table, which stood at GH¢25.6 billion as of October 2022. This support is temporary and consistent with crisis management as we work with the International Monetary Fund to design a debt operation that will lift the burden of debt servicing off the budget. The central bank has been transparent on these issues as spelled out in the September 2022 MPC Press release.
Bank of Ghana’s Swaps, Repurchase Agreements, and Sale Buy-Back Instruments
Last but not the least, Honourable Adongo also raised the issue that the Bank of Ghana has illegally borrowed US$7 billion through bridge financing, swaps, repurchase agreements, etc., and therefore seeking funds to refinance this amount.
Swaps, repurchase agreements, and sale buyback transactions are legitimate operations conducted by all Central Banks for effective foreign exchange reserves management. The Bank of Ghana has deployed these instruments since 2011 for foreign exchange liquidity management purposes.
It is an important instrument for foreign exchange management by all central banks, as part of its treasury and reserve management functions. The global developments have resulted in tight financing conditions and these swaps have served as a significant source of foreign exchange liquidity for the economy.
The total outstanding Swaps, Repurchase Agreements, and sale and buy back transactions stood at US$2.4 billion at the end of October 2022, of which only US$720 million is expected to mature by the close of the year.
We wish to assure the public that the Bank of Ghana is a reputable institution, which is professional with high standards. We have been recognised and awarded internationally on this score and all operations and policy decisions of the Bank are conducted with a high sense of duty and integrity to the best interest of the economy.
Adongo’s claim
Addressing the media on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, Adongo said, “There are strict rules on which the Government of Ghana can borrow from the Bank of Ghana, and the strict rules are quite clear, stating that, the Bank of Ghana at any point in time should have lent more than 5 percent of the previous revenue cumulatively.”
He added that “If you consider last year’s revenue, the government cannot even borrow less than GH¢5 billion from the Bank of Ghana, but by the end of the year 2021, Dr Addison had illegally lent over GH¢35 billion and by May this year he had added GH¢22 billion.”
“As we speak today, Dr Addison has been financing the government and paying maturing debt obligations on the domestic market that the government cannot fund. We are currently looking at something in the region of GH¢70 billion of illegal borrowing by the government of Ghana through the Bank of Ghana,” the Bolgatanga Central MP stated.
He called for the dismissal of Dr Ernest Addison as the governor of the Bank of Ghana for playing a role in the mismanagement of the economy.
“How can Dr Addison still be the governor of the central bank? I call on Dr Addison, as a matter of urgency, to exit that office and give Ghana the chance to clear the mess that he has created,” Mr Adongo said.
Here are the six national teams who have announced their final squad.
Japan
Japan were the first nation to announce their final squad for the tournament. The Blue Samarai released their squad on Thursday, November 1, 2022.
Takumi Minamino, Tahiro Tomiyaso, Kawashima, Kaoro Mitoma, Maya Yoshida are the key names in the squad.
Costa Rica
The North Americans were the second nation to release their squad. Joel Campbel, Kaylor Navas, and Bryan Ruiz are the key names on the list.
Brazil
Brazil head coach, Adenor Leonardo Bacchi popularly known as Tite, named a star-studded squad on Monday, November 7.
Arsenal duo, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli, who missed the last call-ups in September, were included in the final list this time.
Some constants like Thiago Silva, Marquinhos Alisson, Ederson, Casimero, and Vinicius Jr were also named in the squad.
Meanwhile, Dani Alves made a shocking appearance in the squad at age 39.
Australia
The Socceroos named their squad on Tuesday, November 8. Matthew Ryan and Aaron Mooy lead the Australian squad.
Senegal
The Tarenga Lions of Senegal are the first African to announce their squad. Head coach Aliou Cisse has named a star-filled squad for the tournament.
Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly, Sadio Mane, Idrissa Gueye, Cheikou Kouyate, Ismaila Sarr all made the squad.
Denmark
Denmark have also announced their 26-man squad. Christain Eriksen, Christensen, Simon Kjaer, Kasper Schmeichel, and Emile Hojbjerg are the key men leading the Dens’ list.
France
France head coach, Didier Deschamps, announced his final list in a press conference on Wednesday, November 9, 2022.
The surprise omission in the list is Real Madrid left-back, Ferland Mendy.
USA announced a young talented squad for the World Cup in Qatar. Chelsea star, Christian Pulisic will be leading the Americans.
THE USMNT SQUAD HEADED TO THE WORLD CUP ???????? pic.twitter.com/Ouyo74QO5x
— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 9, 2022
Cameroon
Cameroon is the second African country to announce their World Cup squad after Senegal.
Napoli’s Anguissa, Bayern’s Choupo Mouting, Inter goalkeeper, Andre Onana as well as Vicent Aboukar all made the list.
Official Cameroon squad for 2022 World Cup. ???????????? #WorldCup2022 #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/kHzLJJnccq
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 10, 2022
Croatia
Luka Modric will lead Croatia’s 26-man squad in Qatar. Modric won the best player at the last edition and will hope he leads his Country to clinch the ultimate this time after finishing second in 2018.
— HNS (@HNS_CFF) November 9, 2022
Germany
Germany have announced their final squad for the World Cup on November 10, 2022.
Some of the key names in the list include Götze, Gundogan, Kimmich, Gnabry, Havertz, Neuer, Sané, and Rudiger.
Youngsters like Musiala, Moukoko, and Adeyemi also make the list for their first World Cup appearance.
— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN) November 10, 2022
Belgium
Belgium head coach, Roberto Martinez has released their 26-man squad for the World Cup.
Eden Hazard, Kevin DeBruyne, Romelu Lukaku, and Thibaut Courtois are the key players on the list.
11,59 million Belgians. 26 Devils. 1 goal. ???? #DEVILTIME pic.twitter.com/wwCAMvlU6k
— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) November 10, 2022
Morocco
Morocco were the third African country to announce their World Cup squad.
The list has no surprise omissions as Ziyech, El-Nesyri, Hakimi, Yassine Bono, and Boufal have all been included.
— Équipe du Maroc (@EnMaroc) November 10, 2022
England
England head coach, Gareth Southgate has named his final squad with some surprise misses.
Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori, and Jadon Sancho are the big misses in the squad. Whereas Kalvin Philips, and Kyle Walker who are nursing injuries made the cut.
Your #ThreeLions squad for the @FIFAWorldCup! ???? pic.twitter.com/z6gVkRTlT3
— England (@England) November 10, 2022
Poland
Robert Lewandowski, Kamal Glik, Aljkadiuz Milik and Zielinski lead the Polish 26-man squad for the tournament.
They announced their squad on Thursday, November 10, 2022.
Uruguay
Ghana’s World Cup Group opponent, Uruguay, have named their final 26-man squad for the upcoming 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Barcelona centre-back, Ronald Araujo, who was said to be a major doubt for the tournament due to an adductor longus avulsion injury in his right thigh, made the list, which was released on Thursday, November 10, 2022.
Some key names like Luis Suarez, Edison Cavani, Darwin Nunez, and in-form Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde were all named in the big squad.
Portugal
Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Jao Felix, Cancelo, Ruben Diaz, and 39-year-old Pepe are all in the Fernando Santos.
Argentina
The South American champions have released their 36-man squad.
Lionel Messi leads the Albiceleste for what appears to be his last World Cup appearance.
Some key players named in the squad include Paulo Dybala, Angel Di Maria, Leonardo Parades, Nicholas Otamendi, and Lautaro Martinez.
— Selección Argentina ???????? (@Argentina) November 11, 2022
Spain
Spain head coach, Luis Enrique has named a relatively young 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Spanish-born player of Ghanaian descent, Nico Williams made the list alongside Pedri, Gavi, Fati, Yeremy Pino, and Dani Olmo who are all set for their maiden World Cup appearance.
The surprise omissions are Thiago Alcantara, Sergio Ramos, David De Gea, and Gerard Moreno.
Nertherlands
Luis Van Gaal left out no big names in his Netherlands squad.
???? Our 26 Lions for the @FIFAWorldCup!#NothingLikeOranje | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/EpkvaksBLW
— OnsOranje (@OnsOranje) November 11, 2022
Serbia
Mitrovic, Dusan Tadic, Vlahovic, Milinkovic Savic and Luka Jovic are the big names in Serbia’s squad.
Netherlands announced their squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar on Friday, omitting Ajax forward Brian Brobbey.
The forward is not included in Luis Van Gal’s 26-man squad for the biggest soccer mundial to be staged in Qatar next week.
This means the former RB Leipzig can still feature for the Black Stars in subsequent tournaments.
After the World Cup, Ghana is expected to continue pursuing for the enterprising forward for future competitions.
Brian Brobbey, who made a return to Ajax in the summer still has the chance of playing for the Black Stars in the future.
Meanwhile, Jeremie Frimpong who is on the radar of the Ghana FA has made the list for the mundial, there is no chance for the Bayer Leverkusen defender to play for the Black Stars.
Owing to a streak of major achievements and hit releases throughout his career and especially in 2022, Nigeria’s finest Afrobeat sensation is about to pull off the most epic concert Ghana has ever experienced on the 10th of December, 2022.
Big Wiz is set to make another major statement at the 40,000 seater Accra Sports Stadium right after his November 16th concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden and November 24th gig at the Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Patrons should expect an exclusive treat as the event will see the multiple award-winning act give a first-ever live performance of songs from his new album; “More Love Less Ego”.
It would be his debut performance of the new album in Africa and a historic bookmark that occurred nowhere else but in Ghana, the gateway to Africa and the world’s most preferred Christmas holiday destination!
Minister for the Interior Ambrose Dery has assured that measures have been put in place to end the recurrent riots on some university campuses in the country.
This year, violent clashes have been reported on the campuses of the University of Ghana (UG) and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) that led to the destruction of properties and injuries.
The Minister, in an interview aired on Joy FM’s Midday News on Friday, explained that adequate security patrols will be in place on public university campuses to avert a recurrence of such incidents.
He added that the patrol teams would also respond to any emergency security situation.
“There is the need to provide a safe, secure, congenial atmosphere within our public universities and schools,” he said.
Mr Dery said the presence of Police in public schools has increased.
“More plain-clothed Police personnel have been deployed for surveillance and intelligence gathering purposes,” he added.
The Interior Minister also condemned unwarranted attacks on citizens by some Police officers, describing such conduct as “unprofessional and unacceptable.”
“The Police administration frowns upon such conduct. It is pertinent to note that the duty and responsibility of Police in any mob or riot situation is to maintain law and order while observing international policing practices. In the midst of riot control, the Police always ensure the right of the rioters are not infringed upon,” he said.
He announced that officers who attack citizens have been dealt with in line with Police regulations.
Ghana legend Asamoah Gyan says Ghanaians are their own enemies ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup tournament in Qatar later this month.
The former Sunderland player has reacted to the recent brouhaha surrounding Black Stars recent call-up for the upcoming FIFA Mundial.
He was the main striker for the Black Stars when they made their first-ever appearance in Germany 2006 and scored the country’s first-ever goal at the tournament.
He was named Ghana’s captain ahead of the 2014 edition when Ghana exited the competition at the group stages and was the only time Ghana failed to qualify from the Group stages.
The Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) has lashed out at the Government and the Ministry of Education on the GH¢126,000,000 released to the National Food Buffer Stock Company meant to cover non-perishable food items.
But in a response to the Ministry’s release, CHASS said the funds did little to help with the food crisis currently faced by many second-cycle schools across the country.
CHASS explained that the realities on the ground in respect of schools’ financial and food situation do not tally with the impression the Ministry seeks to create with the statement accompanying the release of the funds.
They acknowledged that some funds were indeed released to the National Food Buffer Stock Company to facilitate the supply of non-perishable food items to their respective schools but they, however, have “issues with the statements assuring the public of the Ministry’s commitment to ensuring the timely supply of adequate and quality food items to all second cycle institutions.”
CHASS’ statement said the Education Ministry’s description of the funds released as being “adequate and timely” is quite absurd because “schools had operated and continue to operate in huge arrears.”
It added that “for quite a while now, schools reopen with virtually empty accounts and empty stores.”
A breakdown of the level and percentage of arrears cleared was given as;
1. Form One batch: only 36.2% paid and 63.8% in arrears
2. Form Two Batch: 0% paid, 100% in arrears.
3. Form Three Batch: 51% paid, 49% in arrears
CHASS further alleged that it had information “from a lot of the regions that, the traditional suppliers of Buffer Stock, are refusing to supply due to the non-payment of already supplied items. What makes the case murkier is the fact that the Ministry is now resorting to a new system of buying two weeks’ rations of food for schools, code-named, emergency supplies.”
Being in Doha, the Ghana Football Association have reportedly settled on DoubleTree by Hilton – Doha Downtown as the team hotel for the Black Stars during the World Cup.
The ‘Only All Suites DoubleTree in Doha’ is one of the over 600 hotels owned by DoubleTree by Hilton spread across the globe.
The DoubleTree by Hilton – Doha Downtown is 10 minutes from the city center, Mushreib Museum, Souq Waqif, and the National Museum of Qatar.
Ghana will play its first game against the Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal team on Thursday, November 24, 2022, at Stadium 974 before taking on Korea and Uruguay respectively.
Bayern Munich star, Sadio Mane has been named in Senegal’s 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup despite nursing an injury.
Mane is currently nursing an injury after injuring his tendon during Bayern’s 6-1 win over Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on Tuesday, November 8, 2022.
At the moment, the extent of his injury is unknown but he could be ready for the World Cup, which starts in 9 days, after his inclusion in Aliou Cisse’s list.
The Tarenga Lions of Senegal are the third African country to announce their squad.
Key names like Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly, Idrissa Gueye, Cheikou Kouyate, and Ismaila Sarr all made the squad.
Senegal are in Group A alongside host nation Qatar, Netherlands, and Iran.
While Ghanaians were deliberating on these reports, a member of Jeffrey Schlupp’s management team, Calvin Riches, gave a hint of his player being dropped when he used unprintable words on the GFA.
The snapchat post of Calvin Riches became a reference point as coach Otto Addo became a subject of discussion in the media space.
The names of Daniel Afriyie Barnieh, Mubarak Wakaso, and Lawrence Ati Zigi were also mentioned as players who have been selected to be part of the final squad which Otto Addo is set to announce on Monday, November 14, 2022.
There were also reports that Felix Afena-Gyan and the in-form Joseph Paintsil who is the highest-scoring Ghanaians winger in the 55-man provisional squad have been dropped from the final list.
Also, expectations for the Black Stars for the 2022 FIFA World Cup have been raised by the government after a budget of $14.1 mullion was read with a target of semi-finals set.
Sports pundit, ‘Ambassador’ Romeo, and GhanaWeb Sports Journalist, Emmanuel Enin joined show host, Joel Eshun on this episode of the GhanaWeb Mundial show.
Recently, while cleaning out my closet, I came across our photo taken on our day trip to the zoo and couldn’t help but smile. There you were, the man I was so head-over-heels in love with that I was willing to fly to another hemisphere, heart in hand. There I was, the woman you said you planned to marry and had asked to move across the world with you to take it on together. The man who didn’t fight for me.
Looking at that photo you’d never know that we would break up six weeks later in an ending that was so sudden, painful, and drawn out that it would take over a year to get over you.
OK, a year and a half because you refused to fight for me.
At the time of our breakup, nothing made sense. We had been so madly and wildly in love and so sure about one another and then it just all came to an abrupt end.
I felt deceived and played, utterly shattered by the cold and cruel way you cut me out when I made it clear that my opinions and feelings about things as important as my boundaries, comfort, career, and life direction would never dissolve them in order to appease you.
You claimed you had my best interests at heart, but your way of “protecting” me felt utterly suffocating to my individuality. You seemed to know what was “best” for me down to what I wore on nights out with girlfriends I loved but you weren’t so keen on.
At first, I chalked it up to two people getting to know one another’s friends and boundaries, but soon it became clear that it wasn’t about you need to know them but to accept and respect them. It was exhausting to have to explain myself every day and to have to constantly choose between my need for autonomy and you felt deeply unfair.
When I asked you not to make me choose the last time, you aggressively told me I didn’t love you. I had shown you that I did in every possible way. I was planning to leave everyone I knew and a job I loved to move across the world (literally) just to be with you. You refused to acknowledge this. It was your way or no way, and your desire quickly turned to disdain when I finally drew a line and told you I couldn’t take it anymore.
A day later, you called with a “sincere promise” to change. You understood where I was coming from. The stress of being apart had gotten to you. You apologized and loved me. We were going to work this out. I was so happy to hear the “real you” in those conversations, but it became clear this change wasn’t something you were willing (able?) to take on in the weeks that followed.
Everything I said and did was wrong. It was worse than walking on eggshells. It felt like I was walking on glass every time a conversation took that inevitable turn where my innocent comment “proved” I did not care enough. The more I spoke up for myself, the more I had to. You went from calling and texting me constantly to giving me one-word answers and eventually the silent treatment.
My calls were increasingly ignored, only to be returned through texts that swung from kind to cruel. I began to feel you were punishing me for drawing a boundary, and when I told you this, you didn’t deny it.
Though you seemed to take off a mask and expose a true self that I couldn’t see through my rose-colored glasses, I couldn’t stop hoping that love would lead us to a place of understanding and fairness. What I didn’t get was that what you felt for me wasn’t love, but desire. You wanted me, but loving me would require respecting me and acknowledging where you ended and I began. You told me that no one would ever “love” me the way you did. Looking back, I hope that’s true.
What you felt was a desire for ownership and control. I was so blinded by my own selfish need to be loved by you, that I couldn’t see just how very wrong we were for one another.
I couldn’t understand why (or how) you turned so cold, so suddenly. I see now that the calls and texts I sent trying to “make” you understand and “convince” you to speak to me were an extension of my own need to prove to myself that you were the person I thought you were and also a serious lack of self-worth that I have thankfully since addressed.
I had a terrible time admitting that I had allowed you to deceive me with your far-fetched promises, stories, and excuses. It was even harder to accept that I had deceived myself. This admission exposed a somewhat desperate desire for love that was difficult to swallow.
Deep down, I knew that you were not the man for me but the need to not have been wrong about us became a slight obsession. Then, of course, there was the chemistry I felt with you; it was so deliciously seductive that I ached for it almost compulsively. It was like a powerful drug, which in and of itself is a sign.
The chemistry we felt is not sustainable, and the longer it lasts, the more chaotic it feels. Like a never-ending fireworks show, what started out as beautiful started to slowly drive us insane. We were destined to fail.
Looking back, I’m not exaggerating when I say that I cried a million tears over you. It felt that every waking moment was filled with reminders of the joy we felt in our beginning, which only carved out more of my heart when having to face the end.
Once, while walking out of the grocery store, the manager asked me why I was looking so sad. My eyes filled up with evidence of a pain I could not contain. “You know, tears are expensive,” he said, handing me a tissue. “Do not pay so heavily for someone not here to wipe them and make them go away.” His wise words seeped into the cracks and stung at the moment, but have brought me endless comfort in the years that have passed.
In the time since we were together, I have come to realize so much about you, me, life, and love. When someone truly loves you and wants to be with you, they will respect you. They will appreciate and accept the person that you are. They will fight for you, not with you. You certainly won’t need to fight them for them.
The truth is that you didn’t value us or me to do the work to make that possible, and that’s OK. Shaming or being angry at someone for not wanting to be with you isn’t fair. More than that, it’s a sign that your ego has hijacked the situation.
In reality, you saw what I didn’t at the time, and it was that we weren’t going to be happy in the long run for a myriad of reasons. You’d never have been happy with my independence and I would never find joy in being controlled.
Deep down, everyone wants and deserves a partner who is willing to work with us, compromise, and have their back. You weren’t willing to do that for me, and again, that’s OK. That doesn’t make you bad or me unworthy; it simply just is. There were men before and after you who didn’t fight for me and men I didn’t fight for. This is a part of life and it aids us in finding the one who is right for us.
I learned how to love myself more, how grateful I am to be able to love at the depths I do, and how essential it is to find a partner who values love, and is open to receiving it and giving it back.
I have learned that sometimes, we will meet partners who will test our love for ourselves in ways that will leave us confused and others who will love us more for keeping our boundaries intact. I have learned that sometimes, forgiveness isn’t as necessary as time and that your inability to forgive me for not being the person you tried to mold me into has nothing to do with me.
I have heard that you’ve found happiness with someone now, and that truly brings me joy. I hope she has opened your heart enough to make you want to be a better man for her and work with her in every way — through your respective insecurities, and fears and for her and your relationship. I hope she makes you want to give as much as you take and that you can trust and accept her gifts of love, friendship and kindness without reservation or resentment.
That’s when you know it’s really worth fighting for.
Oscar-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis has been ordered to pay at least $7.5m (£6.42m) in damages for suffering after being found liable for raping a woman.
Jurors may also award plaintiff Haleigh Breest punitive damages in a hearing on Monday over the alleged 2013 assault.
Hugging her lawyers after the civil trial in New York, Ms Breest said she was “very grateful” for the verdict.
Mr Haggis, 69, denies the allegations and has pledged to “continue to, with my team, fight to clear my name”.
Warning: Some readers may find details of the case given below distressing.
As he left the courthouse accompanied by his three adult daughters, the writer of Million Dollar Baby and Crash said he was “very disappointed in the results”.
Ms Breest – one of five women who accused the Canadian screenwriter of unwanted advances dating back to 1996 – said she was thankful “that the jury chose to follow the facts – and believed me”. None of the other four took legal action.
In 2017, Ms Breest, a publicist, sued Mr Haggis, saying he had raped her at his home in the SoHo district of New York City four years before.
She alleged that he had pressured her to join him for a drink after offering her a lift home from a film premiere. He then allegedly compelled her to perform oral sex and allegedly raped her despite her entreaties to stop.
Ms Breest said she had suffered psychological and professional consequences from the attack.
The director said the publicist had been flirtatious and, though sometimes appearing “conflicted”, had initiated kisses and oral sex in an entirely consensual interaction. He said he could not remember if they had had intercourse.
It was suggested at the trial that the director had been incapable of carrying out an attack just eight weeks after he underwent back surgery.
The trial also focussed on the Church of Scientology, of which Mr Haggis was a member until 2009. His lawyers argued the Church was out to discredit him and might have been involved with the lawsuit.
In a statement, the Church said it had no involvement in the case, and accused Mr Haggis of trying to shame his accusers with an “absurd and patently false” claim. Ms Breest’s lawyers called it “a shameful and unsupported conspiracy theory”.
In June, Mr Haggis was arrested in southern Italy on suspicion of aggravated sexual assault in a different case. Denying any wrongdoing, he spent 16 days under house arrest before the case was dismissed.
Contrary to reports that Laryea got to know about his exclusion via radio, the former winger said that he was informed a day before the squad left for South Africa.
Laryea said that he was called into a meeting that had some of the management members of the Black Stars. It was there that it dawned on him that he was not going to be on the plane to South Africa.
The former Hearts of Oak winger said that as bad as the news was, he took it in his stride and walked away without causing scenes.
Laryea said on GhanaWeb’s Sports Check program that he gave up on national team football after the episode and decided to fully commit to club football.
The winger who entertained Ghanaians with his flicks and passes said that he has channeled the disappointment into his coaching career and hopes to lead the Black Stars to the World Cup someday.
Laryea despite the blot of not going to the World Cup, is confident that one day he will handle the team there.
A Tennessee man is in police custody after he allegedly broke into his ex-girlfriend’s house and kidnapped her, thinking she had a winning lottery ticket, per NBC News.
An arrest affidavit filed by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office notes that it all started when 43-year-old Dontrell Hanes arrived at his ex-girlfriend’s home in Cordova, Tennessee, demanding to get inside. Hanes was frustrated because he had not “received his lottery ticket” and believed he was owed money. Hanes’ girlfriend, who spoke to local news outlet WREG News Channel 3 on the condition of anonymity, said that’s when he allegedly kicked down the door and entered her home.
“He initially was just choking me just dragging me out the house,” she said. “He bought five for that day, he bought my mom one. My mom has Alzheimer’s, so she took the tickets and she did not intend to…and even though it wasn’t a winning ticket he still wanted it, and so she said something he didn’t like and he just clicked and kick the door in.”
She was brought to Hanes’ car and told police she was alone with him for seven hours as he drove from Memphis to Horn Lake, making various stops along the way to demand she pay him $10,000. The woman told police he even engaged in a shoot-out in Orange Mound. Haines eventually allowed her to call her family, who then pinged her cell phone to a gas station in Hickory Hill, where authorities arrived and tried to detain Hanes.
“I thought I was gonna die because he said that was it,” the ex-girlfriend said. “He didn’t have anything to live for, so I kept saying: ‘why you gotta take me with you?’ I was not ready to die.”
Hanes allegedly assaulted four deputies as they tried to arrest him, and was ultimately charged with aggravated burglary, aggravated kidnapping, domestic assault and assault against a first responder.
The events unfolded as the Powerball lottery jackpot rose to a world record $2.04 billion on Monday night. An anonymous winner from California was announced on Tuesday morning.
Ghanaian gospel musician, Reverend Alexander Bruce-Ghartey popularly known as Uncle Ato is billed to headline this year’s Thanksgiving Worship in the USA.
Uncle Ato is one of the most sought-after worship leaders in Ghana with several popular soul-inspiring melodies to his credit.
With the ‘dzi dew’ crooner leading the pack of worshippers to the throneroom, patrons and worshippers at this year’s Thanksgiving Worship can expect nothing short of a spirit-filled ministration.
Thanksgiving Worship is the flagship event of Gina Idan Ministries Incorporated, a Christian nonprofit institution based in the State of Georgia in the US.
According to Gina Idan, who is the brain behind the event, Thanksgiving Worship is part of activities to celebrate the Thanksgiving holidays.
“It is an annual praise and worship event that brings together members of the community, and lovers of Christian music to thank God for His goodness throughout the year and ask for His blessings in the years ahead,” said Gina.
This year’s thanksgiving worship dubbed the Grace edition marks the fifth in the series and will see performances from Gina Idan and other gospel acts based in the US. Previous editions of thanksgiving worship have witnessed ministrations from Minister OJ, Tagoe Sisters, and Nana Adwoa.
Thanksgiving, celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November since 1941, has been an annual tradition in the United States by presidential proclamation of Abraham Lincoln’s administration since 1863.
Traditionally, Thanksgiving has been a celebration of the harvest and other blessings of the year. On Thanksgiving Day, it is common for Americans to share family time together, and attend church services and other special events, with turkey featuring prominently in most family meals.
The 2022 Thanksgiving Worship is scheduled to come off on Saturday, November 26, 2022, at 6 pm (ET) at Jesus Power Assembly of God, Lawrenceville, GA, USA.
As the end of the year draws closer and netizens are ready to put their most fashionable clothes together for the festive season, Black Friday is also just around the corner.
Lots of celebrity clothes will be on the market at a cheaper price for fashion lovers who would want to wear something on a budget without breaking their accounts.
Although 2022 is running so fast towards the end, some icons are making it a point to still seized the opportunity to leave a mark with their fashion choices.
GhanaWeb is helping netizens with what to purchase and what not to, what style is ideal for which occasion, and what design motivation is an unacceptable move.
Whether you want to take inspiration from the celebrity red carpet this party season which is just around the corner, or from top street style dresses, look no further than these stylish famous faces.
From lessons on how to dress up your wardrobe classics, these are the celebrities who made this week’s list.
The debate on whether or not Jordan Ayew should be dropped from the Black Stars starting eleven in the 2022 FIFA World Cup brought about a heated debate in this episode of the GhanaWeb Mundial.
GhanaWeb reporter, Emmanuel Enin argued the playing style of the Crystal Palace player has evolved from being the main man in front to being a winner who does the dirty work for his team to win.
According to Emmanuel Enin, the narrative that Jordan Ayew should be dropped because he is not getting the goals shouldn’t be entertained because his work tatter helps the team more.
However, Romeo believes that Jordan Ayew is being pampered too much in the team because the technical handlers have decided to create a position for him at the right-wing position when there are better players like Joseph Paintsil for that position.
He urged coach Otto Addo to push Jordan Ayew upfront and see if he can really compete for the number 9 spot ahead of Inaki Williams because he is not a better winger than Joseph Paintsil and the other Ghanaians wingers.
Emmanuel Enin and Ambassador Romeo joined Joel Eshun as guests on this episode of the GhanaWeb Mundial show.
This is due to the unfavorable tax regime in the country.
According to him, the high cost of borrowing coupled with some nuisance taxes are having severe impact on Ghanaian businesses intending to trade favorable under the continental programme, compared to their peers.
Speaking to Joy Business, Prof. Bokpin said unless the current tax regime in the country is reviewed, Ghanaian businesses will struggle to compete under the pact.
‘If you look at our tax basket, it is heavily indirect based. All of that contributes to high production cost of doing business”.
“If you put that together with electricity restrictions on the growth drivers of the economy, Ghanaian private sector has to borrow at a rate in excess of 35% percent…..you can’t compete”, he said
He pointed out that all these challenges are making it difficult for Ghanaian businesses to compete under AfCFTA.
“So you can see the fundamentals and can project how that can affect the Ghanaian private sector and the ability to maximize the participation of the AFCFTA. That’s the point that we are talking about’.
“As it stands now, we don’t get the clear picture and direction that government wants to create the enabling environment that guarantees private sector leadership”, he added.
Dancehall artiste, Shatta Wale, has once again taken a dig at Bullgodfor ’embarking on a media tour’ to discuss the defamation lawsuit he (Shatta) has been slapped with.
Bullgod after suingShatta Wale at the Accra High Court has been on radio throwing more light on the development and delving deep into matters relating to their feud.
On Hitz FM, for instance, Bullgod explained why he had sued Shatta Wale. While mentioning that he did so for his family, the artiste manager who had taken notice of Shatta Wale’s allegations in the past said “This time we are going to clamp him. My lawyers are handling that, so when all commences, you will hear, and I think this is a case study. People cannot just go about saying things about people.”
That’s not all, in a bid to express how hurt he feels by Shatta Wale’s murder accusations, Bullgod counted some favours he once offered the Dancehall artist including funding his ‘Dancehall King’ music video among others.
Shatta after keenly monitoring Bullgod’s movements said he does not understand why he is being allowed to discuss matters relating to the lawsuit on media platforms.
To him, once an issue has been handed to the law, it shouldn’t be addressed publicly, especially during media interviews.
“And the country is watching someone who has sued a party going for “MEDIA TOUR abi? Cool cool. If I start right now someone go talk say Ade craze… and bla bla bla! You take matter go give LAW now you deh go media tour (Why you deh trust the Law abi… I don’t blame you and your media friends… I blame lies and hypocrisy is this world… Fucken place,” Shatta wrote in Pidgin English on Facebook.
There are some constant names that will be named in Otto Addo’s squad on Monday, November 14, 2022.
Among the constants, some may be heading to their final World Cup for a variety of reasons.
Here are five Black Stars players who could be heading to their last World Cup.
Thomas Partey
Born on June 13, 1993, Thomas Partey is 29 years. The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be his first World Cup appearance. However, given his age and injury record, it could also be his last.
The next World Cup is in 2026. This means Partey will be 33 and might miss it due to his age. Also, his injury situation can worsen by that age.
For example, N’golo Kante,30, will miss the 2022 FIFA World Cup due to a long-standing injury.
Mubarak Wakaso
The Eupen midfielder is currently 32 years and will be 36 years by 2026.
Mubarak Wakaso, if he makes Ghana’s World Cup squad, will head to his second World Cup appearance, which could also be his last for the Black Stars.
With midfield being Ghana’s strongest position, Ghana have many young players who would mature by 2026. Hence, age and the state of Ghana’s midfielder could push Wakaso out or into the squad in the next edition.
Jordan Ayew
Crystal Palace forward, Jordan Ayew is 31 years and will be 35 years by 2026.
At the moment, he is unattachable. However, after the 2022 World Cup, unless he is in top form in 2026, it will be difficult to make Ghana’s squad, due to his age.
Qatar 2022 will be Jordan’s second World Cup appearance.
Daniel Amartey
Daniel Amartey is a key member of the Black Stars and will, certainly, be part of the final squad for the World Cup in Qatar.
The Leicester City midfielder is set for his first World Cup appearance, which could also be his last.
Amartey is currently 27 years and would turn 31 years in 2026. With him getting past 30 years and Ghana having an enormous talented center-back through the ranks, his sport for the World Cup in 2026 is unlikely.
Dede Ayew
Andre Ayew is heading to his third World Cup. The 32-year-old would want to make it count because it could be his last World Cup in Black Stars colours.
Andre Ayew is at the twilight of his career, playing in a less competitive league in the Gulf, and will turn 36 by 2026.
Less than two weeks after it was announced Nick Cannon is expecting his 11th child, the Wild ‘n Out host is now confirmed to be expecting his 12th.
As Page Six reports, Abby De La Rosa announced via her Instagram Story that Cannon is the father of her unborn child. The pair have already welcomed twins, Zion and Zillion, but now they’re set to have their third child together. She confirmed the identity of the father when she reshared a posted, that warned, “1 night with a Libra can turn into 3-4 years.”
She added, “Damn! lol 1 night turned into 4 years and 3 kids real quick,” she wrote. “I see no lies here smh. Y’all be safe out there.” Cannon is a Libra, as he was born on October 8, 1980.
De La Rosa’s post comes not long after model Alyssa Scott announced she’s expecting her second child with Cannon. Scott and Cannon had their first child together, Zen in June 2021, who passed away in December 2021 from braincancer. Both women didn’t mention Cannon when they initially announced their pregnancies.
The ever-so-prolific Cannon has attracted a lot of attention for the amount of children he’s welcomed into the world. This year alone he’s had three children with three different women. Earlier this month, even Ryan Reynolds felt the need to crack a joke about Cannon.
“We’re gonna need a bigger bottle,” joked the Deadpool actor. He previously teamed up with Cannon for a commercial for his Aviation American Gin, in which the Masked Singer host prepped a cocktail he called “The Vasectomy.”
