On a recent episode of his podcast, Shaquille O’Neal said that he’s not interested in commenting on the Ime Udoka or Adam Levine scandals because he was a “serial cheater” himself.
The topic of Udoka and Levine’s alleged infidelity was brought up by Shaq’s co-host Nischelle Turner on The Big Podcast with Shaq, but the NBA legend clearly wasn’t interested in providing commentary on the situations.
“I’m going to step down from this conversation,” he says in the clip below. “I was a serial cheater. It would be crazy and blasphemous for me to get up here and say, ‘Boom, boom, bam.’ I can’t do that. I know these guys personally. I know they’re going through a lot because I went through a lot.”
Shaq also said that he didn’t want to say anything because he’s good friends with Nia Long, who has been in a relationship with Udoka since 2010. “I just wish that certain parties weren’t involved,” he added. “I’ve known Nia Long for a long time and I like her. … They’re going through a lot of family stuff. I’m never the guy that’s gonna get up here because of my platform and fake it.”
Earlier this month, both Levine and Udoka were facing allegations that they had engaged in affairs. Levine, who has been married to Behati Prinsloo since 2014, admitted that he “crossed the line” during a “regrettable period” in his life. As Sumner Stroh revealed in a TikTok, which included alleged screenshots of DMs between her and Levine, she decided to come forward about the affair after he asked her if he could name his new baby Sumner.
Udoka, meanwhile, has been suspended as the Boston Celtics coach after it was reported he engaged in an “intimate” and “consensual” relationship with a staffer. Long has since shared a message thanking fans for the showing of love and support amid the reports.
An Economist and Political Risk Analyst, Dr. Theo Acheampong, has urged government not to bank all its hopes on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its quest to fix the struggling economy.
A team from the IMF has begun the second round of discussions with government on a bailout, with a focus on debt sustainability.
This is on the back of the downgrade of Ghana’s credit to ‘CCC’, from ‘CC’ by Fitch last week.
An IMF team is in Ghana until October 7 to continue discussions with the government on policies and reforms that could be supported by a lending arrangement.
The meeting with the IMF comes amid concerns that Ghana is about to start talks with domestic bondholders on a restructuring of its local-currency debt.
Speaking to Citi Business News, Theo Acheampong stressed the need for government to practice fiscal discipline, especially in the public sector.
“The IMF can only do so much for you, if you don’t fix your politics; how we appoint people to some of these state-owned enterprises and government organisations some of whom are causing serious haemorrhaging and financial loss to the state, those governance issues, it is not the IMF that will solve it for you. Yes, there are some safeguards that are being discussed, and I expect them to reflect in the IMF Programme,” he said.
Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni likened Lionel Messi to tennis legend Roger Federer because of the joy they bring to their respective sports.
Scaloni asked about Messi retirement rumours
Federer recently retired to great fanfare
Argentina coach thinks Messi will get same reception
WHAT HAPPENED? Messi has said he will reassess his career, including his international future, after the World Cup. That has led to speculation that he may be considering international retirement, and reporters pressed Scaloni on the issue.
WHAT THEY SAID: “What happened when [Federer] retired?” Scaloni asked reporters. “Everyone is emotional and everyone is thinking, ‘he’s not here anymore, he’s not going to play anymore’. How many of us would like to see Federer play tennis? It was wonderful to watch him play. And the same thing will happen with [Messi].”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Federer, 41, is at a more advanced age than Messi, 35, but they have shared dominance over their respective sports for more than a decade. At his goodbye match, Federer broke down crying with longtime rival Rafael Nadal.
The Chief Justice, Kwasi Anin-Yeboah is urging judges and magistrates not to be influenced by public criticisms in discharging their duty.
“Yours is to dispense justice and to uphold the rule of law irrespective of public clamour,” the Chief Justice said.
The judiciary has come under criticism in recent times, with President Akufo-Addo describing it as unwarranted attacks which must be condemned.
At the 2022 General Meeting of the Association of Magistrates and Judges, Justice Anin-Yeboah also said criticism of the judiciary must be constructive.
“As the saying goes, you will not value what you have unless you lose it. On this line, the consequence of losing what you have, in terms of our justice system, will be unthinkable.”
Deputy Attorney General, Alfred Tuah-Yeboah who attended the event attributed the recent attacks on the Judiciary to what he describes as a distorted coverage of court proceedings by some media firms.
He thus urged the media to collaborate with the judiciary to ensure fair reportage.
“This collaboration will undoubtedly ensure that accurate and fair information is made available to the consuming public.”
“Public perceptions of the judiciary are often coloured by misunderstandings of decisions and judgments of the court,” Mr. Tuah-Yeboah said.
The Government is reviewing the price build-up for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) as part of the implementation of the Cylinder Recirculation Model (CRM), Mr William Owuraku Aidoo, a Deputy Minister of Energy, has said.
The Deputy Minister said the CRM required some infrastructural establishments and that the review would guarantee a return on investment made towards ensuring the safe distribution of LPG.
He made the remarks at the opening of the 2022 Ghana International Petroleum Conference (GhIPCon) in Accra on Wednesday, September 28, 2022.
“The implementation of the CRM requires the introduction of LPG Bottling Plants, Bulk Cylinder Transportation, Cylinder Warehousing, Cylinder Exchange Points and Cylinder Delivery infrastructure.
“Hence, the Price Build-Up of the LPG is being reviewed to guarantee a return on investment made in LPG infrastructure for the safe distribution of LPG as a clean cooking fuel while rationalising the price of LPG for consumers,” he said.
Currently, a 14kg LPG is trading at an average GHS160. As of the first quarter of this year, the same quantity of LPG was selling at GHS136.
Analysts have blamed the continuous rise of local LPG prices on the unsteady international market and the depreciation of the cedi against the Dollar.
Some environmentalists have expressed concern that the rising cost of LPG could fuel the use of charcoal among consumers –and that could encourage deforestation and increase carbon emissions.
Mr Aidoo said the CRM, which is under the auspices of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), was expected to increase access to LPG and ensure safe delivery to end users.
He said the Ministry’s new Programme called the LPG for Development (LPG4D) also aimed at consolidating the Government’s ongoing efforts towards increasing LPG penetration to at least 50 per cent of Ghanaians by 2030.
The three-day Conference is being organised by the NPA in collaboration with the Ghana Chamber of Bulk Distributors (CBOD) and under the auspices of the Ministry of Energy.
The Conference will highlight the petroleum downstream industry’s perspective and guidance on issues of government policy and regulatory framework.
It is on the theme: “Energy Transition in the African Petroleum Downstream Context: Prospects, Challenges and the way Forward.”
Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, Chief Executive, NPA, said the Authority was committed to reducing the emissions from the energy products consumed in Ghana.
He said the Government was determined to make the CRM policy a reality to help increase access to LPG.
“In the entire sub-region, it is only Ghana and Nigeria that still operates LPG filling stations. We ought to move with the time and to achieve LPG penetration of 50 per cent by 2030,” Abdul-Hamid said.
The First Palm Oil Barometer has contested the unfavorable public impression of smallholder farmers’ sustainability in the palm oil industry.
The 282-billion-dollar palm oil sector generates enormous profits for businesses, while smallholder palm oil farmers run the risk of going hungry.
In a statement released in Accra, Solidaridad claimed that while policies typically concentrate on huge industrial plantations, smallholders in the palm oil sector, which currently account for about 30% of worldwide production, are frequently forgotten in the sustainability agenda.
It claimed that smallholders played an increasingly important role in rural economic growth and biodiversity preservation, with their contribution to palm oil production projected to increase.
The statement said with palm oil as a crucial ingredient in the diet of the poorest people on earth, and its widespread presence in products like margarine, shampoo, and biodiesel, it was here to stay.
“Supply chain-wide smallholder inclusion is crucial for sustainable palm oil production,” it said.
It said the controversial crop presented more issues and more opportunities than many people realize.
The statement said deforestation and poverty were interlinked and palm oil production figures prominently in the media as a cause of deforestation, biodiversity loss, and climate change.
However, by isolating its impact on the environment from the poverty crisis, to which it was directly linked, it was easy to overlook the vital role smallholders play in palm oil production.
It said although the image of large companies growing vast expanses of oil palms as a monoculture holds, more than three million smallholders and their families produce roughly 30 percent of the world’s palm oil.
The statement said a multitude of workers found jobs in oil palm production. In Indonesia alone, there were around 16 million workers in the palm oil sector, of which the majority were employed by smallholders.
It said the contribution of smallholders to the overall supply of palm oil was only expected to increase, as industrial-scale companies were forced to limit expansion due to zero-deforestation commitments.
Mr Shatadru Chattopadhayay, Managing Director Solidaridad Asia said, “Smallholders produce not even 2 percent of certified sustainable palm oil on the market while contributing 30 percent of the world’s supply and Governments and businesses must make smallholder inclusion part of their sustainability criteria.”
He said in the multi-billion-dollar palm oil industry, smallholder farmers do not get their fair share. Smallholders generated USD 17 billion of the palm oil industry’s USD 282 billion turnovers in 2020, yet many did not earn enough to cover their families’ essential living costs.
Despite this, many smallholders prefer growing oil palm to other crops, like rubber or coffee, because they earn a higher and more consistent income throughout the year.
He said multiple factors could influence a farm’s profitability, including its size, labour and fertilizer costs, market access, and prices. Volatile market prices squeeze smallholder margins that are already narrow.
“It’s getting more and more difficult for farmers with all these changes in the prices. Some feel as if 50 percent of their livelihood has been lost as the prices of the fresh fruit bunches have been slashed and, at the same time, the price of fertilizers and pesticides has risen by more than 100 percent,” Mr Valens Andi, Head of a Farmers’ Cooperative in West Kalimantan, Indonesia said.
He said that faced with these precarious conditions many smallholders were unable to invest in farm-level innovations or adhere to sustainability standards.
By 2030 Indonesian smallholder plantations will account for around 60 percent of the country’s oil palm area. Supporting these smallholders to produce sustainably will be a key challenge in the coming years.
Fair value distribution is at the heart of sustainable palm oil production, while smallholders struggle to make ends meet, at the other end of the chain food manufacturers, consumer goods companies, and retail takes 66 percent of the gross profits on palm oil in food, household, and body care products.
The focus on cost-cutting to optimize profits contrasts starkly with individual companies’ sustainability commitments, as well as the global climate and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal agendas.
Many academics and conservation organizations agree that banning palm oil would simply shift the problem elsewhere, threatening other habitats and species, however, it is far more productive than any other vegetable oil crop.
He said instead of boycotting palm oil, the industry should invest in sustainable palm oil production by smallholders.
He said the private sector and governments needed to move from technical assistance to programmes that address the structural disadvantages at the smallholder farm level.
Madam Heske Verburg, Managing Director Solidaridad Europe, recommends that “companies and governments in consuming and producing regions must include smallholders’ interests when developing and implementing policies.
He said the EU should ensure that smallholders will be supported to meet the requirements of the Union Regulation on deforestation-free products and in partnership with producing countries tackle the root causes of deforestation, including poverty.
According to reports Kumasi Asante Kotoko earned 88,157 Ghana Cedis ($8,469.10) in net gate proceeds from its game against Accra Hearts of Oak at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi.
In an exclusive interview, Acting National Sports Authority (NSA) Ashanti Regional Director, Emmanuel Appiah detailed the high profile game recorded a gross sum of 214, 680 Ghana Cedis.
However, a breakdown from the administrator highlighted a huge sum of money that went into taxes and percentage deductions by associated bodies including the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and GHALCA (Ghana League Clubs Association).
He stated the NSA’s regional body earned 12, 594 Ghana Cedis from the Kotoko-Hearts and that amount goes directly into the maintenance of the Baba Yara Stadium.
However, he indicated this amount isn’t enough to cover the cost for pitch preparations to host Ghana’s biggest football club matchup that cost at least 50,000 Ghana Cedis.
The game ended 1-1 with a handful of controversies making the headlines with both teams in dire need of a debut win in the 2022-2023 betPawa Ghana Premier League season.
In a related development, Kotoko has filed an official complaint to the GFA over what the club deemed as poor officiating during the game.
The President’s Special Initiative, Rearing for Food and Jobs, has provided 6,000 layers to 50 women farmers in the Bolgatanga Municipality of the Upper East Region (RfJs).
The Savanna Investment Programme (SIP), which is supported by the African Development Loan Fund facility, includes the intervention.
A veterinary service package of medicines and vitamins for the care of the birds was also given to the beneficiaries, who were selected from different villages within the Municipality. Each recipient received 120 layers and 12 bags of feed to utilize for three months.
Before the distribution, a few carefully chosen farmers in the Municipality were given the task of raising day-old pullets until they reached their current age of 14 weeks.
Ms Esther Agumah, the Livestock Officer, Regional Department of Agriculture, who spoke on the modalities of the intervention with the Ghana News Agency after distributing the birds to the beneficiaries, said each beneficiary received an enhanced battery cage system, spacious enough to accommodate the 120 birds.
According to her, the women were given a series of training to equip them with skills to handle and care for the birds.
For the entire package, each beneficiary paid a fee of GHC600.00, she added.
Ms Gumah said the intervention was to benefit only women to promote the consumption of poultry and eggs and improve household nutrition, particularly maternal and child nutrition.
Another area expected to benefit from similar interventions is the Kassena Nankana Municipality, she said.
The Savannah Investment Programme, an African Development Fund loan facility, was launched in February 2020 to run alongside the government’s flagship programme.
The five-year programme is to distribute 11,000 broilers, 12,500 guinea fowls, 21,000 layers and 2,500 sheep to farmers in Bawku West, Builsa South districts, Bolgatanga Municipality and the Kassena Municipality, all in the Upper East Region.
Due to the COVID- 19 pandemic in 2020, the 21,000 layers component which was expected to be distributed with the cages was delayed.
Madam Modesta Akombosgo from Sumbrungu, a beneficiary, expressed her gratitude for the support given to them.
“I have received 120 birds and they are healthy, they look nice and with the feed, if I take good care of them, I will get good results,” she said.
Madam Alice Kampor, from Atuabiisi in Sumbrungu, a beneficiary, thanked the government for the support and promised to take good care of the birds.
“They said we should use it to feed our family and reduce our poverty and I am very happy.”
Efforts put in place by the government and the Bank of Ghana to arrest the free fall of the cedi against major trading currencies, especially the US dollar, are paying off.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, when he briefed the press on Wednesday, September 28, 2022.
Recent data from the Finance Ministry show that the cedi has depreciated by 37.1% against the US dollar as of September 27, 2022.
The cedi is currently struggling on the forex market as it is selling close to 10 cedis per dollar.
Ofori-Atta was hopeful the cedi will experience an appreciation in the coming days following the several measures introduced.
He further indicated that the Bank of Ghana has also introduced enhanced measures such as a Special Foreign exchange auction for bulk distribution companies and a Gold Purchase Programme to contain the depreciation of the cedi.
“As part of measures to shore up our reserves, improve exchange rate stability and address some of the funding needs, the Ministry successfully worked on a US$750 million Afreximbank loan facility which was received in August 2022. The traditional Cocoa Syndication Loan, expected in the last quarter of 2022 which will promote the cocoa sector, will further help us build our FX reserves and provide a strong buffer for the cedi in the last quarter of the year.”
“Additionally, the Bank of Ghana has introduced enhanced measures such as a Special Foreign exchange auction for bulk distribution companies and a Gold Purchase Programme to contain the depreciation of the cedi, which is now slowing down,” he added.
Economy on gradual upswing despite numerous shocks
Mr. Ofori-Atta also said Ghana’s economy is recording some marginal growth despite recent ravaging shocks.
“Overall, our growth outturn of 3.4% and 4.8% in Q1 and Q2 of 2022 respectively, coupled with modest improvements in our fiscal position, suggests our economy is gradually on the upswing despite the numerous shocks we have faced over the past two years,” he said at a press briefing on Wednesday.
“These figures demonstrate that in spite of recent challenges, there has been economic growth, modest as the gains so far may be,” the Finance Minister added.
Mr. Ofori-Atta said this progress gives Ghana a solid foundation to confront its economic challenges head-on.
Laud Anoo Konadu, popularly known as ‘Dancegodlloyd’, has confirmed rumors of parting ways with the ‘DWP’ Academy.
Prior to this, rumors were rife that Dancegod, who is a co-founder of the ‘Dance With a Purpose’ (DWP) Academy wasn’t on good terms with his other partners.
It was said that the ‘dance god’ had parted ways with the Academy following a misunderstanding he had with one of the managers of the group, Quables.
The rumors intensified when he was absent on stage while the team played their role as backup dancers for American singer, Usher, at the Global Citizen Concert.
This happens to be the Academy’s second international recognition after featuring in Beyoncé’s ‘King Already’ music video and Dancegodlloyd who has been touted as the team’s ‘poster boy’ wasn’t present to relish the moment.
In the quest to calm waters after the event, Nicholas Botchway popularly known as ‘Afrobeast’, one of the founders of the Academy, tried to convince the public that Dancegodlloyd was absent because he had to attend to another equally important assignment in Nigeria.
“Dancegod Lloyd happened to be in Nigeria during the rehearsals. He missed 90% of the entire rehearsal sessions and even though he was through with his project before the final rehearsal kicked off, he couldn’t join the crew to perform because the list of dancers had already been submitted to the Global Citizen Festival event organizers.
“The thing is, they wanted a certain amount of number and Dancegod Lloyd wasn’t available at the time,” Afrobeast earlier said in an interview with Hitz FM.
But in a twist of events, Dancegodlloyd in a TikTok live session has dispelled the narrative while establishing that he had left the group to its fate.
This was when a fan asked why he was absent on stage during the group’s performance with Usher.
The worried fan also quizzed whether the rumors flying out there concerning his fallout with the team were really true and he said:
“Don’t let anyone lie to you. Don’t let them lie to you. I have done what I can do and the rest is up to them. People are ungrateful and they will always be ungrateful. Remember that.”
“I do things for people from the deepest part of my heart and I don’t want anything in return,” the dancer added.
Four-star business hospitality facility, Accra City Hotel is hoping to become a major player in West Africa’s Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) market as it embarks on expansion works.
The new project when completed would enable the hotel to host large-size meetings and events, increase bed capacity and add on to entertainment facilities with a nightclub among other ancillary installations.
The newly appointed General Manager of the hotel, Divine Matey said the new development on the property would address shortfalls in hosting mega conferences.
“The main missing link is the conferencing; we lose a lot of business, we have the rooms but we don’t have the conference space,” he stated.
According to the General Manager, the new expansion when completed will cater to the need of every guest regardless of their preference.
He indicated: “We are known as a business hotel and we want to bring the leisure side. We are going to have a club attached to the bar and we will make it exclusive. With the main building, we are expanding the conference offering with more conference rooms; we want to have the largest capacity in Accra.
“We are looking at suites in that building and we are also looking at an aparthotel concept. We want here to be a one-stop-shop facility, where even if you like an apartment hotel, you can have it, if you want a suite you have it, if you want standard rooms you come to the main building.”
“With hospitality: everyone wants a new ambiance, so everyone wants to come and see what Accra City has to offer now and explore it, and when you come to our space, our service delivery will hook you on and you’d want to come,” he said
He served as a bodyguard to Ghana’s first president, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, during his active days at the Christiansburg Castle.
Yet, Christian Blukoo’s old days have been full of life challenges due to what appears to be neglect by the state.
While retiring could have been a reward for his hard work, he is rather managing stress, anxiety and depression on a meagre monthly pension allowance of ¢47.
Life has been difficult for the visually-impaired 85-year-old man residing in Mafi-Adidome, a community in the Volta Region’s Central Tongu District.
According to him, even the ¢47 monthly pension allowance is not paid on time.
The 85-year-old man is visually impaired
“Because the money is small, I go to the bank every three months. Even that does not come regularly,” he lamented in an interview on Joy Prime’s latest documentary, ‘The Last Guard.’
Mr Blukoo said he has on many occasions requested an upward adjustment in his pension allowance.
In 2014, for instance, the Ghana Government Pensioners Association wrote on his behalf to The Controller and Accountant General appealing for an upward adjustment of his allowance considering the high cost of living.
But all efforts yielded no results, he noted.
Letter was written by the Ghana Government Pensioners Association to request an adjustment of allowance for Mr Blukoo
He also tried to find some support from the Disability Fund introduced to empower persons living with disabilities but Mr Blukoo said he was frustrated and gave up.
“Up to now…Ghana! They took my pictures and particulars but I haven’t gotten anything. They said they will send it to my phone but up to now [nothing has come]. So, I don’t want anybody to suffer for me,” he noted.
Despite his predicament, Mr Blukoo indicated that he finds joy in contributing to radio discussions on social and political issues.
Mr Blukoo loves to keep coins so he can give some to children he sends on errands
“I have three radios – Volta Star, Jubilee Radio and Joy FM. At my age, 85, I don’t want anything from anybody. When I call my children and my grandchildren to fight over the phone, I’m happy; it gives me joy.”
Additionally, he is grateful for the gift of life and hopes to live long enough to celebrate his centennial.
However, he is disappointed that the government has ignored him and has not considered increasing his pension allowance.
Black Stars head coach, Otto Addo, says he was impressed with his team’s performance against Nicaragua on Tuesday evening.
Ghana secured a narrow win over the Central Americans through Abdul Fatawu Issahaku’s left-footed curled effort after 35 minutes into the game.
Having suffered a 3-0 loss to Brazil last Friday, Ghanaians were expecting the Black Stars to show more intent against Nicaragua, who are ranked 139th in the world by scoring more goals. However, the team could only manage a 1-0 win.
And while that performance has not gone down too well with Ghanaians, Addo says he liked what he saw from his players.
“[I will give them] seven as the highest,” the gaffer told the media when quizzed to rank his team out of 10.
“Seven because every play from what I saw we trained with worked just that we didn’t score. I like runs behind the defensive lines, I like the passes in between the lines, the turns and the body positions. There were a lot of very good things and good timings with the runs.
“We have got a little bit of composure and also more cool on the ball and sometimes you have to take your time and make another cut, sometimes maybe play off to a player who is in a better position and sometimes to you are a little bit unlucky because the goalkeeper did very well.
“We have to be more precise instead of just hammering the ball into the pole but we have a young squad, a lot of young players [played] today and the squad also, there are new players,” he added.
The result on Tuesday sees the Black Stars end their September international window with a win with a friendly against Switzerland to come in November before the start of the World Cup.
Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has disclosed that the Ghana cedi depreciated by 37.1 percent against the US Dollar as of September 27, 2022.
The local currency has since the start of this year significantly lost its value against major trading currencies, especially the US dollar.
The cedi is currently selling at around GH¢10.50 to the US dollar on the retail market and forex bureaus – a situation which has impacted the currency’s performance and resulted in a high cost of living.
But Ken Ofori-Atta addressing journalists at a press briefing said the Bank of Ghana has introduced some enhanced measures aimed at addressing the depreciation of the cedi.
“Some of these measures entail a Special Foreign exchange auction for bulk distribution companies and a Gold Purchase Programme to contain the depreciation of the cedi, which is now slowing down,” the Finance Minister said.
At the start of 2022, demand for forex overtook supplies during a period when high debts and low investor confidence have made it impossible for Ghana to access the international capital market for borrowing.
The situation has resulted in the persistent depreciation of the Cedi against the major trading currencies.
As at July this year, the cedi lost its value by more than 20 percent to the US dollar.
In addition, recent economic downgrades by international rating agencies such as Fitch and Standards & Poors’ has also impacted the investor community at large, while Ghana awaits an IMF support programme which is expected to be accessed in 2023.
Former Ghana captain, Asamoah Gyan, has hit out at midfielders of the national team for not passing the ball to strikers who make good runs.
Gyan took to twitter to express his frustration during the Ghana vs Nicaragua friendly, which the Black Stars won 1-0.
Though Gyan does not mention names, it is believed he was referring to Inaki Williams who played as Ghana’s lone striker against the Central Americans.
Throughout the game, Williams made some great dashing runs but the final ball was never passed to him, prompting Gyan to take to twitter to comment on the development.
“A striker makes a good run and no pass. Very frustrating,” he tweeted.
A 35th minute goal from youngster Abdul Fatawu Issahaku gave Ghana victory in Spain in their penultimate pre-World Cup friendly. The team lost 3-0 to Brazil four days earlier.
Ghana will next take on Switzerland in November in their last preparatory game before the World Cup begins on November 20, 2022.
The National Lottery Authority (NLA) on Thursday, September 29, 2022, will launch the programme outline for its 60th anniversary.
The celebration which will span for three months will be commemorated with a number of interesting activities that will whip up public interest in the NLA’s operations.
Starting from September, the anniversary will reach its climax on December 29, 2022, in Accra, where all director generals of the lottery within the African continent will converge to support and participate in the anniversary celebration.
A statement from NLA indicated that “media people, celebrities, government officials, stakeholders, former director generals, traditional chiefs, among others, have all been invited to grace the occasion.
Lottery and National Development
Lottery over the years has immensely contributed to national growth and development. Established in 1962 as the Department of National Lotteries, invited a young man Mr Brennan from Malta to help set up the DNL, which now operates as the National Lottery Authority(NLA), after Act 722 was enacted in 2006.
NLA remains the leader in the lottery business in the sense that it has the legal mandate to regulate the industry. In addition to this autonomous role, the main objective of NLA is to raise revenue to run its affairs, and to pay whatever is left to the government to support developmental needs or projects in the country.
Against this background, NLA undoubtedly is a national asset, but this feat did not come with ease.The NLA brand was built with solid integrity as its core value while other values such as respect, excellence, accountability, leadership, and teamwork equally complemented the success story.
The NLA has its spread across the sixteen regions in Ghana, and continues to expand its tentacles to every nook and cranny. The expansion project is duly on course under the current leadership of Mr Samuel Awuku, the Director General of the authority.
Success of the NLA
Some successes and gains have been made by the NLA particularly under the current administration headed by Mr Awuku. The successes chalked include unity among staff, payment of huge backlog of unpaid wins, discipline and punctuality at work, introduction of new games, fight against illegal lotto operators,among others.
As part of its social responsibility, the Good Causes Foundation has been established by the Authority with the mandate to carry or reach out to the needy and the destitute in society. It basically operates in four areas namely; education, health,sports, and culture. In the past, what existed was commonly referred to as Special Projects.
The NLA boss believes that the authority, through the foundation, wants to give back to society by offering assistance to the vulnerable, people with disability, and the poor in the country.
Successes chalked under Sammy Awuku
Under Mr Awuku, NLA has been readmitted into African Lottery Association and World Lottery Association, where the authority is expected to restore to its former status as a respected body in the global lottery business.
Challenges
As with all public organisations, the NLA as a state parastatal faces some challenges, but which are surmountable, the Director- General admits.
The foremost challenge is the operation of illegal lotto operators.The operation of these people is giving the NLA boss a sleepless night as their continued activities affect the revenue generation of the authority. They do not pay licence to operate, and take some part of the market of the lotto business.
Another problem is the lotto fraudsters, who use the name of NLA to swindle people and lovers of the game.The authority loses revenue and at the same time creates a bad image for the brand. Linked to this is social media scammers who use Facebook and WhatsApp to trap unsuspecting individuals and promise them winning numbers, which they claim emanate from the strong room of NLA. According to the NLA, no such room exists though.
Musicians including Pink, Queen and Def Leppard have paid tribute to Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins at a memorial concert in Los Angeles.
They joined the star’s former bandmates in Foo Fighters and Chevy Metal to play the songs he loved, as fans celebrated his memory.
Foos frontman Dave Grohl said the show honoured the fact that “this many people connected through one person”.
Other star guests included Miley Cyrus, Rush, Cars and Mötley Crüe.
Alanis Morisette – for whom Hawkins played drums before he joined Foo Fighters – gave a fierce performance of You Oughta Know; while comedian Dave Chapelle unexpectedly covered Radiohead’s Creep.
Pink made several appearances during the concert, joining Heart’s Nancy Wilson to duet on Barracuda, before tackling Queen’s Somebody To Love – a song that Hawkins often covered in concert himself – and teaming up with Foo Fighters to sing The Pretender at the show’s finale.
British rock band Def Leppard recalled that they had first encountered Hawkins when he was a “20-year-old kid” working in a guitar shop in LA.
“About five years later we did Top Of The Pops in England [and] this kid walks into the dressing room. He was playing drums for Alanis Morisette,” recalled singer Joe Elliot.
“That was Taylor Hawkins, so in memory of. Let’s do some proper songs for Taylor.”
The band played Rock Of Ages before being joined briefly by pop star Miley Cyrus for an expansive version of Photograph.
“It’s like a revolving door of rock heroes tonight,” said Grohl halfway through the concert, which also saw performances from Skid Row’s Sebastian Bach, Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler and Metallica’s Lars Ulrich.
Image source, EPAImage caption, Hawkins drummed with Foo Fighters for over two decades
One of the most moving moments came when the surviving members of Nirvana, Grohl and Krist Novoselic, teamed up with fellow grunge musicians Matt Cameron and Kim Thayil of Soundgarden – who lost their lead singer Chris Cornell five years ago.
Together, they played haunting versions of The Day I Tried to Live and Black Hole Sun, with vocals from Taylor Momsen of the Pretty Reckless.
Rush, who are also mourning the loss of their drummer Neil Peart, played Working Man with assistance from Red Hot Chili Pepper Chad Smith and YYZ with Danny Carey of Tool.
And Wolfgang Van Halen delivered flawless renditions of his father’s fretwork on covers of pop-metal classics Panama and Hot For Teacher.
The concert came less than a month after a previous tribute show at Wembley Stadium in London, which saw Foo Fighters joined by Sir Paul McCartney, Liam Gallagher and Supergrass.
As at that concert, Hawkins’ children played a key role, with his teenage son Shane stepping behind the drum kit for a blistering rendition of the Foo Fighters’ hits My Hero and I’ll Stick Around.
Hawkins’ other children Everleigh and Annabel, also appeared on stage with their mother, Alison, after Queen’s Brian May played Love Of My Life – a song that Alison had requested specially.
Earlier, the show had opened with Grohl’s daughter Violet giving a low-key, moving performance of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah.
Six hours later, Foo Fighters closed the show with Everlong.
“This one’s for Taylor,” Grohl told the audience at LA’s Kia Forum. “We love you.”
Hawkins drummed with Foo Fighters from 1997 until his death in March of this year, aged 50.
No cause of death was announced, although a toxicology report showed traces of 10 substances in his body, including opioids, marijuana and anti-depressants.
Investigators did not say whether the mix of drugs was a factor.
Proceeds from both the London and Los Angeles tribute concerts will go to the charities Music Support and MusiCares.
Ghana head coach Otto Addo has disclosed that 70 per cent of the squad he summoned for the September friendlies against Brazil and Nicaragua will be selected for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
The former Ghana international added the remaining 30 per cent are tough decisions the technical team will make in their monitoring of players outside the current squad.
The core of the Black Stars team was involved in Ghana’s 3-0 defeat to Brazil on Friday and Tuesday’s 1-0 win over Nicaragua.
Thomas Partey was the only senior figure in the team not to play a part in any of the two games. The Arsenal man had to leave camp early because of a knee injury issue that flared up in the Brazil pre-game warm-up.
Ahead of the narrow win over the Central Americans, the Borussia Dortmund assistant coach told German outlet, Bild: “70 per cent of the players currently on international duty with Ghana’s squad who meet Nicaragua in Lorca, Spain on Tuesday will be in Qatar.
“The remaining 30 per cent will be tight decisions. We’re watching the players closely for the next few games to see who could play for Qatar in October.”
Black Stars captain Andre Ayew shares a similar sentiment with Otto Addo. He specifically mentions some senior players in the current team have the advantage of being selected for the World Cup.
The Al Sadd midfielder adds other players have to compete for the remaining slots.
“Apart from senior players who may have an advantage, I believe no one is guaranteed a place in the squad just yet,” he told Graphic Sports.
“Everyone must prove their quality on the field and everyone has a chance, giving the coach more options and solutions, formations, and I believe it is beneficial to have new players with the right mentality.”
Head coach of the Black Stars, Otto Addo, says Abdul Fatawu Issahaku needs to be more patient and precise with his shooting.
Addo made these comments following Ghana’s narrow win over Nicaragua on Tuesday night in the team’s final friendly of the September international break in Spain.
The Sporting Lisbon winger scored the only goal with a brilliant curler from the many chances the Black Stars created in the game.
The 18-year-old went straight to Ghana’s bench to celebrate his debut goal for the Black Stars with his coach.
When asked about his pre-game conversation with Fatawu, Addo was full of praise for the youngster, whose inclusion in the squad for the September friendlies raised eyebrows.
“He’s a very good winger. He has a powerful shot. Sometimes he needs more patience with the shot and to be more precise instead of hammering it all out.
“This is what I told him; he should feel free, make runs behind the lines, go one-against-one, and when there is a chance, he should use his left foot very gently.
“If he uses it gently, it’s even enough just to be precise and score the goal.”
Since making his Ghana debut in September 2021, the U-20 AFCON winner has made nine appearances for the Black Stars, scoring his first goal on Tuesday against Nicaragua.
Sir Elton John performed at the White House for the first time since 1998, and was given an award from US President Joe Biden for his contribution to music.
The veteran star wowed more than 2,000 guests, including teachers, nurses and LGBTQ advocates, with his performance, which was put together to celebrate “everyday history makers”.
At the end of the show, President Biden surprised Sir Elton with the National Humanities Medal.
The 75-year-old singer is currently on a farewell tour after a career spanning more than 50 years.
Spain’s record scorer Jenni Hermoso says her international team-mates are “living through the worst moment” in women’s football.
Last week the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) claimed 15 players said they would resign unless head coach Jorge Vilda was fired.
The RFEF said the players claimed Vilda’s tenure was affecting their emotional state and health.
Spain’s players later denied they had called for Vilda to be sacked..
The players – who were not named by the RFEF – also said they were disappointed the federation had made their “private communication” public.
Hermoso, 32, who made her debut for the national team in 2011, has released a statement on social media saying: “These last few days, without a doubt, have been some of the most difficult that I have lived as a professional footballer and as a member of the Spanish national team.”
The striker, who joined Pachuca from Barcelona in the summer, said she wished the situation “had never been made public” but she respected the decision of her colleagues to express themselves.
California’s famous Hollywood sign is getting a makeover ahead of its 100th birthday next year.
The landmark is being repainted with a new, more reflective paint that has better UV protection, according to Jeff Zarrinnam, who is chair of the Hollywood Sign Trust.
In order to be eligible for a supported program, the government must complete the debt sustainability analysis with the International Monetary Fund, according to Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.
He claims that no decision has been made about the specifics of any debt operations yet.
He stated, “we simply have not reached any agreement with the Fund on the parameters of any debt operations as we are in the process of concluding the debt sustainability review,” in a press conference on September 28, 2022.
As we work to expedite the IMF discussion process, the government shall continue to aggressively engage all stakeholders in a clear and transparent manner.
The Ministry of Finance on September 26, 2022, said the new IMF mission in Ghana is currently underway to conduct a debt sustainability analysis.
Ofori-Atta, however, stated that the IMF and Government Team are working to update the medium-term macro-fiscal framework to inform IMF programme design.
“Also, the Government Team and the IMF Team are discussing policy measures and structural reforms proposed in our economic programme aimed at addressing the economic challenges facing the country towards restoring and sustaining macroeconomic stability, and fiscal and debt sustainability, as well as promoting durable and inclusive growth and social protection,” he noted.
He, therefore, reiterated the government’s commitment to ensure that the country’s financial sector is protected.
Hearts of Oak Board showed their ruthless nature again by firing Samuel Boadu from the head coach role on Tuesday after an emergency meeting.
The 21-time champions have had a stuttering start to the campaign, without a win in three Premier League matches in the betPawa Premier League.
The winless run stretches to eight games from last season as they finished in sixth with 48 points, eventually losing their title to reigning champions Asante Kotoko.
Boadu’s glittering spell at Hearts – winning the Premier League, FA Cup twice, Super Cup, and President Cup, did not dissuade the Togbe-led board from cracking the whip.
Below is the list of coaches who have been axed under the administration of the bankroller.
1. Nebojsa Vucicevic – 4th February 2011 to 18th March 2012.
2. C.K Akonnor – 19th March 2012 to 1st November 2012.
3. David Duncan – 13th November 2012 to 8th November 2016.
4. Herbert Addo – 11th July 2014 to 14th July 2015.
5. Kenichi Yatsuhashi – 29th October 2015 to 20th June 2016
6. Sérgio Traguil – 27th June 2016 to 30th August 2016.
7. Frank Nuttall – 16th February 2017 to 23rd February 2018.
8. Henry Wellington – 23rd February 2018 to 8th June 2018.
9. Kim Grant – 8th November 2018 to 31st December 2019.
10. Kosta Papic – 1st December 2020 to 15th February 2021 – Papic left to take a new job in South Africa.
11. Samuel Boadu – 1st March 2021 to 27th September 2022.
After three years without a solo release – Stormzy dropped his new single Mel Made me Do It with a powerful, 10-minute music video on Thursday night.
It stars a range of black British icons, from Dave to Little Simz, as well Brenda Edwards, mother of late music producer Jamal.
Cameos from sport, musical and cultural heroes have been called “a celebration of Black British excellence”.
Stormzy’s latest song and video scream Black British excellence, I saw people I grew up watching/listening to, to Black Brits making the scene right now, we LOVE to see it
The track has been an instant hit – racking up more than one million Youtube views in less than 24 hours.
And many black British people have been heaping praise upon Stormzy’s latest.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter
Afolabi spoke to BBC Newsbeat about his own reaction.
“I still struggle to call myself a black Brit. I grew up here all my life and I have strong ties here, but I’m also Nigerian” says Afolabi.
“There are times when this country will remind you that we’re not wanted and it makes me glad that I’m Nigerian because I have a community that I can still relate to,” says the 29-year-old.
“However, Stormzy’s video really made me proud to call myself a black Brit.”
Image source, AfolabiImage caption, Afolabi says he was particularly excited to see so many famous faces who “played a part in shaping our struggles”
Afolabi was particularly excited to see all the stars in the video – from talk show hosts to football managers.
“Take Ian Wright as an example,” he says.
“He’s a legend that faced adversity and got into professional football at a late age and still succeeded.”
Afolabi also names Jenny Francis – who “provided joy for so many of us” – and Noughts and Crosses author Malorie Blackman as personally significant appearances.
In the music video Malorie walks alongside another author, Jade LB, who wrote the award winning book – Keisha the Sket. Jade told Newsbeat last year that she’s an “advocate” for telling stories from “marginalised communities”.
“These people and so many more played a part in shaping me and our struggles and our joy are similar in one way or another and that for me is what truly makes us black British,” says Afolabi.
The track is named after Melissa Holdbrook-Akposoe, better know as influencer Melissa’s Wardrobe – Stormzy’s stylist and CEO of It’s a Lifestyle Hun.
Her impact has been highlighted on social media as well.
“Understanding Melissa’s influence is not a surprise to me. I’m an invested fan so I was aware for a long time and has been aware of her affiliation with Big Mike,” says Afolabi.
“When Stormzy was on Instagram, she was always on the stories and look at the amazing job she did for him at The Met Gala. The core of us have known of Melissa and her influence for a long time, the mainstream are just catching up.”
Both Stormzy and Melissa are now in Ghana ahead of the Global Citizen concert in the country’s capital Accra.
“It’s been poor for us,” Kobby Jones, PRO of Hearts’ National Chapters Committee said. “It’s not been as we hoped when the league was about to start. Though our first three matches were very difficult, we were not expecting to play three games and have only two points. That wasn’t the plan, we need to look at it and change things.”
The trophy-laden relationship Hearts had with Boadu has come to an end. Five trophies in 18 months after a run of 11 years without a single one, paints the Boadu era at Hearts, and he leaves with a record.
When his wedding was telecasted live on national television, he became the first Ghana Premier League coach or any in Ghana for that matter, to receive such a gesture. It is one which does not just happen, reserved for the class of a royal family, so, it is a big deal – no matter how anyone looks at it. Not even the legendary Jones Attuquayefio had a gesture of that sort – not to compare the two.
Attuquayefio is in a league of his own – no debate, but even with only one win in his last nine league games, Boadu deserves a seat at the Hearts table as he brought the club what it so much endeared itself with – winning.
The recent few weeks have been devoid of it though, and it is what cut short what looked a promising relationship. One win in nine league games – furnished with late comebacks versus city rivals, Great Olympics and nemesis, Kotoko, certainly does not fit the standards of Hearts.
“All Hearts of Oak supporters are unhappy with how things are going. We were not expecting the season to start this way. We were expecting it to start well because of the kind of recruitment the board and Togbe Afede did for us. We thought that we have a team good enough to start the league strongly. It hasn’t been the case and we are worried,” Jones told JoySports.
The National Chapters Committee is the official fan group of the club, a different gravy as compared to the vociferous Phobia Tertiary, but both fan groups were united on one front – an occurrence which almost never happens in football.
All rank and file of Phobia foot soldiers wanted Boadu out of the job once it seemed his winning wand had run out of pixie dust, and their calls grew even more confident with the seeming backing of an individual high up the Hearts hierarchy.
“When the board gets to the stage when something has to be done, I’ll force them to take a decision. No one is bigger than the club, including the Board chairman,” Dr. Nyaho Tamakloe said on Nyhira FM.
A wait too long
The last time Hearts won two games on the bounce happened more than four months ago, after their victory at home to Dreams. The game preceding that was an away 3-0 win at 10-man Accra Lions. Since then, Hearts have posted a record which best represents a mid-table club: D-W-D-L-L-L-L-L-D-D.
Hearts at the end of last season dropped 13 of a possible 15 points from the final five games. The club’s decision to participate in the GHALCA G6 with the Auroras stirred conversation, and the heavy defeats did not help.
There was a sense that fans were beginning to get frustrated with Boadu, and after their defeat to Aduana Stars on the opening day of the season, one summed it up.
“I am not surprised with the result,” the fan who looked to be in his mid 20s said after Aduana’s victory. “You had the chance to have good preparation for the season, but decided to use Auroras instead, and went to play pre-season games with bottom tier sides. I don’t know what they were trying to achieve,” he ended.
Well, whatever Boadu was trying to achieve could not be seen after dropping points in the subsequent games and that was the last straw for him.
“I mean I think supporters can’t wait longer because the thing is you keep having trust one match, another match, ‘another trust’ – and it’s still going. Now teams are winning matches and we’re dropping points. We need to catch up with them. So the decision the board should look at should be one which helps this club. It’s not all the time you give coaches time when you think things are not happening.
“If you want to turn things around, you need to be decisive with what you do. But of course we [fans] cannot sack the coach, they [board] are the managers. They employed him, they have the KPI with him so they should measure it,” Jones told JoySports just a day before Hearts announced Boadu’s departure.
What next?
“I want to thank the Hearts of Oak family, the board of directors and Togbe Afede for this opportunity,” was what Boadu said in the draw with Kotoko. He was asked to provide his assessment of the game – the man knew it was coming.
The club announced Samuel Nii Noi – head at Auroras, as interim till a substantive is recruited. The rumour mill has been churning since, with a couple of local media outlets naming Erik Van der Meer as Boadu’s replacement.
Meer, whose last job was with Saudi Arabia’s U20s, has been described as one with ‘proper knowledge and understanding of how a football club should be built and work’ by Vardan Israelyan, President of FC Stal. But the Dutch coach also has vast experience in youth football.
While Hearts recently look to be making some form of effort to revive the Auroras, Van der Meer’s work if confirmed, will be way beyond the youth setup with Hearts, as the cycle of firing and hiring managers has lasted too long at the club without reward.
“Years back when Hearts played a game, you don’t ask if hearts won or lost. You ask how many goals Hearts scored but this isn’t the case now,” Dr. Tamakloe said, giving off a rather sentimental feel during final days of Boadu.
But those glorious days of Hearts have been long gone – way before the Boadu era, and the fans recognize it. “There is a need for proper structure for the team,” was all a fan said when quizzed about the club.
But to be fair, there has been commendable effort to put the club on a different pedestal – with the Pobiman project, construction of a new club secretariat and the commissioning and operationalisation of a commercial center.
But the next step for Hearts, without a doubt, is qualifying to the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup. The sacking of Boadu cannot be for the purpose of only winning a couple of premier league games.
With the cost the club is ready to bare administratively for all its projects, there should be a certain standard of effort reflecting on the field, and it starts with playing in the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup, a platform the club has been absent from for 18 years.
The ongoing attempts to stop the chronic devaluation of the cedi against the major trading currencies, according to Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, will soon start to bear fruit.
He claims that the Bank of Ghana has taken some action to address the issue affecting the cost of living in the nation.
On September 28, Ken Ofori-Atta provided an overview of the steps being taken to stop the devaluation of the cedi, including a Special Foreign Exchange Auction for bulk distribution businesses and a Gold Purchase Program.
“As part of measures to shore up our reserves, improve exchange rate stability and address some of the funding needs, the Ministry successfully worked on a US$750 million Afreximbank loan facility which was received in August 2022,” he explained.
“The traditional Cocoa Syndication Loan, expected in the last quarter of 2022 which will promote the cocoa sector, will further help us build our FX reserves and provide a strong buffer for the cedi in the last quarter of the year,” Ken Ofori-Atta added.
The local currency has since the start of this year significantly lost its value against major trading currencies, especially the US dollar.
The cedi is currently selling at around GH¢10.00 to the US dollar on the forex market – a situation which has impacted the currency’s performance and resulted in a high cost of living.
Demand for forex has also overtaken supplies during a period when high debts and low investor confidence have made it impossible for Ghana to access the international capital market for borrowing.
As at July this year, the cedi lost its value by more than 20 percent to the US dollar.
In addition, recent economic downgrades by international rating agencies such as Fitch and Standards & Poors’ has also impacted the investor community at large, while Ghana awaits an IMF support programme which is expected to be accessed in 2023.
Based on a shared commitment to development, the two countries’ bilateral commerce volume reached a height of US$9.57 billion in 2021, up from US$6.67 billion in 2017, according to Lu Kun, the Chinese ambassador to Ghana.
China’s direct investment climbed by US$15 million, a 12% increase year over year, making Ghana its biggest trading partner in Africa.
At a durbar to commission a 22-km inner city road infrastructure in Cape Coast that was paid for by the Chinese government through the Sinohydro agreement, the Chinese ambassador made this disclosure.
He attributed the steady rise in trade and investments to the strong demand for Chinese products by Ghanaians as well as measures put in place by both countries to leverage the long-standing relations.
The Vice-President, Dr Mohamudu Bawumia, together with Mr Kwasi Amoako Atta, Roads and Highways Minister joined the chiefs of the Area to commission the road project aimed at expanding access to ease traffic and accelerate development.
Elated by the increasing trade volumes between China and Ghana, the Ambassador said: “These are not just numbers, but a symbol of China-Ghana friendship we value and cherish.”
“The China-Ghana ties have been kept on a sound momentum of high-level bilateral exchanges and ever-increasing trust built on mutual strong conviction for development.
“The decades of solid relations remain a springboard for a win-win China-Ghana cooperation hinged on consolidating bilateral traditional friendship, deepening pragmatic cooperation, and broad consensus building on issues of mutual concern,” he stated.
The Chinese Ambassador indicated that China and Ghana have always supported each other on issues concerning their core and major interests, keeping close cooperation in the international and regional arena and thus safeguarding the relationship.
Through that, Mr Kun said the Chinese government had financed, partnered, and executed several critical national projects relating to the economic growth and the livelihood of people in Ghana.
Key among them are the National Theatre, office complexes of the Foreign Ministry and Defence Ministry, the University of Health and Allied Sciences in Ho and the Cape Coast Sports Stadium.
Others are the Atuabo Gas Processing Project, Bui Dam, and Kpong Water Supply Expansion Project, Asogli Power Plant, and Africa World Airline (AWA) which have played a key role in resolving the power shortage and promoting the interconnection of the sub-region.
Lately, the Chinese equipment and technologies have accelerated the pace of integration with local enterprises and capital, bringing into being several local star enterprises and adding fuel to the enthusiasm for Ghana’s cooperation with China.
On people-to-people exchanges, he said cultural exchanges were close and ever-increasing on mutual understanding, as wood sculpture, music, and dance, among other forms of tourists, enjoyed high popularity among Chinese tourists.
Mrs Justina Marigold Assan said the completion of roads was key to the region’s investment drive to become the preferred investment destination in the country.
She said the Region remained the most preferred destination in Ghana’s quest to continuously attract investment from the Diaspora.
Ghana FA president Kurt Okraku has said that the Black Stars will not be underrated by any opponent at the 2022 World Cup.
Ghana eliminated Nigeria in the World Cup playoff on aggregate to qualify for the Mundial in March.
The team has been engaging in a series of friendly games as part of preparations ahead of the tournament.
Ghana lost 3-0 to five-time World Champions Brazil in an international friendly played in France last Friday.
According to Kurt Okraku, despite the Black Stars’ defeat to Brazil, the countries to play Ghana in Group H will not underrate the four-time African champions.
“The group is not easy, there are very good teams, but Ghana is not an easy rival either,” he told deia.eus.
Ghana will open their campaign against Portugal on November 24 at Stadium 974 in Doha.
Four days later, the Black Stars return to action with a clash with South Korea at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan.
Ghana will wrap up their group stage adventure with their much-anticipated encounter with Uruguay at Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah.
Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight has said the story could return to television with a new creative team.
He told BBC Midlands Today it could continue with “possible new stories into the 50s”.
The sixth series was billed as the final series for the drama, but Mr Knight said: “If there is an appetite for the world then it will continue.”
He also said he planned to “hand over the baton” of writing after the Peaky Blinders film was released in 2024.
Image caption, Cillian Murphy played the lead role in Peaky Blinders, which follows the exploits of Tommy Shelby and his family
Mr Knight made the comments on Tuesday at the world premiere of a new Peaky Blinders dance show at the Birmingham Hippodrome called The Redemption of Thomas Shelby.
He had previously planned for a seven-season run of the drama, which is set in post-World War One Birmingham and follows the story of the Shelby family.
But in 2021 it was announced the sixth season would be the last on TV screens and that the story would conclude with a film.
Filming for that is due to begin in the Digbeth area of Birmingham and in the studio in early 2023.
Image source, RambertImage caption, The new Peaky Blinders dance show features live musicians and incorporates some tracks from the TV series
The series first aired on BBC Two in September 2013 and ratings quickly grew from more than two million for the first series to over four million by series four.
It made the transition to BBC One for the fifth series in 2019, achieving audiences of over five million.
Throughout its run, a host of awards have followed, including National Television Awards (NTAs), which are voted for by the public, and a Bafta for best drama series in 2018.
Defending champions Asante Kotoko picked up their first three points as they beat Nsoatreman 2-1 in their outstanding fixture in the 2022/23 Ghana Premier League
Stephen Amankona put the Porcupine Warriors in front in the 15th minute at the Baba Yara Stadium.
The winger won a penalty after he was brought down in the box and he stepped up to score from the spot.
Kotoko’s Ugandan import, Mukwala was wasteful up front as he had some near misses in the game.
Mohammed Gargo’s side who were playing as the away team barely created a chance in the game.
After recess, Isaac Oppong scored a brilliant solo goal to double the lead for Asante Kotoko in the 47th minute.
Five minutes later, Philip Ofori got a consolation goal for Nsoatreman from a cross which was whipped in with Danlad Ibrahim failing to clear his lines.
The wins give Asante Kotoko 4 points after playing two matches in the league.
The Porcupine Warriors played a 1-1 stalemate with rivals Hearts of Oak on Sunday.
With one outstanding game at hand. Kotoko will play as guests to city rivals King Faisal Babes on matchday four at the Baba Yara Stadium once again this weekend.
Mr Alexander Nketia, Volta Regional Director, Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), says data from eight out of 10 tourist sites as of August 2022, generated a revenue of about GH¢315,410,000 in terms of revenue to the various tourist sites and communities.
He said during the same period, there were about 22,181 domestic and 4,921 foreign or international tourists.
Mr Nketia, during this year’s United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) World Tourism Day held in Wa, said the Volta region was a microcosm of Ghana that had everything that tourists would want to experience in Ghana and had not been performing badly of late.
He said tourism was impacting the communities, which would help a lot of people in the communities and was growing since the rollout of the “Visit Volta and Experience Ghana” campaign with the help of all stakeholders.
He said the number of visits recorded by the end of last year was about 27,000 while in terms of revenue, the sites generated about GHC290,000 which showed that there had been a remarkable improvement in 2022.
Mr Nketia said road network, lack of telecommunication network and internet connectivity were challenges for sites in the regions, as most tourist sites did not have the requisite level of development or infrastructure to improve the experience of guests.
Mr Nketia said the government through the Tourism Ministry and Ghana Tourism Authority with support from the World Bank were trying their best to improve some tourist sites including the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary and Cultural Village and Afadjato in Liati Wote and Gbledi.
He said there was also development taking place at Wli, where they were trying to work on bridges leading to the falls, install CCTV cameras and train staff to enhance the expectations of guests.
Mr Nketia said there was also work on the improvement of the information centre facility and some enhancement of the waterfront to make it more experiential for guests.
He said some more sites in the regions would also benefit from the improvement and there would be the provision of customer or guest receptive facilities at sites to improve or ease the comfort of guests as well as interpretation of languages of guests.
He called on the public, especially those in the regions, to participate in local tourism by making domestic tourism a thing for all and at least visit a site around them once every week.
The 2022 celebration is themed, “Rethinking Tourism” which focuses on how tourism recovery could be accelerated through a collaborative engagement of all stakeholders around a shared vision to build a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient sector.
As part of the celebration, Ghana has developed a sub-theme dubbed; “Promoting Domestic Tourism for Wealth Creation in Communities to grow the interest of Ghanaians in tourism.”
It was carried out during a field trip to the Northern Region’s Tingoli community, organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) and resource-supported by the WOTRO Organization.
The goal of the field demonstration, according to Mr. Abdul Rashid Issah, Seed Technologist at CSIR-SARI, was to inform and demonstrate to farmers the need of utilizing enhanced seed varieties for greater yields.
He mentioned the improved seed varieties, which included SARI NUT two and CHINESE NUT introduced by CSIR-SARI to the Farmers in 2018 to enhance groundnut production in six districts in the northern sector, which included Tolon, Kumbungu, Binduri, Nadowli-Kaleo, Central Gonja, and East Gonja.
He said the varieties grew well and early compared to other groundnut varieties which took longer days to mature.
Mr Issah said, “SARI NUT two has 45 percent oil and 36 percent protein, high yield with 11.3 percent CP, suitable for use as confectionery.”
He encouraged farmers to adopt the new varieties to secure and improve their farms to enable them to harvest more yields.
He stated that the varieties were adaptable to climate change and high in protein and oil, better drought tolerance, and long storage span, especially the SARI Nut two variety.
A farmer from Tolon District, who planted the improved groundnut varieties, said he harvested 16 bags from an acre of land from the SARI Nut two variety compared to the available variety, which produced three to five bags on the same land size.
The family of dance musician Avicii have sold 75% of the rights to his master recordings and publishing to the Swedish entertainment company Pophouse.
The deal will allow Avicii’s parents to concentrate on the foundation they established after his death in 2018.
They retain the remaining 25% of his rights, “to ensure a dignified tone” in how his music is used and promoted.
Pophouse was established by Abba star Björn Ulvaeus in 2014, and runs the Abba Voyage show in London.
In a press release announcing the Avicii deal, the company revealed sales figures for the groundbreaking virtual concert for the first time – with 650,000 tickets sold, and more than 160 sold out performances.
Avicii was born Tim Bergling in 1989, and rose to prominence after posting tracks he’d made in his Stockholm bedroom to dance music websites.
He set himself apart from his peers by writing songs with emotional pop hooks – and scored a major international hit with Wake Me Up, which blended folky, bluegrass melodies with club-ready beats.
Bergling went on to produce music for Madonna and Coldplay and became one of the world’s highest-paid DJs, but he suffered from alcoholism and depression and eventually took his own life at the age of 28.
Since then, his parents Klas Bergling and Anki Lidén have overseen his estate, arranging a star-studded tribute concert, licensing a video game based on his music, and opening an interactive tribute museum in Stockholm earlier this year (the latter was also a joint project with Pophouse).
In a statement, Bergling explained that selling a majority stake in his son’s music rights would help to secure his legacy.
“My wife and I feel that as we are getting older, we do not have the right energy level or required skills to fully keep ahead of the new streaming and digital developments vital for such a big, international artist as Tim,” he wrote.
Image source, Press handoutImage caption, Pophouse CEO Per Sudin (left) originally signed Avicii to Universal Music Sweden in 2010
“Through this deal, we are also securing the Tim Bergling Foundation’s long-term finances, creating opportunity to act decisively on the foundation’s commitments to supporting such important issues as mental health and well-being of young people.”
He explained that the deal would bring Avicii’s music “to the widest possible audience” and “take care” of his international fanbase.
“Since Tim took his life, as a family, we have not had sufficient time for his fans that they so deserve, and have lacked the ability to follow up on their correspondence and other contact with us,” Bergling wrote.
“We leave neither Tim nor his contribution to the world. He is always within us and so is his music.”
The Avicii deal comes six months after Pophouse acquired the master recordings and publishing assets of dance icons Swedish House Mafia. No figure has been disclosed for the acquisition.
The last five years have seen a flurry of similar deals, with artists like Bob Dylan, Shakira, Blondie and Neil Young selling the rights to their catalogues to companies who promise to safeguard their legacy, while profiting from the royalties.
The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has urged government and business to work together to create a stronger economy that will support employment and shared prosperity.
The AGI thought that closer cooperation between the public and commercial sectors would help the nation’s industrial development while also reducing the negative effects of COVID-19 and the spillover from the Ukraine and Russia War.
Mr Joseph Garbrah, the Chairman of the AGI, at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) for the Western and Central branches of the Association, said the private sector was a key engine in the country’s growth agenda and must be given the needed attention through well-tailored policies and programmes.
The meeting hinged on: “Levering Public-Private Collaboration to accelerate Sustainable Industrial Development,” sponsored by the EU Investment Promotion and Business Linkages Project.
Mr Garbrah said the much talked about sustainable industrial development should revolve around leveraging the private-public sectors, finance, and investment by companies and corporations.
“More largely it should be about leveraging resources, skills, and knowledge that the private sector can bring to the table to support and implement sustainable industrial development,” he said.
Mr Francis Osei Kusi, a Business Development Linkages Expert, urged members of the AGI, particularly Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to be investment, export and Linkages ready through the right governance and best business practices.
He said the country could boast of many entrepreneurs but lacked well thought out business sustainable plans into the future.
“Most businesses have the wife and husband as the board with no proper structure…I remember my days with the Commercial Bank and the many businesses we helped in this region but, today, looking back, I can count only a few surviving,” Mr Kusi said.
He, therefore, encouraged them to develop their businesses to transcend generations.
Mr Seth Twum Akwaboah, the Chief Executive Officer of the AGI, encouraged the SMEs to develop the “eyes and nose” for investment opportunities and fully take advantage of them.
The AGI would continue to work to meet the needs of the business community through effective national and international engagements, he noted.
Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, the Western Regional Minister, reiterated the need for effective collaboration to develop innovative solutions for challenges facing companies.
He said the Government was working hard to deploy appropriate technologies and innovations in favor of businesses.
Some participants at the AGM said the revival of the Tema Oil Refinery must be a matter of concern to the government to reduce fuel costs for businesses.
They called for tax exemptions to encourage subnational start-ups to create employment.
Lizzo made history by becoming the first person to play a 200-year-old crystal flute, once owned by former US President James Madison, during her concert in Washington DC on Tuesday.
Inspecting it on stage, she said: “It’s like playing out of a wine glass.”
The star then played a few notes while simultaneously shaking her lower body.
“I just twerked and played James Madison’s flute from the 1800s!” she beamed, after having handed it back to a representative who put it back in its case.
While posting the video on her own social media channels afterwards, the Houston-raised Juice singer told her fans: “No one has ever heard what is sounds like… now you do.”
She later added: “As a flute player this is iconic and I will never be over it.”
Following her historic gig on Tuesday evening, The Library of Congress tweeted to confirm the flute had been returned safely.
“We just did a DNA test,” they posted. “Turns out: It’s 100% that [crystal] flute.”
Grammy-winner Lizzo is currently touring the US in support of her fourth album, Special, which featured the TikTok hit, About Damn Time.
Earlier this summer, she changed the lyrics to a new song, Grrrls, after fans complained it used an ableist slur.
James Madison, America’s fourth President from 1809 to 1817, made a major contribution to the ratification of the Constitution by writing The Federalist Papers, along with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. In later years, he was referred to as the Father of the Constitution.
At the Ghana Job Fair’s 2022 green edition, hundreds of job seekers—mostly young people—showed up at Kumasi’s Prempeh Assembly Hall to look for employment.
The job fair, which took place simultaneously in Kumasi and Tamale, brought together companies and job seekers with the goal of matching them with positions that were open while building networks for those who were unable to find employment.
The German Development Cooperation organized the event this year under the topic “Connecting Talents and Opportunities” in partnership with the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, the Youth Employment Agency, and the Ghanaian-German Centre for Jobs, Migration and Reintegration.
The job fair is a strategic response to the needs of the Ghanaian youth in the area of employment and provides opportunities for job seekers to acquire the necessary skills and mindset for innovative and sustainable job opportunities.
According to a 2021 report of the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), one out of three young adults in Ghana is unemployed and the job fair seeks to address the menace through a collaborative effort of Ghana and German governments.
Various speakers took turns to address the participants on job opportunities and how best they could enhance their employability with an emphasis on entrepreneurship.
Other activities included curriculum vitae and cover letter reviews to make them suitable for varied job opportunities.
Officials of the Labour Department were also on hand to take details of the jobseekers for possible vacancies in future.
Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, in a speech read on his behalf, said the government of Ghana through the National Green Jobs Strategy, aimed to create decent and sustainable job opportunities for the teeming youth in Ghana.
“We appreciate the cooperation that exists between the Ministry and GIZ Ghana.
It contributes to the realisation of the development objectives of the two countries in the areas of employment promotion and sustainable development,” he observed.
He commended the organisers of the annual event for their significant contribution to efforts by the government to address youth unemployment and pledged the Ministry’s commitment to stakeholder engagement in finding lasting solutions to the perennial phenomenon.
Mr Simon Osei-Mensah, the Ashanti Regional Minister said youth unemployment was a serious challenge that informed the government’s decision to introduce the Nation Builder Corp (NABCO) as a stop-gap measure to the increasing rate of unemployment among the youth.
He said the implementation of the YouStart initiative by the government sought to build on the NABCO programme by creating one million sustainable jobs through the provision of funding and technical support for beneficiaries to start their own businesses.
Mr David Yaw Mensah Tette, the Senior National Programme Coordinator for Migration for Development at GIZ Ghana, said the GIZ through the Ghanaian-German Centre and its partners was working to match jobseekers and job opportunities in the country.
“We encourage graduates and jobseekers to continue to engage the Centre for further support even after the Ghana Job Fair,” he implored the participants.
A dominant performance from Ghana on Tuesday evening has seen the Black Stars defeat Nicaragua 1-0 in Spain.
The national team of the West African country today locked horns with the Central American national team in a game played at the Estadio Francisco Artes Carrasco.
The game is the second match played by Ghana in the September international break.
Serving as a preparatory match for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Ghana head coach Otto Addo used the opportunity to try new players and tactics.
In a game massively dominated by the Black Stars, the team had the lead at the end of the first half.
It was all thanks to a thunderbolt strike from teenager Abdul Fatawu Issahaku which went into the back of the net after a deflection.
After recess, the Ghana team played very well and created several other chances in a bid to score more goals.
Unfortunately, the efforts of the team could not result in a goal. Eventually, the Ghana national team secured just a narrow 1-0 win at the end of the 90 minutes.
After today’s friendly, Ghana will take on Switzerland in November before the 2022 FIFA World Cup starts in Qatar.
President Akufo-Addo has been accused of an alleged theft of some graphical excerpts after he [Akufo-Addo] shared a video to promote his tourism agenda.
This followed a post the president shared via his Twitter handle.
Budding Ghanaian musician, Kirani Ayat, accused the president of using graphical excerpts in his music video without his consent.
According to Ayat, this was after the Ministry failed to heed his [Kirani Ayat] plea to use the song ‘GUDA’ to endorse tourism in the North.
“The president of Ghana has used my video ‘GUDA’ in this ad to promote Ghana. I was actively reaching out to the Ministry of Tourism in 2018/19 to use this video to push tourism in the North and got NO reply, yet today it’s in an ad and no one reached out to me for permission,” he shared.
After the disclosure by the artiste, some concerned citizens have taken up the issue to address it with the hopes that the president will give the artiste the needed decorum for using his property.
In reaction to this, the Ghana Tourism Authority has responded to the claims by Kirani Ayat.
In a statement, the Ghana Tourism Authority said the footage was acquired legitimately through an agency and has been using it since 2019.
“For the record, the footage in question was acquired legitimately from a bespoke creative agency as part of a project in 2019.
“This video has thus been played severally locally and internationally without any issue. The content was used in accordance with the terms agreed with the agency and not as being alleged,” the statement said.
However, the international media was not left out in this development.
See how BBC reported the story:
The BBC’s report was captioned “Ghana president accused of breaching copyright ”.
Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo has been accused of using a musician’s work without permission or credit to advertise the country to tourists. Ghanaian musician Kirani Ayat said he reached out to the government for support before shooting his Guda music video but he was turned down. The video was shot in northern Ghana and features scenic views and showcases the local culture. On Tuesday Ayat lashed out at the president after he shared a promo video:
Kirani said he worked a 12-hour shift as a security guard for seven days over a three-month period to save money for the video production costs.
“I reached out a couple of times to no avail. I was depressed throughout that period,” the musician wrote. The government is yet to respond to the copyright allegations.
Ghanaians on social media have encouraged the musician to sue the government for copyright infringement. Ghana has previously marketed the country for tourism with the famous year of return initiative launched in 2019 termed a great success by the government.
Several international celebrities visited the country that year.
Ken Ofori-Atta, the minister of finance, has stated that the anticipated Cocoa Syndication Loan will support the nation’s foreign exchange reserves and address the sharp depreciation of the Ghana cedi.
On September 28, 2022, the minister said at a press conference that the $750 Afrexim Bank loan the nation obtained in August is also one of the steps the government is taking to combat depreciation.
He said: “The Ministry successfully worked on a US$750 million Afreximbank loan facility which was granted in August 2022. This was done as part of measures to shore up our reserves, promote exchange rate stability, and meet some of the funding needs.
“The traditional Cocoa Syndication Loan, expected in the last quarter of 2022 which will promote the cocoa sector, will further help us build our FX reserves and provide a strong buffer for the cedi in the last quarter of the year,” he stated.
The Loan is, however, expected to be signed by September 30, 2022.
Meanwhile, the Minister noted that the Ghana cedi has depreciated by about 31.7% against the US dollar as of September 27, 2022.
The cedi is currently selling at GH¢10.50 to a dollar at some forex bureaus in the country.
“A knighthood, and the female equivalent, a damehood, is an award given by the queen (or king) to an individual for a major, long-term, contribution in any activity, usually at a national or international level.”
Across the world, there are several ways people who have contributed to the growth and advancement of society are recognised.
Awards, citations, memoirs, statues or even national days of celebrations are some of the examples of things that are done to show these people that their efforts are greatly appreciated.
In Britain, and while this is not only limited to Brits, the monarchy recognises the contributions of people to society through knighthood.
As the above quote explains, there continue to be many people who receive such honours and eventually take on the title of ‘Sir.’
The female equivalent of the knighthood is known as damehood and such honours go with the title Dame (Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, DBE).
In this GhanaWeb article, we take a look at three personalities who have been knighted by the British monarchy, taking on the enviable title of Sir.
Nana Sir Ofori Atta I, king of the Akyem:
(Profile made available via Wikipedia.com)
Nana Sir Ofori Atta I, KBE, Kt (born 11 October 1881 – 21 August 1943) was the Okyenhene or King of the Akyem people and of Akyem Abuakwa, a traditional kingdom that stretches back to the thirteenth century and was one of the most influential kingdoms of the then Gold Coast Colony. He ruled from his election in 1912 until his death in 1943.
Ofori Atta was educated in Basel Mission schools and at its Akuropon seminary, now named the Presbyterian College of Education, Akropong. He left the seminary after two years to work as a solicitor’s clerk, and then served in the West African Frontier Force, fighting during the Yaa Asantewaa War. Elected Omanhene of Akyem Abuakwa in 1912, he became a member of the Legislative Council in 1916.
In 1934, he led a Gold Coast Delegation to London to petition the British Parliament for official majority of Africans on the legislative council, permanent African representative on the Governor’s executive council and eligibility for non-chiefs to be provincial members of the executive council. He was also instrumental in setting up multiple schools, including Achimota School or College (formerly Prince of Wales School), where most colonial Gold Coast leaders and current prominent Ghanaian leaders schooled.
“Ofori Atta was the son of a senior official of the palace; his mother was the descendant of one of the founders of the kingdom…. Once in power, he was determined to return Akyem Abuakwa to its former glory.”
He created the Ofori-Atta dynasty by privileging education both amongst his sons and daughters, through two paths, “one firmly rooted in a concern for binding the state by the traditionally sanctioned method of multiple marriage and the other rooted in his strong case for ‘modernisation’ and ‘progress’.”
Family
He was the brother of Dr J. B. Danquah (a founding member of the United Gold Coast Convention). He was the father of Aaron Ofori-Atta, (the fourth Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana, a Minister of Communications and Minister of Local Government), Adeline Akufo-Addo, (First Lady under the Second Republic), William Ofori Atta (a Minister of Foreign Affairs, Presidential Candidate of the UNC), Dr Kwesi Amoako-Atta (Governor of Bank of Ghana and Minister for Finance and Economic Planning under the First Republic), Dr Jones Ofori Atta (Deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Planning under the Busia government), and Susan Ofori-Atta (the first female doctor in Ghana).
He was the grandfather of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, (current President of Ghana), Ken Ofori-Atta, (Ghana’s current Minister for Finance and Economic Planning and founder of the Databank Group), Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin (the Okyenhene, current King of Akyem Abuakwa), Samuel Atta Akyea (Minister of Works and Housing) and the writer Nana Oforiatta Ayim.
Sir Kobina Arku Korsah, former Chief Justice of Ghana:
In 1957, Sir Kobina Arku Korsah became the first African Chief Justice of Ghana.
Born on April 3, 1894, at Saltpond, Sir Kobina Korsah made history when he ascended to that high office of the judicial arm of government.
According to details on ghanaianmuseum.com, Sir Kobina Arku Korsah was the first Ghanaian alongside Nana Sir Ofori-Atta I to be appointed as a member of the Governor’s Executive Council.
He was the youngest person ever to be elected as a member of the Gold Coast Legislative Council and the first Boys Scout Commissioner in Ghana.
Sir Arku Korsah was the first Grand Master of the District Grand Lodge of Ghana, Scottish Constitution from 1953 to 1963.
After Sir Arku Korsah found the defendants in the Kulungugu bombing trial not guilty, Ghana’s first president, Osagyefo Dr, Kwame Nkrumah, removed him from office.
In addition to his judicial work, Sir Arku Korsah was also a founding member of the Ghana Academy for Arts & Sciences.
In August 1962, Sir Kobina Arku Korsah presided over the trial of five defendants. At the end of that trial, three of the accused were found not guilty and this displeased the Nkrumah government. Kwame Nkrumah sacked Sir Arku as Chief Justice in December 1963 unconstitutionally.
Sir Arku Korsah was Born in Saltpond and educated at Mfantsipim School, Fourah Bay College (BA degree in 1915), Durham University and London University (LLB in 1919).
He died on January 25, 1967.
Sir Sam Jonah, Businessman:
(Profile made available via otumfuofoundation.org.gh)
Sam Jonah’s career began in 1969 at the Obuasi gold-mine. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Ashanti Goldfields Company Limited in 1986 and over saw its growth from a one-mine operation into a multinational.
In 1996, Ashanti, which had listings in London and Ghana, became the first operating African company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
He became Executive President of AngloGold Ashanti Ltd (world’s second largest gold producer) in May 2004 when Ashanti was merged with AngloGold Limited.
In 2003 Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Head of the Commonwealth, conferred on him an Honorary Knighthood as Knight Commander of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE).
In 2006 he was awarded Ghana’s highest national award, the Companion of the Order of the Star.
In December 2004, CNN and Time Magazine ranked him as one of the world’s top 25 most influential business people – setting the global standards for management, ethics, marketing and innovation. He is the recipient of five Lifetime Achievement awards, the most recent awarded in 2019 by the Albert Nelson Marquis.
Sir Sam Jonah is the Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast Ghana, a former Member of the Board of Ashesi University in Ghana, a Visiting Professor of Business at The University of Witwatersrand Business School of Johannesburg and a member of its Governing Council as well as Trustee of the Nelson Mandela Legacy Trust (UK).
He was a Founding Member of the United Nations Secretary General’s Global Compact Advisory Council; a member of The African Regional Advisory Board of the London Business School, has served as a member of the Governing Body of the School of Oriental and African Studies and a Trustee of the Camborne School of Mines. In 2003, he was Co-Chairman of the World Economic Forum held in Durban, South Africa; he was on the Advisory Council of the President of the African Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Sir Sam Jonah has served on the boards of several international public and private companies;
He previously served as Chairman of Equinox Limited (Australian and Canadian listed), Moto Gold Mines (Australian and Canadian listed), and Uramin (London and Canadian listed). He was previously Chairman of the Mauritius based Bayport Financial Services. He served on the board of Vodafone UK from 2009 up to July 2019.
Sam has been an Advisor to a number of African Heads of State, Thabo Mbeki (South Africa), Olusengu Obasanjo (Nigeria), Gnassingbe Eyadema (Togo) and John Agyekum Kuffour (Ghana). In December 2012, he was appointed a founding member of Bank of America Global Advisory Council and ended his term in March 2020.
He has also been elected as a Foreign Member of the United States National Academy of Sciences (Engineering Division) for the recognition of his distinguished contribution to engineering.
He was appointed as the Chairman of Helios Towers, UK in September 2019 and in January 2020, was appointed as Chairman of Roscan Gold Incorporation headquartered in Canada.
John Agyekum Kufuor, former President of Ghana
While he doesn’t use the title ‘Sir,’ the former president of Ghana, John Agyekum Kufuor, also makes it to this list.
In an earlier GhanaWeb story, John Kufuor shared the little-known story of how he was knighted by the former monarch of Britain, Queen Elizabeth II.
Recounting his most memorable moments with the late monarch, whom he encountered on several occasions, the former president explained that he had been invited to the United Kingdom by the Queen on a state visit.
In an interview monitored by GhanaWeb, he told the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation that while there, he met the Queen at a place where she had displayed gifts that she had received from Ghana.
President John Agyekum Kufuor explained that it was there that he got conferred with the honour of the Knight Commander of the Order of Bath of the UK by the Queen herself.
“She and her husband took me around to show me the gifts they had received from Ghana: some from former presidents, some from our chiefs; they had displayed everything there for me and my wife. Of course, we also sent some: I sent some necklace of precious beads from Ghana, a bit of gold and ancient beads.
“There, we showed them what we had sent them, and then after the exchange of gifts, she also showed me insignia – because they knighted me, gave me the Knight Commander of the Order of Bath; a very high post. It was honorary, of course,” he explained.
Profile of John Agyekum Kufuor
Mr. John Agyekum Kufuor was born on December 8, 1938, in Kumasi, Ghana. He had his Secondary Education at Prempeh College where he passed at the top of his class. He enrolled at Lincoln Inn, London, and was called to the Bar in 1961 at the age of 22. He then entered Oxford University where he passed his Honors BA degree in 1964 in economics, philosophy, and politics. He was subsequently confirmed, in accord with Oxford traditions, with the Master’s degree by the University.
Both sides of Kufuor’s parentage come from distinguished families whose members include chiefs, farmers, timber merchants, businessmen, university professors, doctors, engineers, accountants, teachers, nurses, lawyers, and politicians. J. A. Kufuor is happily married to Theresa (Nee Mensah). The marriage is blessed with five children, four of whom are university graduates with the youngest son still in the university. Mr. Kufuor and his family belong to the Roman Catholic Church.
Mr. Kufuor’s public service spans over 30 years. In 1967, he was appointed chief legal officer and town clerk (city manager) of Kumasi, the second largest city of Ghana. He was a member of the 1968-69 and the 1979 Constituent Assemblies that drafted the Constitutions of the Second and Third Republics respectively. In addition, he was a founding member of the Progress Party (PP) in 1969, the Popular Front Party (PFP) in 1979 and is a founding member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP). He has twice been elected as a member of Parliament, during the Second and Third Republics. He has also been in political detention on two occasions as a result of military coups that overthrew the Second and Third Republics. He has been a deputy minister of foreign affairs and in this capacity, he represented Ghana on several occasions. From 1969 to December 1971, he led Ghana’s delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Ministerial Meetings in Addis Ababa, and the Summit Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement in Lusaka, Zambia. In 1970, he led the Ghanaian delegation to Moscow in the former Soviet Union, Prague (Former Czechoslovakia), and Belgrade (Yugoslavia) to discuss Ghana’s indebtedness to these Countries.
As the spokesman on foreign affairs and deputy opposition leader of the Popular Front Party (PFP) Parliamentary Group during the Third Republic, he was invited to accompany President Limann to the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Summit Conference in Freetown, Sierra Leone. He was also a member of the Parliamentary Delegation that Visited the United States of America (USA) in 1981 to talk to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank on Ghana’s economic problems.
In January 1982, the leadership of the All People’s Party (APP), which was an alliance of all the opposition parties, advised some leading members, including the Deputy Leader of the Alliance, Alhaji Iddrisu Mahama, the General Secretary, Dr. Obed Asamoah, and Mr. J. A. Kufuor. To accept an invitation from the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) to serve in what was purported to be a National Government. Mr. Kufuor was appointed the Secretary for Local Government in this new Government. As a Secretary for Local Government, he authored the Local Government Policy Guidelines that were to be the foundation of the current decentralized District Assemblies. He, however, resigned within seven months of acceptance of the position after having satisfied himself that the PNDC Government was not the national Government that it promised to be. Indeed he found that it had a hidden agenda which he could not be a Party to. He also could not be a party to the intolerance, the brutality, abuse, and corruption of that Government.
On April 20, 1996, Mr. J. A. Kufuor was nominated by 1034 out of 2000 delegates of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) drawn from all the 200 Constituencies of the Country to run for the President of Ghana on December 10, 1996. After campaigning for less than nine months, Mr. Kufuor polled almost 40% of the popular votes. On October 23, 1998, he was re-nominated by the New Patriotic Party not only to run again for President but to officially assume the position of Leader of the Party. Kufuor won the presidential elections in Dec. 2000 and was sworn in as president on January 9, 2001.
Sir David Adjaye, Award-Wining Architect:
(Profile made available via adjaye.com)
Sir David Adjaye OBE is an award-winning Ghanaian-British architect known to infuse his artistic sensibilities and ethos for community-driven projects. His ingenious use of materials, bespoke designs and visionary sensibilities have set him apart as one of the leading architects of his generation.
In 2000, David founded his own practice, Adjaye Associates, which today operates globally, with studios in Accra, London, and New York taking on projects that span the globe. The firm’s work ranges from private houses, bespoke furniture collections, product design, exhibitions, and temporary pavilions to major arts centers, civic buildings, and master plans. His largest project to date, The National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, DC opened on the National Mall in Washington DC in 2016 and was named Cultural Event of the Year by The New York Times.
In 2017, Adjaye was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and was recognized as one of the 100 most influential people of the year by TIME Magazine. Most recently, Adjaye was announced the winner of the 2021 RIBA Royal Gold Medal. Approved personally by Her Majesty the Queen, the Royal Gold Medal is considered one of the highest honors in British architecture for significant contribution to the field internationally. Sir Adjaye is also the recipient of the World Economic Forum’s 27th Annual Crystal Award, which recognizes his “leadership in serving communities, cities and the environment.”
As a young boy born in 1966 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Adjaye’s childhood saw stability in movement as his father Affram was a diplomat whose work took the family all over the world to places such as Kampala, Nairobi, Cairo, Beirut, Accra, and Jeddah. Adjaye was born into a vibrant era of hope where just previously Kwame Nkrumah had won the country independence from the British in 1957 and the spirit of emancipation was one that influenced the family’s mobilities. In his early adulthood, one of the many prolific projects that evolved out of David’s travels is the ‘Adjaye Africa Architecture: A Photographic Survey of Metropolitan Architecture’. The project took place over a ten year period documenting fifty-four major African cities and showcasing a concise urban history, fact file, maps and satellite imagery that come together in a rigorous analysis and reconceptualization of what African architecture is and can truly be.
A formative moment in Adjaye’s childhood was when he realized the inequities that his brother Emmanuel – who was partially paralyzed — faced when visiting his specialized school. Adjaye noted how inefficient, run-down and degrading the actual facility was. During his university education at South Bank he began to think about designing a facility that would provide better care for the handicapped, a moment he describes as changing everything.
He came to the understanding that architecture should serve people and as a prevalent force within all our lives it too should take to the realm of egalitarianism.
Before going to graduate school, Adjaye spent a few months working in studios in London and later left for Portugal where he met and studied with the prolific Eduardo Souto de Moura. At the time, Portugal had yet to be fully integrated into the EU and still held with it an artisanal charm that had craftsmanship and self-sufficiency akin to one another in a collective enchantment. It was here that Adjaye fed his creative drive of architecture with Eduardo guiding and exposing him to the essence of materials as it pertained to time, touch and value.
He continued this creative strand in his travels to Japan where he found the works of Toyo Ito, Tadao Ando, Kenzo Tange and Yoshio Taniguchi as well as Japanese Buddhism courses at the University of Kyoto where he lived which allowed him to further explore thinking and considerations of architecture outside of the European cannon.
Adjaye then returned to London to establish his practice. His firm’s early work largely involved private commissions for the design of artist studios and residences and quickly evolved into civic commissions beginning with the Ideas Stores, two public libraries in London. The Ideas Stores, which became precedents for redefining the role of the library in fostering social interactions, led to larger-scale civic and cultural work such as Adjaye’s first project in the US, the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver which was completed in 2007. Nearly a year after its opening, Adjaye was commissioned to design the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Today the portfolio continues to evolve with major cultural and civic projects.
Ultimately, for Adjaye, architecture is “a social act” — it’s about constructing buildings that acknowledge and understand their histories, whilst creating something entirely new, in order to serve communities into their futures.
Otumfoɔ Osei Agyeman Prempeh II
The British Government restored the Asante Confederacy on January 31, 1935, with Otumfoɔ Osei Agyeman Prempeh II as the Asantehene.
In 1947 the British government conferred on him the knighthood of the Commander of the British Empire (KBE).
He spearheaded the establishment of the National House of Chiefs and sited its headquarters in Kumasi.
He was the second literate and Christian king and he saw to it that education became the cornerstone of his nation‟s development.
According to Mr. William Kormatsi, a former candidate for parliament from the Akatsi South Constituency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-government Addo’s has no economy.
The business tycoon claims that the economy is dying because the nation’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is above 100%.
This claim was made by Mr. Kpormatsi on his official Facebook page.
“Once more, Ghana has no economy! Debt to GDP has historically exceeded 100%. Let’s manage our meager savings!”
He declared.
According to him, the magnitude of suffering being experienced by Ghanaians cannot be compared to the ravages of war, advising Ghanaians to take care of their savings in the country’s banks.
Mr. Kpormatsi’s comments add to the sentiments of many Ghanaians who have decried the country’s economic woes.
Ghana, under the leadership of President Akufo-Addo and Dr. Bawumia, is currently experiencing a hard time, with the country’s currency consistently falling against the US dollar and other major currencies.
Businessman and entrepreneur, Ibrahim Mahama, has started mentoring a young man with great prospects in machinery inventions.
17-year-old Master Solomon Atimbiri, who hails from the Upper East Region but currently resides in Kumasi, was spotted by the business mogul after one of his videos went viral this past weekend, catching the latter’s attention.
Ibrahim Mahama then followed up by traveling all the way to visit the young man to begin the first of many mentorship sessions with him, as well as get to see some of the other inventions he had on display.
According to details shared by the office of Ibrahim Mahama, the fact that the young inventor was able to build a moving excavator and other trucks by using locally available materials made it easy for the businessman to show great interest in grooming him.
With this, Ibrahim Mahama will provide Solomon Atimbiri with all the needed support he requires to get him to realize his dreams.
It added that the young man will also permanently join Ibrahim Mahama’s company, Engineers and Planners.
“He has been attached to a team of local and expatriate engineers. He will be given practical training whenever school is on break till he completes school.
‘He will join the company permanently and will be working with a team of professional engineers after completion of school. Some of the current engineers working within Mr Ibrahim Mahama’s firm were also discovered as raw talent and developed to become professional engineers.”
Reports that Ghana’s gas is being sold by the Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC) for less than anticipated have been refuted by the deputy minister of energy, Mohammed Amin Adam.
He claims that the reports are not supported by factual analysis and research.
However, the minister informed journalists that the CSOs who made the assertions did not do their homework after being questioned by the Parliament’s Committee on Mines and Energy about the management of GNPC and the Ministry of Energy.
“I think that it is important we understand the deal. Some of the headlines you read are not factual and they do not help. When you have done a so-called independent analysis, you need to put it against the fact, and the only way you can get the fact is to talk to the institutions involved otherwise it can be misleading and the people will form an opinion on a misleading statement and this is why I am very happy that Parliament has shown interest in this,” the Minister is quoted by myjoyonline.com.
Earlier some Civil Society Organisations; IMANI Africa and the Africa Centre for Energy Policy accused the management of GNPC of allegedly buying gas for US$95.8 million dollars and selling to Genser for US$43.5 million dollars accounting for a US$1.5 billion financial loss to the state.
The government has rejected accusations that the state oil company, Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC) has caused financial loss to the state to the tune of $1.5 billion.
However, the Chairman of the Committee, Samuel Atta Akyea noted that IMANI and ACEP should have questioned GNPC before publishing their findings.
“I was thinking that before IMANI and ACEP will put out into the public domain matters of this consequence, they should have made those matters referable to GNPC, and then they will incorporate the GNPC’s side of the story into the report, they did not do that. So, for me, it is too adversarial for comfort,” he noted.
He also noted that the Committee will conclude on the matter after its meeting with Ghana Gas on Monday, October 3, 2022.
Medeama’s squad have returned to training at Akoon Community Park, after the 1-0 defeat at Berekum Chelsea in the Ghana Premier League on Monday.
David Duncan’s side suffered their first defeat of the campaign, courtesy Prince Anane’s sublime strike with five minutes left on the clock.
The squad immediately returned to training for a shake-up on Tuesday, hours after arriving from Dorma Ahenkro.
The squad will hold two training sessions in the morning (8am) and afternoon (4pm) on Wednesday as they continue to prepare for the next match against Aduana Stars at home.
Coach Duncan continues to put the paces together and correct the mistakes ahead of the must-win game against the Fire Club over the weekend.
The growth of an aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) business in Ghana is slowly giving the country’s efforts to establish itself as a major aviation center in the West African area more pace.
The Kotoka International Airport will host Ghana’s first maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility after the 3AMS-CELEMS Company Limited completes an ongoing certification process (KIA).
When finished, it will make local MRO services possible for airline operators, particularly those operating in the domestic market as PassionAir and Africa World Airlines (AWA).
The move is also expected to help Ghana take advantage of the global aircraft MRO market estimated at $87.01 billion per annum.
Consequently, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has given the permission for 3AMS-CELEMS Company Limited to proceed to stage four of the five-stage certification process.
Stages of certification
A Senior Aviation Safety Inspector (Airworthiness) at the GCAA, Benjamin Owusu, briefing some selected journalists in Accra on September 22, said the stage-four involved demonstration and inspection of the MRO facility.
“It is after a successful demonstration and inspection that the final certificate will be issued for operation of MRO services to start in the country,” he said.
Mr Owusu, who is also Manager in charge of Quality Assurance at GCAA, said the certification process started November 2017 with a certification team established by the GCAA to take 3AMS-CELEMS Company Limited through the process.
This, he said, followed with a pre-application stage where the company was issued with a pre-assessment statement of intent.
He said a pre-application meeting between the certification team and the company with interest to establish the MRO facility would follow to address issues in detail.
“When we are okay with discussions in the meeting we issue the formal application package details of the company and its personnel will be provided.”
“Including the package is also the schedule of events and the kind of manuals that are supposed to be produced,” he said.
Third stage
Mr Owusu stated that the third stage often takes a long time but was completed in March this year and for that reason 3AMS- CELEMS has been issued a letter into the fourth stage.
“The fourth stage being the demonstration and inspection. The certification process is under the Ghana Civil Aviation Requirement (Flight Standard) part six which is on certification of approved maintenance organisation,” he said.
Final certification
The Managing Director (MD) of 3AMS- CELEMS, Clifford Martey Korley, said when the final certification was done, the new MRO operator would be able to repair and maintain single aisle aircraft and Boeing 737s in the country and the West Africa sub-region.
This, he said, meant that domestic operators, Africa World Airlines and PassionAir could service and repair their fleet locally.
“West Africa has only an MRO in Nigeria able to repair smaller aircraft despite being one of the regions where air traffic growth, prior to the pandemic in 2020, was on the ascendancy.
“There are about 32 West African-based airlines servicing the region and 10s of international flights servicing various airports in the sub-region daily,” he said.
He said airline operators in the sub-region have to either fly to Ethiopia, Egypt or South Africa to have faults and regular maintenance carried out on most large aircraft.
The hub agenda
Mr Korley said when his company’s final certification was issued, hopefully by December, it would be able to service all such aircraft in the sub-region, earn money for the country and help hasten the re-attainment of category one status for KIA.
“For Ghana to become an aviation hub, the establishment of an MRO is imperative.”
“The coming on-stream of 3AMS-CELEMS Limited’s MRO operations will greatly accelerate the vision of becoming the go-to aviation hub in the sub-region,” he added.
You would recall that, on Friday, July 22, 2022, the sensational singer, songwriter and performing artiste served his listeners and the entire music community with his much-awaited star-studded body of work dubbed, ‘5 Star’.
As part of promoting the 15-tracked album, the ‘CCTV’ hit-maker announced a world which kicked off on Saturday, September 24, 2022 at the Webster Hall in New York, America where he had an amazing show.
King Promise performed back-to-back hits for the sold-out audience at the 1,500-capacity venue. The ‘5 Star World Tour’ will see the Ghanaian superstar perform in various cities across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe.
King promise released his much-anticipated album 5 Star on July 22, 2022. The album is the singer’s sophomore album following the critically acclaimed ‘As Promised’
‘5 Star’ features rappers Vic Mensa and Chance The Rapper, Patoranking, Bis Kdei, Omah Lay, Headie One and Frenna.
According to King Promise, the various people and cultures he has encountered recently influenced the creation of his new album. He went on to say that 5 Star, which represents a progression in both personality and sound from his previous album, was recorded all over the world, from his home in Accra to studios in London and the United States.
Ghanaian forward Francis Amuzu has signed a new contract with Anderlecht that runs to 2025.
The 23-year-old has been part of the youth academy of Neerpede since 2015. He has been part of the first team since 2018 and has played 166 games for the club already.
Amuzu enjoyed a good season last year, scoring 10 goals and providing five assists, including a hat-trick against Antwerp in the play-offs
A former bodyguard of Ghana’s first president, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, has recalled the days when he would accompany his boss to the beach in the dead of the night.
During those outings, Christian Blukoo said the former president would engage in some spiritual acts.
Always preoccupied with how to keep the president safe, the former bodyguard explained that he and other reliable guards at the Christiansborg Castle (Osu Castle) – the seat of government at the time- would be dutied to follow him.
“After I was successful, I was sent to Castle and then they confirmed me as a bodyguard to Nkrumah, and then they put me in protection because Nkrumah at times went out at night. When he was going, those who were smart at the Castle had to follow him because bodyguards will not be in the house at night,” he said.
Christian Blukoo explained further in an interview with JoyNews that although he could never speak about these things in the past due to the oath of secrecy, he feels safer now to talk about them. He described how on some of those days, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah would spend time on the beach behind the Independence Square, praying and engaging in other spiritual activities.
“They used it call it secrecy but now, I’m free to speak. At times, he used to go to the seaside at the Black Star Square to consult the spiritual (sic) and like we do here by praying, he also used to do that: he’ll go to the seaside and pray. There were certain other things that he would do,” he narrated.
The former bodyguard of the president also shared some deep details of some of the security operations he and others undertook for Kwame Nkrumah.
