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How to defeat Africa’s Dictators

Africa has and continues to have its share of dangerous and sometimes crazy dictators... How do we defeat them?

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SEE PAGE 7

THE GHANAIAN NATIONAL

N E W S P A P E R

NOVEMBER 2011

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ISSUE 1

LET THE BL D FLOW! HOW DID IT ALL GO THIS WRONG?

RICH GHANA POOR COUNTRY My TV show was yet again interrupted by “save the starving Ghanaian children” commercial, and I ask myself “Why are we so rich in natural resources yet poor?” America started out as nothing but now it’s literally

covered with gold, same can be said about European countries.

Those commercials have been around for like 20 years and our lives have not improved since.

Are we cursed or what?

Continued on Pg 18

Just as Elijah’s anointing fell on Elisha when he was about to take a rest from his work, so did it fall on Mills when Rawlings was about to take leave of his work.

One day, Rawlings spoke at the town of Swedru, in the Central Region, and laid his political mantle and anointing fully over him.

This fulsome political anointing allowed Mills to stand unopposed

in 2000 in his political party. No other possible candidates in the NDC dared oppose him. Not former PNDC people, not former Ministers, not High Commissioners or retired soldiers. The anointing of the political godfather, Rawlings, had fallen on him, as Samuel (1 Samuel 9) selected Saul and the people accepted it without debate.

However, as Ecclesiastes puts it clearly, there is time for everything (Ecclesiastes 3 vs 1 on), and it has become apparent that the anointing enjoyed by Prof. Mills is rapidly waning, as a sign of spiritual warning to him to review his decision regarding Ghana’s presidency.

Continued on Pg 3

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From Editor In Chief The Team Editor In Chief Eric M. Adu

GHANAIAN

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EMPOWERING OUR DEMOCRACY

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Eric M. Adu

The Ghanaian National Power Newspaper was founded by Eric M. Adu on October 1, 2011.

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NewsPolitics

Let the blood flow...

1. Loss of Political Anointing.

But now, just as God’s anointing left Saul and was later bestowed on David, the anointing of Rawlings has fallen from Atta Mills. No one knows all the reasons why.

But surely Rawlings and all of NDC are tired of Atta Mills. The decision by President Rawlings not to support any of the NDC flagbearership aspirants at the time was seen as a victory for democracy in NDC. If Rawlings was giving Mills 100% support, but now is not supporting him at all, what is the true Biblical interpretation? It means Mills is getting zero anointing from Rawlings now. Biblically, that is very serious, because without the anointing, leaders must bow out or give up. They cannot be successful without it. It isnow known that Rawlings has decided to give his anointing to another candidate, his wife. So in the realms of the spirit, Mills has lost very serious anointing. Mills is the main loser in Rawlings’ declaration of no anointing for him.

The votes Rawlings used to get at NDC Congresses and in the general elections is what he passed on to Mills. With the loss of Mills’ anointing, there is a big question mark, strictly from religious interpretation and prophecy, where his votes will come from. Rawlings used to get about 57% of the national vote. When

he passed his political anointing to Mills, the latter held on to about 44-45% of the national vote.

Some prayerful pastors believe that had Rawlings chosen some other colleague politician like Obed Asamoah, Alhaji Iddrissu, Kwesi Botwe, P.V. Obeng or even young Goosie Tanor to pass on his anointing, that successor also could reasonably get the same 45% of the vote Mills used to get.

This is not to say that the Prof is not a good man. The ecclesiastical question is whether he has his own source of political anointing or such political anointing that he enjoys has simply been transferred and inherited. Prayerful intercession does not show clearly that without the Rawlings anointing, the learned Professor cannot survive using his own machinery.

2. Loss of Financial Anointing. News from Ghana announces that one of the Professors closest friends and financiers, one Elder Eddy Annan, has also chosen to throw his prelates hat in the political ring of Ghana. This Annan, I am told has been a businessman. It is reported that he sees himself as a Ghanaian Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister for quite some time, who used his millions to buy political favour. No matter how many courts he was sent to and how many judges he had to “see”, he came away victorious. Rumour has it that

this Annan is the one Rawlings anointing may have fallen on to pair with his wife, Nana Konadu.

Our fervent prayers for revelation has not shown that yet. At least he also either enjoys the 20 % Rawlings anointing or the same zero that Mills is enjoying.

I hear most people in Ghana believe that Annan was Prof’s main money-giver. Elder Annan does not deny it. Annan seems to be enjoying himself in the new spotlight he has created. Eddie himself gives this impression in his interaction with delegates, MPs, etc.

Eddie says he has created jobs in the private sector, and therefore can create some for all Ghanaians, getting them from poverty. He says he will not fund Professor again, because he lost focus too many times, and his money is not being well used. In religious terms, what we see is that his decision is a loss of financial anointing to Mills. The good book admonishes mankind not to ‘cast their pearl before swine’ but to ‘sow on fertile grounds’.

Eddie has every reason to believe that Mills is an unfertile ground. This man’s behaviour is to tell all those who gave money before to Mills to stay away, as his own investment has yielded no returns. It is like the parable of the talents in which one servant could not multiply what his

boss had given to him to invest.

It seems Mills could not double the talents given him by Annan, and the boss has come back to take his talents. He could not say to Mills: “Thou good and faithful servant. You have been master of a little. I shall make you master of much.” (Matthew 25 vs 14 on). In fact Annan’s message to Mills, seen from a seer’s eye, is “thou....slothful servant....’.

3. Loss of Ethnic & Regional Anointing. In the Bible, it was always important for people to be associated with their homeland and birth places. So often, we read about Biblical personalities, and the Bible tells us where they were born, what tribe they belonged to and which great grandfather ‘begat’ which grandfather who ‘begat’ which father who ‘begat’ the son. Geneologies are always traced back as far as it could go. In the realms of politics too, the same thing applies, and politicians call it constituencies. So for politicians, it is important for one to be strong in one’s constituency, if that person is to win an election. This is why if a politician is weak in his own geographic backyard, he can be considered as having lost a major, usually fatal anointing.

The Central and Western Regions are supposed to be the political backyard of Prof Mills, where he should enjoy his greatest favour. Political analysts in the Universities and Polytechnics there have been scratching their heads to explain why many parts of Ghana vote for the NDC party and for Mills, except the people of the Western and Central regions, his political base. During a recent mission to Ghana during which I visited the famous Musama Disco Christo Church at Mozano (Gomoa Ehyiem) in the Central region and prayed with many mighty men of God, I posed this delicate question to them. The men of God seemed no better informed than the University professors I spoke with. They simply accepted that Mills does not have the ethnic, tribal and regional anointing he and every politician needs. They thought this

loss of anointing alone should be enough to make every politician like Mills think more than twice before knocking his head against the hard walls of that region. I can prayerfully write that like the sad fate of Belshazzar, the son of Nebuchadnezzar, the loss of regional anointing is a writing on the wall which a politician ignores at his peril. “Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting” (Daniel 5 vs 25-28).

Also, I heard in my travels through Agona, Assin and Wassa, Gomoa, Efutu and Ahanta that all kinds of surveys and studies had been done by various groups and newspapers. All this fact-finding confirm that the people of the Central and Western regions are in no mood to be presented with the same rejected Professor for another try. Many spoke bitterly of how Fantis were insulted by other tribes after the last elections, and said that they do not want to go through that humiliation again by Mills losing.

They asked the NDC why they want to persecute people of that region by bringing back over and over again the same rejected candidate. “Don’t they not have other good people, Fanti or not?”

This was the question put to me by one Kenkey seller by the roadside, at the junction to Old John Sarbah road in Takoradi. Chiefs in Fantiland are quite angry. In their account, since the days of King Ghartey of Winneba and his attempts at creating a Confederacy for fantiland to enable them stand against Ashanti aggression, power has eluded them.

They expressed deep fear that if NDC presents Atta Mills again and he fails once more, Fantiland and Fantimen would be doomed in Ghanaian politics.

4. Loss of Youth and Women Anointing. In Biblical days, kings were usually crowned young.

Many men lived then beyond hundred years, but they came into their glory when they were young, bold, adventurous, strong, and could conquer many foes and do exploits for God. So Saul, David, Solomon, Jeroboam, Jehoshaphat and most of the Kings of Israel ascended to the throne quite young, so they had the energy to drive forward the nation of Judah (1 Kings 22 vs 41-42 is an example). Developing counContinued on Pg 5

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NewsPolitics Nana Addo, Jake may suffer Gaddafi's fate if... - NDC activist

Peter Otukunor

A Youth Activist of the ruling National Democratic Congress, Peter Boamah Otukonor says the killing of the Libyan leader, Muammar AlGaddafi should be a great lesson for the opposition NPP’s leader Nana Akufo-Addo and its Chairman Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey.

According to him, the two leaders believe in bloodshed, a belief shared by Gaddafi and for which he died.

The Libyan leader was killed Thursday after gun battle in his home town of Sirte but Otukonor believes it is a big lesson to warmongers in the country.

Speaking on Asempa FM, he noted that though Gaddafi was a good

leader with all the credentials, he died because he believed in all-diebe-die and that the leadership of the NPP may suffer same fate if they do not take care.

Look there is an Akan proverb which says anyone who pulls machete dies on the same machete so the NPP who believes in all die-bedie should be careful” he said.

He urged the NPP leaderships to have a second thought of their all-die-be-die statement and work within the rule of law.

He described the killing of the Libyan leader as an attack on Africa with the intention of crippling Africa’s unity.

He said Gaddafi was the only African who belied in the unity of the African nations but his assignation will put fear in the freedom fighters of the continent.

He said the NPP is sowing a bad seed which will come back to haunt them in their declaration of all-diebe-die.

“Look if Nana Addo and Jake do not take care they will die under the violence that they are calling for” he stressed.

Mills’ incompetence has made Nana Addo very popular – Sekou The son of Ghana’s first president Dr. Sekou Nkrumah has described the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) as a sinking ship whose captain cannot see defeat staring them in the face in 2012.

He explained that the flag bearer of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s soaring popularity is as a result of the incompetence of the Mills-led administration.

“If you are going to live in a fool’s paradise it would hit you and it might be a landslide victory for Akufo-Addo” he opined.

Sekou Nkrumah, an ardent critic of President John Evans Atta Mills said former president Jerry Rawlings, founder of the

NDC, has every right to criticise the failed NDC government whose actions and inactions could give the NPP undue advantage in next year’s elections.

Former President Rawlings questioned the Mills-led administration’s inability to prosecute corrupt government officials in the erstwhile Kufuor administration - an issue which scored more points for the party to win the 2008 elections.

Mr. Rawlings argued that the government’s failure to fulfill its campaign promises to Ghanaians has made the NPP more popular which could spell doom for the NDC in the 2012 general elections.

But speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme Tuesday, Sekou Nkrumah observed that the NDC shot itself in the foot when in the run up to the 2008 electioneering campaign, they accused the NPP of corruption - an allegation he said sunk deep in the minds of the electorate which won them power.

He stated that the corruption tag the NDC placed on the NPP in 2008 was just propaganda to enable them come back to power because the Mills-led government has not been able to prosecute even a single former government official since they came to office.

Dr. Nkrumah noted that the NDC has disappointed most Ghanaians who voted for them to bring the so-called looters of their taxes to book.

“The expectations were very high for many of us that we thought the NDC with the experience it had, should be doing a lot more than it is doing“, he bemoaned.

Sekou Nkrumah stressed that former president Rawlings was right to say Nana Akufo-Addo is the most popular politician because “when people are not happy with the performance of NDC in government, obviously they would turn to the largest party in opposition, NPP”.

“Nana Akufo-Addo is more popular than President Mills because people are looking up to him (Nana Addo) since things are not going well in government”.

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NewsPolitics Let the blood flow...

tries are young nations that also need young people to vigorously help to fight poverty. Ghana has had its young leaders, Kwame Nkrumah, as Prime Minister in 1951 was 42, Afrifa was 33 as President, Rawlings was Head of State at 31, and Acheampong and Limann were in their 40s. It is true that not all these men did very much we are proud of. But Akuffo Addo, who became President in his late 60s was literally sick throughout his presidency until he died, almost in office. Kufuor in his 60s during his presidency, and Nana Addo is more than 60. In the NDC, Mills, Annan and one Alhaji Iddrisu are in their mid 60s. So the Presidency has become a retirement job, which people take after their years of active duty just to enjoy their retirement. Meantime, there is a lot to be done and the country needs younger and more virile men and women to man and steer affairs.

Job 32 vs 8-9 makes us understand that ‘Old age is not always wisdom’. In fact most successful leaders in the world have been young people: John Kennedy, Bill Clinton of the USA, King Abdullah of Jordan and Tony Blair of the UK are very good examples.

The youth have seen this, and so have women. They would like to change things. In fact, women also like their Presidents to be handsome and appealing. Many refuse to accept that this was the main strength of Jerry Rawlings. My prayerful insights tell me that Rawlings must have gotten something like 80 percent of the female vote, much like what was reported of handsome Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania who got 78 % of the female vote. George W. Bush is reported to have beaten John Kerry because he appealed

to the youth and women, besides the evangelicals.

Mills has received a lot of blessings in intellect, but Almighty Father did not bless him with what excites womanhood. There is no doubt that lack of female votes accounts for some of his serious losses. The answers to prayers we have sent to heaven inform us that the next President of Ghana will be one who can muster most of the youth and women’s votes.

But members of my church in our various branches assure me that the youth and women are the ones most likely to vote against Prof Mills, because they do not find him interesting, charismatic or exciting. He also does not talk about their issues. In the Bible when the youth, who were the men of valour and war reject a King, his days were numbered, as no one would follow him into war.

5. Loss of Northern Anointing. In the Old Testament, all the great tribes had various alliances.

When a King had problems with his neighbours, he called on his allies to help him out. (2 Kings 3 vs 7). When a King’s allies desert him before or on the battle field he loses an important anointing.

He usually loses the war, as David did to some of his enemies.

So it is in the world of politics, that various parties forge alliances with other parties. Within parties, alliances are forged often on ethnic and tribal grounds. And the NDC has in the past forged some useful alliances across various ethnic and tribal boundaries.

In the last elections, my prayerful investigation reveals that the political centre of the NDC moved to the three Northern and Volta regions, as Mills was unable to do well in the Akan regions with

which he is affiliated. It is reported that the northern caucus, led by Iddrissu Mahama, are up in arms that Mills made them all lose the last elections, yet treats them with little respect.

The Volta people also are in some disarray, with their most well-known NDC politician, Obed Asamoah, having split off to form his own party. Northerners argue that Alhaji Idrissu, as a former PNDC senior official throughout the 1980s and a Cabinet Minister before Mills, could also have been chosen by Rawlings as running mate in 1996. Yet, he was not bitter about this and served Mills faithfully. He also could have been the beneficiary of the famous Swedru Declaration in 1998, and been given a silver platter to inherit, by obtaining a transfer of the votes of Rawlings.

Northerners claim that Alhaji respectfully supported Mills as VP. Sources at NDC headquarters have told one of my church members that as unopposed flagbearer in 2000, Mills also got Alhaji’s untainted support. Then against Kwesi Botchwey, Alhaji was again in Mills’ corner. Northerners are angry that Mills did not bother to consult Alhaji, as the most senior Northern NDC politician, when choosing running mates; Martin Hamidu in 2000 and Mahmood Mumuni in 2004.

Northerners ask why Prof will not step down for one of these Northern “shadow Vice Presidents”, Hamidu and Alhaji Mumuni.

6. Loss of Volta Region or World Bank Anointing. The NDC’s support in the Volta region, as with the whole NDC, is coming under ferocious attack

by Obed Asamoah, the region’s most senior former NDC politician. It seems Obed is more in-

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terested in breaking NDC than winning an election from NPP. Obed’s break-away to form a new party has its origins in the Swedru Declaration, where Mills was apparent crowned heir to the throne. Obed, who like Iddrissu, had been standing by to be offered the kingly crown, felt very insulted by the whole process, apparently master-minded by a shadowy group around Mills called the Fanti Confederacy.

Professor Mills’ bitter campaign against Kwesi Botchwey created deep-seated rifts in the party which are yet to be healed. Those rifts have been fertile grounds in nurturing Obed’s anger, so say some of my prayer warriors in testifying what they have been seeing and sensing in the spirit.

Mills can also take responsibility for the bad situation in the Volta region for the NDC. Those in the NDC who understand Obed’s reasoning for his break-away blame Prof for NDC’s loss of both the Reform boys and now Obed’s people.

7. Loss of Anointing of Other Political Parties President Kufuor did not win a straight first round in 2000. He won the second round by entering into a pact with the smaller parties - CPP, PNC, GCPP, etc., to obtain their votes. Biblically, tribes of Judah entered various pacts with the Assyrians, Persians, Amelekites, Nubians and other far-off kings, in order to live more peacefully or for purposes of trade or military collaboration. Today, the NDC needs to have strong relations with the smaller parties. Mills has not done much to strengthen these ties, so the NPP has had a field day recruiting Nkrumahists and offering them plum positions and perks they can’t refuse.

Fancy, Paa Kwesi Nduom of the CPP (instead of an NPP Minister) signing the Millennium Challenge Account in the White House, with President Kufuor standing behind him. What prevented NDC to do the same for the smaller parties when they were in power? Why does Mills have a problem agreeing a pact with smaller parties?

The leaders of those parties, after trying to cooperate with Mills, have all given up on him. In Biblical days, losing your alliance with a good neighbour can cost you your kingdom. Atta Mills has lost the anointing that comes from good alliances with small or big

neighbours. It will affect his political future.

8. Loss of Health Anointing. Recently Ghanaian papers and radio stations discussed a number of unsubstantiated reports that Mills was sick. Word of mouth had him near death. The possible diseases ranged from stroke, to cancer, sinus problems, throat, fatigue and depression.

The Prof has come out to say that most of these reports are false rumours. Many people, including journalists, who came to the Airport to welcome Prof. some weeks ago, during his return from South Africa, were shocked at his appearance. It is learnt from my branch pastors in Accra, that Mills has not ventured out much since his arrival. It is believed his handlers have advised him to stay at home, eat well, get better, regain rosy cheeks before coming out.

NDC elders wonder if Prof. will have the energy to withstand the rigours of a hard campaign. In the short-term, his strength and appearance has been negatively affected, meaning he cannot go on the road in the next few weeks to meet with anybody. He cannot afford to have TV crew capture him in his present condition.

Medically, it is also not clear whether his illness (Cancer as revealed by Baba Jamal inwikileaks) is completely gone, or whether there will be a relapse.

Most Ghanaians wish him well, as our past Vice President. Several prominent journalists and other political pundits agree that his illness has so far not been a campaign issue as in 2008.

However, in the heat of forthcoming campaigns, no hold will be barred. All relevant issues will be cited by one person or another.

It will become a campaign issue sooner or later. All over the world, Continued on Pg 14

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NewsPolitics

Kofi Wayo orders Mills Barely months after government officially okayed homosexuality, the founder and leader of the United Renaissance Party (URP), Charles Kofi Wayo, has ordered President Mills to abolish the law that permits such disgusting practice.

“Its about time President Mills moves and sit up to ensure that Parliament repeals that law from the constitution in order to protect Ghanaians, our beliefs and our great culture,” he noted.

Kofi Wayo, who was speaking on Top Radio, an Accra-based radio station on Thursday, said homosexuality has contributed immensely to the moral crush of the Western world.

According to him, the present fall of the U.S is due to the fact that the leaders of that country permitted people to engage in demeaning practices including homosexuality and even to the extent of promoting gay marriages.

Even though Kofi Wayo backed the position of the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Martin Amidu on the status of gays as enshrined in the constitution, he said homosexuality is madness and also dents the moral standard of Ghana’s cultural practices.

Chuck, as he is popularly called, said if Ghana’s constitution frowns on a man and woman having sex in the streets then it should also condemn same sex relations since it was even more

terrible and sick to have sex through the anus. Commenting on the moral status of Ghana’s Parliament, he said “Ghana’s Parliament is not correct that is why they have been silent on the law permitting gay practice. They are also part of it,” he stressed.

He therefore called on civil society groups to collaborate to force Parliament to abolish which ever law that permits homosexuality and lesbianism.

Dan Botwe Calls On Ghanaians Mr Dan Botwe, Member of Parliament for Okere, has called on Ghanaians to sustain the country’s prevailing peace as it prepares for Election 2012, considering political crises in some African countries.

He said such turmoil and the polarization of the people could have been avoided if governments had ensured good governance and accountability towards the attainment of peace and unity.

Mr Botwe made the appeal at a durbar of chiefs and people of Aseseeso in the Akuapem North District, organized to climax this year’s Odwira festival over the weekend.

He also appealed to parents and guardians to support the education of children to enable

them to acquire skills and knowledge needed for national development.

Mr Botwe said he had invested resources in educational development in the constituency and expressed concern about the low standards of education in the Akuapem area, and promised to launch an education endowment fund to support education in the constituency.

The District Chief Executive for Akuapem North, Mr George Opare-Addo, said the assembly in conjunction with development partners had within the last two years constructed classroom blocks and other educational infrastructure.

Mr Opare-Addo said school children throughout the country

had benefited from government educational programmes including Capitation Grant, School Feeding Programme and distribution of free exercise books and school uniforms to school children.

He said government would create more modules under the National Youth Employment Programme to train the youth to acquire employable skills.

The chief of Aseseeso, Okatakyei Kwasi Amoyaw Oboadum I, asked appealed to Government to help the youth to go into agriculture to reduce unemployment in the country.

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NewsInterview

How to defeat Africa’s Dictators Freedom Forum in Norway about how to get rid of dictators, a process already underway in north Africa.

A chat he had with Thor Halvorssen, President of the Human Rights Foundation, is food for thought.

Thor Halvorssen: How pervasive is dictatorship in Africa today?

Africa has and continues to have its share of dangerous and sometimes crazy dictators. A good example is Idi Amin Dada, a former British army lieutenant who subsequently styled himself as “His Excellency President for Life Field Marshal Al Hadji Dr. Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular”. Then

there was also Mobutu of Congo, who forced all television news channels to precede the evening news by an image of him descending through clouds from the heavens. Central African Republic boasted the “emperor” Jean Bedel Bokassa. But perhaps, the scariest of them all is Robert Mugabe, who terrorizes Zimbabwe to this very day.

Ghanaian economist George Ayittey recently spoke at the Oslo

George Ayittey: Africa has more dictators per capita than any other continent. In 1990, only four out of the 54 African countries were democratic; today, 21 years later, it is only 15.

Fewer than ten can be deemed economic success stories and a free media exists in only ten African countries. Some people call this progress…. that’s not what I would call it.

TH: That means at least 39 countries in Africa are still ruled by dictators.

GA: And we are fed up. Fed up!

Angry Africans are fed up and are taking the heat to them. Dictators cause the world’s worst problems: all the collapsed states, and all the devastated economies.

All the vapid cases of corruption, grand theft, and naked plunder of the treasury are caused by dictators, leaving in their wake trails of wanton destruction, hor-

rendous carnage and human debris.

But guess who’s always cleaning up their mess?

For decades, the West has spent trillions of dollars trying to persuade, cajole, and even bribe them to reform their abominable political and economic systems.

The West has even tried appeasement in their rapprochement. Enough!

TH: But shouldn’t the West pressure dictators with other measures like cutting off IMF loans and international aid packages and threaten to stop recognizing them diplomatically?

GA: The West has to understand that dictators never have and never will be interested in reform.

They are stone deaf and impervious to reason. Period.

Dictators are allergic to reform, and they are cunning survivors.

They will do whatever it takes to preserve their power and wealth, no matter how much blood ends up on their hands. They are master deceivers and talented manipulators who cannot be trusted to change.

GA: After a mere four-and-a-half years in office, the late dictator of Nigeria, Sani Abacha, managed to accumulate a personal fortune of 5 billion dollars. Omar AlBashir has siphoned 7 billion out of Sudan. And Hosni Mubarak of Egypt managed to accumulate a personal fortune of 40 billion dollars! All stolen from their own people.

Let me put that into perspective. The net worth of all U.S. presidents, 43 of them, from Washington to Obama, amounted to 2.7 billion. That means that Africa’s kamikaze bandits each stole more than the net worth of all U.S. presidents and then more.

TH: How does a human rights activist fight against 40 billion dollars of bribe money?

GA: This is exactly what happened in Egypt and Tunisia. Fed up with their corrupt antics, angry street demonstrators started pushing dictators out: Ben Ali fled, Mubarak was shoved aside, and more coconuts will tumble But caution: Noisy rah-rah street demonstrations alone are not enough.

TH: What kind of resources do they need in order to maintain their survival? Surely the loss of Western funding would hinder them?

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NewsPolitics Rawlings: “I Had No Choice Than To Allow Flogging Of Naked Women” The former President of Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings has stated that he tolerated the public flogging of naked market women in the June 4, 1979 AFRC revolution because some of those women threw urine at his soldiers.

He added that he ordered the destruction of the Makola market at the time because he needed to redirect the anger of the soldiers away from the makola women.

Mr. Rawlings who was addressing students at the University of Ghana on Friday said inasmuch as he was pained by the flogging of the women, he couldn’t have stopped it because of the rage stirred up in his fellow soldiers due to the market women’s disdain against them.

“You can’t imagine how pained I was when I will look across and I will see some of the makola women being flogged but I had to tolerate it for a while. Why do you think that I ordered the breakdown of Makola? The kalabule

was so intense; the makola women were the ones selling antibiotics, anything. “During that period their hatred against the soldiers was so bad, soldiers could not go to the elite shopping places like the UTC or Kingsway then.

Soldiers would go and ask for the prices of whatever it is and ask for reduction and these women would get soo angry.

“I think that the toilet facility was so far away so these women would sometimes urinate in containers where they work and actually throw the piss on the soldier in his uniform.

“That was the extent of disdain they had for us. Even Afrifa mentioned a similar situation not urine but the contentious situation they were treated before the 1966 coup in his book”.

Former President Rawlings also in a characteristic style attacked the Mills administration describing it as incompetent for not being able to get the doctors

to call off their strike and get back to work.

“The politics of how to handle these things are so inappropriate; as if we are so insensitive as a government, as if we have no confidence in the people…look at the way and manner they tried to destroy her (Nana Konadu) destroy me; and the opposition rather has to come to our defence and building credibility on the account of it. ” He said.

Source: citifm

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Is Nana Konadu grooming her daughters for an NDC takeover?

Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings (right) being accompanied by two of her three beautiful daughters, Yaa Asantewaa Agyeman-Rawlings (left) and Amina Agyemang-Rawlings (middle)

On May 4, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings stormed the Kokomlemle headquarters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the company of two of her three beautiful daughters,

Yaa Asantewaa Agyeman-Rawlings and Amina Agyemang-Rawlings, to pick nomination form to become Ghana’s female president.

But unknown to many, the two politically naive girls were there with their mum as her Personal Assistant and Director of Strategy respectively, while their dad, ex-President JJ Rawlings, sat

at home and waiting to make his “traitors and enemies speech”.

Yaa Asantewaa AgyemanRawlings and lawyer Amina Rawlings are not the only politically inexperienced in the Nana Konadu team. The other two Rawlingses – Dr. Ezanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, the eldest, who is nursing a baby and Economist Kimathi Agyeman-Rawlings, the youngest of the four children and the only man among them – are, for now, not assigned any role.

A cursory observation of Nana Konadu’s team confirms why the team lacked the bite as it has no single person considered as an astute politician to prosecute the Konadu agenda to oust President John Mills whose 25-man campaign team had a mixture of experienced, youthful and exuberant politicians.

The only two persons on the team who appears to have some experience with elections are a defeated NDC Parliamentary aspirant for the Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo Constituency, Namburr Berrick and Michael Teye Nyaunu, NDC MP for Lower Manya Krobo in the Eastern Re-

gion. The two have no clout in the ruling NDC. Also missing from the campaign team list was Mr. Kofi Adams, the spokesperson for Mr. Rawlings, and the top hierarchy of Members Of Friends Of Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings (FONKAR).

Political analysts are of the view that the Konadu Campaign Team which appears to be hit a snag, was only built conspicuously to be on the shoulders of her husband and daughters, and the NDC. Mr. Rawlings, whose strong personality and charisma play, an important factor in the electoral fortunes of the NDC did not make any positive impact in her favour.

Yaa Asantewaa Rawlings is partnering the former General Secretary of the NDC, Dr. Josiah Aryeh, as the Director of Strategy. Whilst Amina AgyemangRawlings features in the campaign team as Personal Assistant to her mother.

The question is, is Nana Konadu grooming her daughters to take over NDC?

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NewsPolitics African dictator’s son orders £236 million luxury super yacht

Right Of Homosexuals…

Britain Cannot Tell Us How To Govern Our Country Ablakwa The son of Equatorial Guinea’s dictator of 30 years commissioned plans to build a super yacht costing $380 million (£236 million), nearly three times what the country spends on health and education each year, a corruption watchdog said on Monday.

The statement from Global Witness said that German company Kusch Yachts has been asked to build the yacht, housing a cinema, restaurant, bar and swimming pool, though construction has not yet started.

Global Witness has been urging Washington to institute sanctions against Teodorin Obiang, whose extravagant lifestyle currently includes a $35 million-dollar mansion in Malibu, California, a $33 million jet and a fleet of luxury cars, while earning a salary of $6,799 a month as agriculture minister.

The government press office in Equatorial Guinea confirmed that the president’s son had ordered the yacht design, but said he “then dismissed the idea of buying it.”

It said that if the order had gone ahead, he would have bought it with income from private busi-

ness activities and not “with funds derived from sources of illegal financing or corruption.”

President Teodoro Obiang, who reportedly is grooming his son to succeed him as president, took power in a bloody 1979 coup.

Forbes has estimated his wealth at around $600 million.

Teodorin Obiang justified his wealth in a sworn affidavit to a South African court questioning his ownership of luxury mansions and expensive cars in Cape Town in 2006.

He stated that public officials in his country are allowed to partner with foreign companies bidding for government contracts and said this means “a Cabinet minister ends up with a sizeable part of the contract price in his bank account.”

The tiny West African nation may be oil rich, but U.N. statistics show that 20 per cent of children in Equatorial Guinea die before reaching the age of 5, and the average citizen is unlikely to live beyond 50. The State Department report on human rights also has condemned killings by security forces and the torture of prisoners.

Meanwhile, writer Juan Tomas

Avila Laurel is in the 17th day of a hunger strike demanding justice for the people of Equatorial Guinea, inspired by the popular revolutions that have ousted longtime leaders of Egypt and Tunisia and now threaten Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi.

Avila Laurel, 44, left Malabo for Barcelona, Spain, amid fears for his safety the day he began his hunger strike Feb. 11. He joins one-third of the population living in voluntary or enforced exile, according to the U.S. State Department.

The government has reacted to the author’s hunger strike by denouncing “the web of gossip, lies and miserable manoeuvres” surrounding reports about Equatorial Guinea.

“Nonetheless, we hope this person’s example also serves to silence many mouths who continuously speak of lack of freedom and respect for human rights in Equatorial Guinea since, as is more than evident, this person has acted at all times with absolute freedom,” it said in a statement on its website.

Ghana will not change her stand on homosexuality even if Britain withdraws aid to the country, Deputy Information Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has said.

The Daily Mail website in UK reported that, the British Prime Minster has vowed to get tough on Ghana and other African countries with poor records on gay rights by slashing millions of pounds from their aid payments.

But speaking to The Publisher newspaper, the Deputy Minister stated categorically that, “Ghana is a sovereign nation, and nobody, I mean nobody can tell us how to govern our country or set the rules for us.”

The constitution, he said, is very clear on homosexuality and no nation can force Ghana to change it to suit their interest.

Though Mr. Ablakwa said the government has not received any formal letter from the British government, he seemed not amused by their sudden stand, as he revealed that, “they have even cut aid to some organizations in their country.”

The UK government has already taken steps against Malawi, cutting aid by $30 million

after two homosexuals who held an engagement ceremony were sentenced to 14 months with hard labor. And payments could be cut further to the southern African nation, which has received $312 since 2008, if it proceeds with plans to bring in tough anti-lesbian laws.

Uganda (due to receive $109 million this year) and Ghana (due $56 million) could also face sanctions if they refuse to drop antiquated anti-gay laws.

Under Ghanaian law, samesex sexual activity is officially illegal. Gay men can also be punished under provisions concerning assault and rape, only if “in public or with minor”.

Criminal Code 1960 – Chapter 6, Sexual Offences Article 105: Whoever is guilty of unnatural carnal knowledge – (a) of any person without his consent, is guilty of first degree felony; (b) of any person with his consent, or of any animal, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

The Constitution of Ghana guarantees the protection of all human rights for Ghanaian citizens “whatever his race, place of origin, political opinion, colour, religion, creed or gender”, but does not mention sexuality.

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It is good to have the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) for the Public and Civil Service. As a nation we have gone through quite a handful of wage and salary administration regimes and structures, especially in the public sector. One can remember the days of the Prices and Incomes Board and the frustrations in the implementation of the recommendations of the Price Waterhouse Salary Structure and the Ghana Universal Salary Structure (GUSS).

What makes the SSSS regime quintessentially different, from the Human Resource Management (HR) point of view, is the establishment of the Fair Wages and Salary Commission, established by Act 737, to manage the scheme and to free Government agencies from investing unproductive man-hours in negotiating directly with their employees.

The originators of the idea of the establishment of the Commission deserve special commendation.

Single Spine, OR Single Spin?

There is no disguising the fact that the implementation of the SSSS has its own challenges. It is, however, heart-warming that this time around we had the fortitude to move forward in the national interest. There have been agitations from CLOGSSAG (Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana), the Prisons Service and some other organisations. It is hoped employees would exercise restraint because job evaluation is a process. In future the possibility of combining jobs in some sectors to enhance their relative values and worth can be seriously considered for job re-evaluation.

Compensation, to be sure, is an emotive issue because “pay policies are critically important, for they affect every single employee, from the janitor to the CEO” (Cascio, 1992:341). Anyone who has engaged in Job Evaluation exercise before can attest to the deep outpouring of emotions

when results of the exercise are announced. The reactions to job evaluation results become even bitter when the expectations of the evaluation exercise are not well managed, especially at the job analysis stage.

From all indications the SSSS could lead to an overall upward adjustment in the base pay of workers, initially in the public sector. But it can be a blessing or a curse depending upon its overall impact on the macroeconomic fortunes and labour productivity in Ghana.

There was some euphoria surrounding the SSSS-induced high pay cheques for personnel of the Ghana Police Service. The reported huge increase in the base salaries of personnel of the service when it was first announced set in motion a public debate as to whether the improved remuneration of the men in uniform will produce a new Police Service.

The Service hierarchy will have to do a lot of work to bring about any transformation in the service.

Let us remember that this is not the first time workers are going to experience a quantum leap in their basic salaries. In 1991/2 when the Policy of Consolidation of Salaries of workers generally in Ghana was implemented there was an even more proportionate increase in workers’ salaries.

Suddenly there were general increases in the prices of goods and services. Honestly one can remember from hindsight that there was no economically justifiable reason for the upward spiral in the prices of goods, except for greed on the part of Ghanaian traders and service providers.

For example, prices of second-

hand cars in Tema, especially in the early and middle 1990s, went up immediately the car loan amounts of a certain prominent multinational company in Tema were increased. This is a credible personal experience!

Should Ghanaian traders and service providers respond to the salary increases resulting from the SSSS and adjust prices whimsically then the grim experiences of the 1991/2 salary increases as a result of the salary consolidation might be re-visited.

That would be a self-inflicted curse.

But there is an old saying that “for as long as there are heads, we shall not stop wearing hats.”

We cannot stop increasing workers’ wages and salaries just because a section of the Ghanaian citizenry will cash in to reap undeserved gains. So, how do we make the SSSS a blessing for Ghana?

The first reminder that we all have to note is that merely increasing the salaries of workers in the civil and public sectors will not necessarily lead to productivity in those sectors.

There are even suggestions that the improved salaries under the SSSS will make the labour market competitive as employees in the private sector will be lured or “poached” into the public sector. I dare say that will be farther from reality because it is not only money that motivates.

For the SSSS to be a blessing for our nation here are some proposals borne out of the writer’s belief in the cradle-to-grave philosophy of Human Resource (HR) Management as pertains in best-in-class private sector or-

ganisations.

First, we should adopt competitive recruitment strategies to attract high calibre employees into the public service. This will involve advertising job openings, dispassionately short-listing candidates and sincerely selecting the right calibre of employees into positions.

Recruitments based on ‘protocol’ will have to be scrapped.

Again, recruitments into non-existent positions should be avoided.

Secondly, there must be a change in the work ethics of employees in the public and civil service. Reporting to work late, attending funerals during working hours and undertaking private businesses during official hours should stop.

Thirdly, performance management (appraisal) systems should be diligently done. Individual objectives should be set for employees and professionally appraised. Employees who do not meet performance requirements should be de-selected from their roles. Salary increases should be strictly linked to job performance. It should not be “business as usual.”

This leads us to the fourth important point: discipline. Discipline will lead to employee productivity. “Improving productivity is not working harder, it is working smarter” (Cascio, 1992, 13).

Improving productivity and transforming work ethics are enterprises public sector managements will have to work on for corporate success. Let’s all work smarter to make the SSSS a blessing. It’s a call to national duty!

By JOSEPH C. GARBRAH

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Pastor Inserts A Bottle Into Woman’s Vagina

GRABBED! Pastor Richard Addo

BARELY TWO weeks after being freed from cells after allegedly raping a 16-year-old girl, Pastor Richard Addo, a self-styled man of God has been re-arrested by the police for purportedly raping another lady- a 22-year old.

This was the third time the self-styled man of God had been arrested by the police for alleged sexual crimes against his female victims.

Earlier, he had been nabbed by the Adenta District Police Command for allegedly inserting his fingers into the private parts of five women under the pretext of praying for them in February this year.

The self-styled man of God was arrested after one of the women boldly reported the incident to the police. He was also said to have charged the women various amounts of money ranging from GH¢150 to GH¢200.

Pastor Addo, according to the latest victim who resides at Kasoa in the Central Region, inserted a bottle of anointing oil into her vagina, after which he went on to rape her.

Confirming the story, the Commander in charge of the Kpeshie Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service, DSP Margaret S. Agbemabiese, said the victim resides at Kasoa while the suspect lives at Nungua.

On the morning of June 14, 2011, the victim received a phone call from the suspect who identified himself as a pastor. Pastor Addo then told the victim that God had revealed an issue concerning her to him. Pastor Addo then asked the victim to see him as soon as possible and that the issue was serious.

He urged her to bring along a bottle of olive oil for purification as well. When the victim got to the Nungua lorry station, the suspect met her on the way and consequently took her to his house.

After a short conversation between them, the suspect told the young woman that there was an evil spirit pursuing her and that he would try to exorcise it. He then asked her to remove all her clothes while he smeared the oil on her body as part of the purification process.

Initially, the victim said she became suspicious and declined to undress, but Addo allegedly forcibly grabbed her and removed her dress.

The suspect then pushed her onto his mattress and smeared the olive oil on her stomach. The next thing the victim realized was that Pastor Addo had taken the whole bottle of anointing oil and pushed it into her vagina, claiming that he was purifying her womb as well.

Not satisfied, Addo then removed the bottle of oil from the victim’s vagina and this time inserted his penis in a forcible sexual encounter. After satisfying himself sexually, Addo left the traumatized lady to her fate and walked out of the room.

By: Linda Tenyah and Dorcas Larbi

Mills in a desperate phone calling mood to make up with Rawlings Former President Jerry John Rawlings in recent times has been waking from sleep early in the morning to answer phone calls from President John Evans Atta Mills, who appears to have nothing to tell his former boss except “how are you Mr. President”.

President Mills was said to be the first person to speak to Mr. Rawlings every blessed morning of late. The President had adopted the habit of calling to greet the National Democratic Congress (NDC) founder on phone early in the morning in a clever bid to solicit the support of his former boss. The calls sometimes came so early that it disturbed the sleep of the NDC founder who sleepily stumbled around to pick up the phone, lamenting about the apparent disturbance.

A source, very close to the Rawlingses, disclosed this hilarious news to the Daily Guide newspaper. He said President Mills, after his call had been answered by Rawlings, would say, “Mr President how are you?” The NDC founder would respond say-

ing, “I am okay”, and then awkward silence would follow. President Mills, from the other end of the phone, would then ask, “Mr. President is there anything I can do for you this morning?” In response, Mr. Rawlings would say, “No, I am okay and again, silence. After another awkward moment, President Mills would then bid goodbye to Mr. Rawlings and assure him of calling the following morning before hanging up the phone.

This strange and sudden routine calls, according to the source, had been going on for sometime now to the discomfiture of the NDC founder who had been complaining about this apparent neglect by government. He said Mr. Rawlings was astonished about President Mills’ sudden decision to call him every morning just to greet him after seemingly shunning him for sometime. Mr. Rawlings, it would be recalled, picked President Mills to become the NDC running mate and the eventual Vice President of Ghana in 1996.

The NDC founder then stood firmly behind his former Vice President through thick and thin to the chagrin of some NDC members who thought they were being overlooked. Mr. Rawlings worked to ensure that Prof. Mills contested the presidential race on the ticket of the NDC thrice before the law professor eventually won the presidency. But the deep love shown by Mr. Rawlings to President Mills seem not to have been recognized by the law professor, who after gaining political power three years ago, decided to jilt his political mentor.

The source said President Mills had now decided to call Rawlings on phone very morning because he had realized that Election 2012 was gradually drawing near and therefore trying to court the former President’s support. He noted that it was common knowledge that President Mills could not campaign and win the polls on his own so he wanted to draw Mr. Rawlings to his side to aid his re-election bid in 2012.

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Let the blood flow...

the health of any aspiring Presidential candidate can be a valid electioneering issue. NDC does not need to have to deal with this, and Prof. Mills and his family also deserve their privacy. In the meantime, his loss of health is a lost anointing that will affect the effectiveness of his 2012 campaign, as can be read of any Biblical King once his health begun to fail.

9. Loss of Family or Wife Anointing. In the Bible, good Kings and even rich men were reported to throw an occasional feast and to invite their friends around. Even Jesus invited his disciples to the last supper. The Shunamite woman became fa-

mous for making a bed for Prophet Elisha in her upper chamber, where he gave the prophet excellent five-star hospitality. Although a man’s household is up to him to manage, concerns have been expressed over the years by many NDC leaders about the difficulty his supporters have in visiting him at home.

Unlike most normal people, we are told that Mills seems unable to receive party leaders and supporters at home. It is rumoured that this has to do with his wife.

This social isolation does not augur well for a politician who is seeking votes. By contrast, Alhaji Iddrissu, President Rawlings, Kufuor, Nana Addo and the

majority of his ministers receive guests routinely at home and organise periodic lunches, dinners and drinks for friends. Family members of Prof’s in Cape Coast and elsewhere reportedly are not on speaking terms with his wife.

They have been angry for years at reports that the Professor’s wife will not allow his only son by another woman to stay in their house. Prof’s sister in Elmina has had to take care of the son, and this has not impressed Fantis.

So, where tensions are turning fires on in a man’s house, it is a strong indication that the anointing has left. (See Biblical accounts of Elkanna and Hannah, Samson and Delilah, David and Batsheba, etc, for what happens when there are tensions in the household).

10. Loss of Key members of Campaign Team. In ancient times, when a King’s warriors abandon him, that is the signal for opponents to attack him and take his head and kingdom.

Good and successful Kings went to great length to keep the loyal warriors in their camp. See 2nd Kings and Judges for some of the mighty men of David, and how

generals like Abner were showered with affection. Apart from Elder Annan’s abandonment of the Professor, there is a former deputy finance Minister, Papa Kwesi Amissah Arthur, who was Professor’s financial coordinator, but who has also fled into the Annan camp and not to mention the FONKA members made up of top NDC Campaigners. Many other followers of the Professor, sensing imminent electoral loss, have started suing for peace with some of the other candidates or likely candidates, against 2016. One Hlodze faces various difficulties.

Recently, there were reports that the Prof had sacked some campaign team members who abandoned him long ago. Many other Mills supporters in Accra, at party headquarters, regional and constituency executives throughout the regions have quietly pledged their support for Iddrisu, Annan or a former Minister based in London called Ekwow Spio-Garbrah.

Some have even reported that Spio-Garbrah is the man the NPP is afraid of.

Of course Professor John Evans Atta Mills has served the nation as a some how compe-

tent President, a seasoned law professor, an excellent Revenue Commisioner and a committed flagbearer of the NDC. He will always be revered as a great statesman. However with these losses of anointing, and others we may not know about, it has come to me prophetically to ask the pastors of Prof Mills to look deeply into his heart, mind and soul and to help him decide whether the next race is truly for him. For me, having seen, prayed for, analysed and subjected to spiritual interpretation events seen in the flesh with naked eyes, my prayers have concluded that Mills have a fiece battle on his hands to maintain his presidency come the 2012 general elections. Now that majority of NDC foot soldiers are chanting ‘Let The Blood Flow’ is it time the Prof withdrew from the 2012 precidencial race? so his future role in the NDC can be honourable and protected. The writing is on the wall, and all with deep religious insights must be able to read it.

By Apostle Kwasi Mintah Yamoah

Nduom: I Made Ghana Better Today ABAAWA An aspiring presidential candidate of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, has said he should be credited for several of the ongoing national policies in Ghana at the moment and that should attest to the fact that he is capable of ruling this country to success.

Speaking at the launch of his campaign to vie for the presidency on the ticket of the CPP, Dr. Nduom, who was the former minister of public sector reform under the erstwhile Kufuor administration said he has gone through the mill to give other contestants a run for their money.

“We need a president who by his practical experience is best suited for the job,” the former minister of economic planning

and regional cooperation said.

“We need a president who has demonstrated in his private life and public office the ability to deliver positive results. ” “I believe I am the person most suited of the position of the president of the Republic of Ghana come January 2013,” Nduom declared.

He continued: “There are many good reasons why Ghanaians should support me in 2012.

If you are looking for better days on pension because now in Ghana today you have new pension scheme then you have this CPP man to thank for it.

“If you believe the national identification system will bring positive benefit to Ghana, you

have this CPP man to thank for it; soon there will be two brand new ferries on the Volta Lake due to the Millennium Challenge Account, who made that happen?

This CPP man.

“When the police officers, the teachers and yes the medical doctors are eager to receive Single Spine Salaries, who made that happen; this CPP man.

When the brand new six-lane Tetteh Quarshie to Mallam road is opened, you should ask yourself who made that happen, this CPP man. So I tell you if one CPP man will work in a party that he doesn’t even belong in and bring very many good ideas, imagine what an entire government put in the hands of CPP will be. ”

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Relations with China - into the claws of another trade-slave master?

More and more, China seems to be taking up any commodity that can be had from Ghana. From copper waste and scrap, timber and natural rubber to aluminium waste and scrap and vegetable products are being exported to the upcoming Asian superpower.

Cocoa is the latest addition to the list. Ghana is to export 6,500 metric tonnes to China this year, says Isaac Osei, chief executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).

This uptake of cocoa is meant to pay for the construction of the ongoing hydro-power project at Bui, north-east of the capital Accra. Government sources indicated last year that an arrangement had been entered into where cocoa production would be increased to supply extra cocoa to China.

Trade between the two countries has blossomed over the years, with China benefitting most.

By 2000, exports to China totalled only 25 million dollars with imports of 93 million dollars. Exports grew to 32 million dollars in 2003 with imports of 180 million dollars. In 2006, the figure went up to 39 million dollars for exports while imports surged to 504 million dollars.

Despite the Bui project, some Ghanaians are concerned that China is benefiting from trade liberalisation by African countries

while the same is not true the other way round. Virtually every African country has opened its doors wide to cheap Chinese imports.

Osei pointed out in April this year at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) meeting in Accra that Ghana’s efforts to promote cocoa trade with emerging industrial giants such as China and India were being undermined by trade tariffs applied to developing producers.

Osei said developing countries such as Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire faced higher tariffs on cocoa imports to China and India than less-developed producers such as Benin, Guinea, Haiti, Togo or Uganda. ‘‘For us, it discourages investment in the cocoa sector here.’’

There is disquiet within the cocoa industry because of the way

consuming nations have continued to create distortions in the pricing of the commodity. Speaking on the same platform as Osei, finance minister Kwadwo BaahWiredu said there was an imbalance in the cocoa pricing system and urged cocoa-producing states to join forces. ‘‘The current cocoa-chocolate value chain is characterised by an imbalance where the manufacturing and processing end is well positioned at the high value end, compared to the cocoa producers who receive a low share of the final price,’’ he said. With China’s heightened visibility through cheap goods, some Ghanaians are particularly unhappy about the Asian state’s approach to Ghana.

Alfred Neimann, a commodity analyst at BMT Associates in London told IPS this development ‘‘is

really surprising since China and India have maintained profiles as leading the development cause of the developing world. ‘‘China needs to open up more and be flexible, especially when she is dealing with countries in the South. That is the only way that China can show that it is on the side of development,’’ he added.

Neimann said it is unfair that China - having taken advantage of the free trade environment to flood poorer countries, especially Africa, with cheap imports which may not necessarily be of high quality - turns round to prevent the flow of goods into its territory.

Gabriel Orji, an official working in the Nigerian ministry of trade, said that ‘‘there is no friendship when it comes to trade. What is happening between China and African states now is an evolving

relationship that has to be properly defined and nurtured. ‘‘Africa cannot move away from one predator only to get herself into the claws of another,’’ Orji said. The governments of African states should use their encounters with their Chinese counterparts to get them to see things from the African perspective, he added.

Getting proper rules in place is important for Ghana. The country is on course to meeting a national target of one million tonnes of cocoa a year by 2010. Consequently, it is keen to find more markets for its produce, apart from other attempts to add value to products locally.

China is a potential market and, with improved trade relations, Ghana is likely to sell more cocoa since local processing facilities are not strong on the ground yet.

An alternative is to find other ready markets. Already there have been diplomatic moves to export cocoa to Cuba but this will take time. Thus there is the need to find ways to create favourable trade environments devoid of hindrances.

Employing about a million people in the six cocoa growing districts throughout the country, the cocoa industry is a major contributor to government revenue.

It earned about 1.2 billion dollars last year.

BY FRANCIS KOKUTSE

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NewsInterview ...defeat Africa’s Three cardinal principles must be followed for a popular revolution to succeed. First, a united coalition of opposition forces is essential. Second, the dictator’s modus operandi—strengths and weakness—must be studied in detail.

Lastly, getting the sequence of reform right is crucial; there are several steps that must be followed precisely in order.

TH: The sequence you just described should perhaps be named Ayittey’s law. By a “coalition” do you mean a political alliance? Wouldn’t that be difficult in most of these countries suffering under dictatorships or one-party rule?

GA: A small group of pro-democracy activists – call it an elders council -- is imperative to serve as the nerve center, plan strategically, and coordinate the activities of the various opposition groups, civil society groups and youth movements.

For example, The Gathering in Sudan in 1985, The Danube Circle in Hungary in 1988, Charter 77 in Czechoslovakia in 1989 and the Alliance for Change in Ghana in 1995, in which I participated. If the dictator schedules an election, the council must rope all political parties into an electoral alliance.

In 2010, dictators “won” elections because of a divided opposition field. For funding, the council should rely on its own diaspora community, not on Western donors.

TH: Why should reformers depend on their community as opposed to Western donors?

GA: Reform must start with intellectual freedom and freedom of the press. Reform must come from within—made by the people themselves, not by Western governments or financial institutions.

Internally-initiated reform is far more sustainable and enduring.

The self-immolation of Mohammed Bouazizi started the Arab Spring. His was the ultimate and extreme form of freedom of expression.

TH: Ok, so first a coalition, second we find the dictator’s weaknesses…

GA: The modus operandi of all dictators is essentially the same: Besides parliament, if there is one, they seize control of six key state institutions (the security forces, the media, the civil service, the judiciary, the electoral commission, and the central bank), pack them with their supporters, and debauch them to serve their interests.

To succeed, a popular revolution must wrestle control of at least one or more of these institutions out of the dictator’s clutches. The game was over for Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak when the military refused to fire on civilians. Ditto in the Philippines in 1986 and Georgia in November 2003, where the security forces were charmed with roses (hence, the “Rose Revolution.”) Ukraine’s Orange revolution of November 2004 won the Supreme Court to its side and Pakistan’s Black Revolution of March 2007 had the full support of the judiciary.

Let me give you 3 more ways of toppling a dictator’s stronghold: First, get the media out of their hands: create pirate radios, use social media. That’s what will unleash the reforms we all cherish so dearly, not Western sermons, sanctions, or appeasement.

Second, hit them with their own constitution. For example, Article 35 of China’s Constitution guarantees freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association. In Ghana, we used the Constitution and the courts to free the airwaves, leading to a proliferation of FM Radio stations, which were instrumental in ousting the regime in 2000.

Third, a dictator’s weakness

is exploited by s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g its military geographically. Shut down the civil service and any military regime will collapse. It will not have enough soldiers to replace civil servants across the country; we saw this in Ghana in 1978 and Benin in 1989. We also saw the same thing this year, as street protests in Tunisia and Egypt erupted simultaneously in several cities and towns, straining security forces.

TH: But, that’s not the end, is it? Toppling the dictator is just the beginning…

GA: Getting rid of the dictator is only a first step in establishing a free society. The dictatorship must also be disassembled.

We didn’t do this in Africa in the 1960’s. We removed the white colonialists and they were replaced by black neo-colonialists, Swiss bank socialists, crocodile liberalists, quack revolutionaries, and briefcase bandits.

Africans will tell you, we struggled very hard to remove one cockroach from power and the next rat came to do exactly the same thing. This is because we did not disassemble the dictatorship state.

To disassemble a dictatorship you have to do things in order and steps. This is like overhauling a vehicle where repairs must be made in order: you don’t fix the transmission when the battery is dead, nor do you install a new sound system when the battery is dead.

Disassembling a dictatorship requires first intellectual reform (a push for freedom of expression and the media); second, political reform (democratic pluralism and free and fair elections); third, constitutional reform (limiting the powers of the executive); fourth, institutional reform (independent judiciary, electoral commission, efficient civil service, and neutral and professional armed forces); and fifth, economic reform, or liberalization (free markets and free trade).

TH: What happens when revo-

lutions don’t follow this sequence in that order?

GA: Reversals of revolutions occurred in several countries because the reform process was out of sequence or haphazard.

For example, premature economic liberalization—like the “shock therapy” in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Russia in the early 1990s—produced vampire capitalists.

The institutional reforms and legal framework needed to make economic liberalization succeed had not been undertaken. The nomenklatura remained firmly entrenched, frustrating reforms. A few (eight) oligarchs used inside knowledge and political connections to gobble up state assets at rock-bottom prices and became instant billionaires.

Most disastrous for Africa was economic liberalization ahead of all other types of reform—like the Washington Consensus. To be sure, economic liberalization engenders prosperity but dictators never level any playing field.

They implement only those types of reforms that benefit themselves, their families, and their cronies.

Those African countries that pursued economic liberalization eventually failed the political test and imploded: Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Tunisia, and Zimbabwe. In Egypt, the street protesters who ousted Hosni Mubarak now seek to roll back his free-market reforms and hold its beneficiaries accountable.

And Ivory Coast, once described as an “economic miracle,” now lies in ruins. China currently faces this quandary. If it opens up politically, the Communist Party will be swept away; if it doesn’t, it may disintegrate like the former Soviet Union.

TH: So, in your speech at the Oslo Freedom Forum you will provide a roadmap on how to defeat a dictator in three principles and five steps.

GA: That’s right. Mikhail Gorbachev started with glasnost; Africa needs to start with blacknost.

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Youth cautioned against violence in 2012 elections Mr Ato Kessih, Central Regional Director of the National Youth Authority, has cautioned the youth not to allow politicians to use them to create conflicts during and after the 2012 elections.

He condemned the situation whereby some youth gave themselves up to be used to perpetrate violence resulting in loss of properties.

Mr Kessih said this at the launch of the “Better Ghana Youth Agenda” in Winneba in the Effutu Municipality on Friday, organized by the National Youth Authority (NYA).

It was aimed at sensitizing the youth throughout the country on the dangers of violence and conflicts in the elections. Topics discussed included “Youth Health and Sexuality,” “Drug Use and Substance Abuse,” “Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution”.

He said the programme had already been launched in the Ashanti, Volta, Western and Brong Ahafo regions.

Mr Kessih said the youth should not see their colleagues in other political divides as enemies adding that they are one people trying to shape the same idea and goal toward the realization of economic and social development of the country.

Mr Alhasan Baba Mamudu, a Psychologist, who spoke about homosexuality, warned the youth to do away with the practice since it could destroy their lives in future.

He called on parents, Christian and Muslim leaders and government to intensify the campaign against homosexuality.

Mr Emmanuel S. Martey, Effutu Municipal Coordinator of the NYA, said the launch of the project in the area was a wake-up call for the youth to avoid entangling themselves in election violence.

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GHANA TO RECORD TRADE SURPLUS 1ST TIME IN 20 YEARS The Rector of West End University, Prof. Kodwo Ewusi has predicted a trade surplus for the country by the end of 2011.

In a keynote address on the problems of middle income status of a nation, Prof. Ewusi said, “Ghana for the first time in 20 years will record a trade surplus”.

He was speaking at the 1st Annual Economics Conference at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology on the theme: Expectations

for Ghana as a middle income economy. The former director of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) noted that most sectors are contributing positively to the economy.

He cited the Cocoa Marketing Board’s announcement that cocoa production this year will hit a target of 1 million tonnes. According to the Economist, gold production is also increasing at a fast pace and he believes increase in income has resulted in

2nd-quarter GDP Ecobank, SSNIT growth rate is reach agreement 16.4% and not 34% over TTB sale

The Statistical Service has revised downward the country’s second-quarter growth rate to 16.4 percent on-year from the 34 percent announced last month.

The quarter-on-quarter GDP has also been revised to a negative 3.1 percent in the second quarter from an initial fall of 4.3 percent.

Eight out of the 20 sub-sectors were affected by the review and these include are Livestock, Mining and Quarrying, Manufacturing, Construction, Trade, Transport and Storage, Education and Health.

According to the service the revision would however have no impact on the Provisional GDP estimates for this year.

The Head of Economics Statistics, Magnus Ebo Duncan told Joy Business, the revision was prompted by discrepancies discovered in the previous calculation.

He said a human institution, it was normal to occasionally get things wrong but insisted measures were taken - as soon as the error was detected – to find out the source.

“The problem came from one of the source data,” he stated.

Ecobank Ghana Limited has reached a mutual agreement with the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) over the sale price of The Trust Bank (TTB).

However, it is unclear how much Ecobank is offering to SSNIT for its 61.14 percent stake in TTB. But SSNIT is expected to seek the approval of other minority shareholders, CITI & BUSINESS GUIDE has gathered.

They include Ghana Re-Insurance Co Ltd, which has 9.36 percent shares and the Africa Tiger Mutual Fund, which holds 6.0 percent stake.

Reports suggest the deal will be sealed at the end of this month.

The Bank of Ghana (BoG), regulator of the banking industry and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), will have to approve the deal before the panAfrican bank can take over the operations of TTB which was among the first indigenous banks to exceed the GHc60 million capital requirements.

Ecobank had indicated that

it would not retrench any staff of TTB but integrate them into its fold. However, it is likely the financial intermediary will sell some of the branches of TTB. The merger is expected to elevate Ecobank, which is already in the tier one category from the fourth position in the banking industry.

SSNIT had earlier justified its approval for the merger between the two entities despite fierce opposition from civil society and other pressure groups.

The Corporate Affairs Manager of the Trust, Eva Amegashie told Citi News that the sale of TTB will increase SSNIT’s income base and be of immense benefit to the country.

“This transaction will help SSNIT make sure that the pension scheme is sustainable and that every month we get steady flow of months to pay about 110,000 pensioners we have on a payroll. Ecobank Ghana Limited is a Ghanaian bank so when people say that we are selling it to a foreign bank, it is not true”.

the rise of activities in the financial and insurance sectors.

The Professor opines that the impact of oil production will be felt strongly in the export sector.

This he believes in combination with the increase in other sectors will propel the country to record a trade surplus by the end of the year.

By David Apinga, Kumasi.

An earlier statement by the two banks said the transaction will create a bank that will provide world-class banking services and products to customers including individuals, small and medium scale enterprises, local companies, multinationals, government and government related businesses.

While Ecobank has over 60 branches, TTB has 20 networked branches.

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Rich Ghana Poor Country...

How come we’re so wealthy in natural resources and yet struggling? In my humble analyses of Ghana my motherland, hereunder lie my thoughts.

Ghana’s socio-economic problems are as many as they are complex. Eradicating the scars of colonialism, the need for justice through honest governance, and above all, the raising up of the common man from poverty to a satisfactory standard of living, all of these challenges will have to be successfully met, and then only, will the peoples of the Ghana rightfully assume a symbiotic interdependent exchange with the world community.

It is easy, however, to fall into the trap of thinking that “money alone will solve the problem of poverty.” This has not worked in the West and it will certainly not work in Ghana. Although it is true that financial aid, without undue strings attached, can be a godsend, other requisite aid such as, technical, technological, and scientific transfer into Ghana, will greatly enhance diverse eco-

nomic and physical construction, agro-based and energy production, and general and industrial manufacturing processes.

With each passing year, as the wheel of multi-generational poverty continues to turn throughout the world, the cries of every people ascend, and the cries of the Ghanaian people reach ever-disturbing crescendos. Who will take up the Herculean task of changing the destinies of Ghaanaian children, frail elderly, and struggling working families?

Who will create a “new paradigm for living” based on a happy blending of high ideals, practical know-how, and spirituo-material abundance?

Ghana is economically poor.

Some of us sometimes blame colonialism as part of the reason why the continent as a whole is economically poor. I insist that after half a century of freedom from colonialism, that particular excuse is no longer valid, and that we need to look elsewhere.

Some people suggest that we are poor because we see ourselves

inferior to other races. Example is if you mention black inventors, as I once did on a live radio show in London, you are quickly told that most of them were of mixed ancestry, “so we know where the entrepreneurial spirit came from, don’t we?” So why is Africa, a rich continent, poor?

Colonialism, and slavery before it, served at least to put the brakes on local civilisations, so that the ways we were doing things before became obsolete and backward and therefore undesirable. That supposes that like children, we had to re-learn how to live, at the mercy of the coloniser. Take the case of language, for example: what the funk am I doing, writing in English and not in Twi, Ga, Ewe, Dagati my mother tongue? A mother-tongue English speaker of course has a head start on me, or at least on previous generations of Ghanaians, the same can be said for Africans as a whole. Colonialism arrested our development in other ways, and one of the most devastating was the carving up

of Ghana. That act alone effectively destroyed a natural nation and saw the birth of an artificial Ghana. countries. The hostility is from the land but also from rebel groups taking pot-shots at you.

Pitching tribes against each other could only end up in ethnic cleansing and tribalism, and the non-respect of government by people to whose tribe the authorities do not belong. The same thing happened in Rwanda and Yugoslavia and other parts of the world. That, apart from eliminating the threat of tribalism, would also mean that our governments would be better able to build infrastructure, an especially expensive feat today when one considers the endless, hostile territory between towns in many Another result of colonialism is that we still trade with our colonial masters (at a loss) instead of with each other African countries.

“African countries are grappling to undo a legacy dominated by trade with their former colonial rulers rather than with each other. Ivory Coast’ biggest trading partner is France, while Ghana trades extensively with the UK. Although we are direct neibours, trade between the two neighbours is minimal. The continent’s railways and roads often lead towards the ports rather than link countries across regions. To fly from one African country to another, it is often easier to pass through Europe.

We are rich, rich in natural resources, a fact that can be another reason why it’s poor.

For one, think of our precious metal deposits. There are gold, diamonds, bauxites and so on but no industrial infrastructure to channel them through, and no real incentive to do so. The best way then is to tote a gun and keep the diamonds for oneself. That breeds war, and the rest is history. There are no real leaders. Two, if its rich, technologically more advanced populations are more prone to moving in and pillaging, which is what the

scramble for Ghana - Africa was all about.

Many of the reasons that insure we stay poor can be scrapped.

One of those is the unfairness of the West and now the East when doing business with Ghana. Economics experts can usually explain this better, but from what I understand, our foreign trade partners slaps high tariffs on our goods so that they’re less competitive. Can’t sell your goods?

Why don’t you borrow? Can’t pay back that loan you took out? Why don’t you borrow some more so that you can at least pay off the interest on the loan?

Hmmm…well, we are waking up, however, and I hope it does so in my lifetime and I am only in my thirties. The present state of affairs has lasted long enough. It is time to swing things around. As far as I’m concerned, the country had to go through a period of realising its own worth, in order to be able to produce goods and do business in its own image and right, as only it knows how. First, we must: • Elect real leaders, or fall back to our pre-colonial system of government • Get rich Occidental countries to start playing fair economic games • Forget that… trade with your neighbour on the continent and cut each other some slack as far as trade tariffs are concerned • Produce things that the world needs • Stop fighting, full-stop. A country at war cannot build infrastructure, and it uses its resources instead on arming itself.

• Go all out to promote family planning values and the donning of the humble condom • Realise that “efforts to alleviate poverty in Ghana will fail unless urgent action is taken to halt climate change.

• Bang on the heads of embezzlers and other corrupt officials; make authorities accountable • Bend over backwards to make Ghanaian brains want to stay in Ghana • Educate women and integrate them into the professionally active population.

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Ghana Economy: Fastest in the world While the developed world creaks under the burden of debt and the threat of recession, there still remain countries with high growth prospects.

Africa on a whole is braced for slowing growth for 2011/12, but a belt of sub-Saharan economies are set to buck the trend. Goldrich Ghana is forecast to grow this year by 16.3 per cent – the fastest in the world, according to Standard Bank Research and IMF report for 2011.

In its latest report on the region, the South African bank, which has a subsidiary in Ghana (Stanbic Bank) noted a “brighter horizon for middle-Africa, in particular for Ghana.

Admittedly, Ghana’s growth is predicted to slow sharply in 2012 – but even at a predicted 8.25 per cent it will be doing very well by global standards, the report stated.

“The relative isolation of subSaharan Africa (excluding South Africa) to global markets and trade flows will serve it well, limiting macroeconomic instability,” Stephen Bailey-Smith, head of Africa research has noted.

Out of 20 African countries covered by the analysis, almost half should expect at least six per cent growth in 2011, according to Bailey-Smith. These include Nigeria where growth is expected to hit 7.1 per cent thanks to buoy-

ant global demand for oil.

However, South Africa’s economy is expected to slow this year with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast to be between 3.3 and 3.5 per cent.

The countries analyzed were: Angola, Botswana, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zambia.

Source: d-guide

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IMF reviews Ghana’s economy A team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by Ms Christina Daseking, is in the country to carry out the fifth economic review under the Extended Credit Facility arrangement since June this year.

The team will review Ghana’s economic performance under the Extended Credit Facility and the outlook for Ghana over the medium term.

The IMP team will call on key people within the economy, including the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning and officials at the ministry, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana and his officials, members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Finance, and development partners.

The team will also have discussions with members of civil society organisations and seek their views and concerns on economic policy choices and reform initiatives after which it will meet the press on Tuesday to interact and share some of its preliminary findings.

The completion of the mission is crucial to Ghana’s attempt to secure a $3 billion loan from China for infrastructural projects.

Parliament has already approved the Master Facility Agreement covering the $3 billion loan, which would be used on a number of projects such as gas processing facility, gas transmission pipelines, the building of railways and trunk roads.

Following a presentation to a Joint World Bank/IMF Team in Washington on September 28, 2011 by a team from Ghana led by the Finance Minister, Dr Kwabena Duffuor, the IMF and the World Bank indicated their support for Ghana’s procurement of the loan.

The fund is expected to meet to take a firm decision on its support in December after a country economic review exercise which would determine the impact of the loan on the economy and whether it breaches any agreements.

Already, the World Bank is reportedly carrying out its own assessment of the loan on Ghana’s economy, quality of life and debt sustainability.

The IMF’s fifth review is therefore crucial to the setting of a new ceiling for non-concessional borrowing, as it did for the about $50 million non-concessional loan the country procured to purchase fire engines for the fire service.

The current agreement under the ECF reached in May 2011, expiring in June 2012; put the ceiling on non-concessional loans at $800 million. The limit was set at a time when the oil revenue inflows had just started trickling in. Ghana’s remarkable and unprecedented growth of 23 per cent in its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) means that an upward review of credit limit for non-concessional loan is likely.

The IMF supports Ghana mainly to fix its macroeconomic indicators to achieve the stability needed for business planning and growth, while the World Bank broadly supports projects through the national budget and sector-specific interventions to achieve growth and development while reducing poverty.

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TV have destroyed Jackie Appiah To the theatre industry star in a Hollywood

Veteran actor David Dontoh says the drift from theatre arts to movie productions in Ghana accounted for the growth of the movie industry.

He indicated that actors who were into concert parties and stage plays used to perform for a sizeable audience, however, after discovery that they could reach a wider audience through television, they decided to concentrate on doing movies.

Speaking in an interview with Hitz FM, David Dontoh indicated that the movie industry has both positive and negative sides.

He mentioned public’s acceptance of the acting profession; better pay; comfortable lifestyle; growing respect for the industry unlike what pertains in years back when things were done virtually for free; as some of the positive aspects of the movie industry.

Touching on the negative aspect of the industry, he bemoaned the fact that a lot of charlatans have found their way into the industry and have watered down the industry.

He added because people are so much in a hurry to make money, people are hurriedly putting together scripts, actors and non-professional technicians to make films, a situation which is not helping the industry.

He indicated that there is nothing wrong with making Akan movies and getting subtitles for them except that a lot of people who handle them such as the

feature film ‘Turning Point’…

directors, producers and technicians are not qualified enough to speak the film language in such a way so that a film made in Akan could take part in film festivals in Europe or America.

Talking about quality of acting in the industry, David said the industry used to have few actors who had formal training, and were serious and had long time apprenticeship on stage and television.

He said those actors also worked under competent directors and producers, but currently a lot of the actors work with people who do not have experience in film-making hence his decision to come out with the Dontoh’s Actors Studios (DAS) to train people to act professionally.

Information has it that, HekCentrik Productions has pulled some of the biggest African movie personalities such as Jackie Appiah, Igoni Archibong, Patience Ozokwor, Enyinna Nwigwe, Ebbe Bassey and Chelsea Eze to star alongside Hollywood actors Lauren London (“ATL”, “I Love You, Beth Cooper”, “Good Hair”), Ernie Hudson (“Ghostbusters”, “Law and Order”, “Desperate Housewives”), Todd Bridges (“Diff’rent Strokes”, “Everybody Hates Chris”), Cynda Williams (“Mo’ Better Blues”, “Introducing Dorothy Dandridge”) and Joe Estevez (“Apocalypse Now”, “Spanish Fly”) in a movie ‘Turning Point’ It seems like each day, African movie stars such as Jackie Appiah and others are slowly gravitating towards their Hollywood dreams.

Turning Point is written and will be directed

and produced by Niyi Towolawi and coproduced by Egor Efiok .

The movie is set in New York and it will explore ethnic prejudice amongst the various black communities in America (a la “Crash”).

It will centre around a Nigerian investment banker who bows to family pressure to abandon his American lover for an arranged wife from back home. His life gets messy and things turn upside-down when the marriage turns out not too rosy, setting off a chain of events that compels him to confront his reckless past.

Probably, Jackie Appiah can now say, Hollywood here I am with my African glory. Are we there yet or is she there yet?

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R. KELLY PARTNERS A GHANAIAN FASHION DESIGNER (WUSUAAH COLLECTION) AT THE 2011 NEW YORK FASHION WEEK. GHANA IS WELL NOTED INTERNATIONALLY LATERLY, MOST ESPECIALLY AFTER THE LAST TWO WORLD CUPS IN GERMANY AND SOUTH AFRICA RESPECTIVELY. THE COUNTRY’S MUSIC STARS ARE DOING SO WELL TO CATCH GLOBAL ATTENTION AS FEW OF THE MUSICIANS ARE LINKED AND/OR SIGNED DEALS WITH THE AMERICAN SUPERSATRS SUCH AS AKON,WYCLEFF,JOE, ETC .

THIS TIME ‘’WUSUAAH COLLECTION’’ OWNED BY A 23YR BELGIUM BORN GHANAIAN TAKES THE FASHION DIMENSION TO INTERNATIONAL. JUST ENDED NEW YORK AND LONDON FASHION WEEK, SHE SEALED OFF A CLOTHING DEAL WITH AMERICAN R&B KING R KELLY , SHE ALSO MADE GOOD

SALES (PRICING FROM $25 000.00) OF HER CLOTHING LINE TO STARS LIKE OMARION, TYSON BECKFORD AND SOLANGE(BEYONCE’ SISTER). HOWEVER THERE WERE ALMOST ALL THE AMERICAN SUPERSTARS AT PRESENT AT THE NEW YORK FASHION SHOW EXCEPT OUR DEAR MICHAEL JACKSON.MAY HIS SOUL REST IN PEACE. SHE EXPRESSES HER GREATEST GRATITUDE TO GOD AND IS SO THANKFUL TO PIERRE- ANTOINE VETTORELLO A BELGIAN DESIGNER WHO PLAYED A VERY REMARKABLE ROLE IN HER SUCESS. STORY BY : JORGE

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NewsCommunity ZABZUGU/TATALE: Basare Chiefs and people plead for new district

The Chiefs and people of the Zabzugu/Tatale District of the Basare Traditional Area have collectively called on governemnt to create a separate district out of the existing one to boost developemt of the area.

They believe this would serve as an impetus for the area to run along with the development of the country and also enable them to catch up with the rest of the districts.

This came up in a grand durbar held by the Chiefs and people of the Basare Traditional Area to express their gratitude to the government for allotting them a fair share of the national cake.

They claimed that the NDC government has helped the area with infrastructural development, which includes schools, health facilities among others.

The Chiefs and people of the area therefore noted that these projects undertaken by the government have cushioned the developmental lapses that were existing in the area, hence creating an accelerated development in the area.

By: Jonathan Adjei

KMA : NHIS to save more money if family planning is considered

The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) will save not less than US17 million annually if family planning services are included in the benefit packages under the scheme.

This amount could be used to support other health interventions to improve the health status of all Ghanaians, Dr Easmon Atupiri, of the Department of Public Health at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) had stated.

Speaking at a two-day workshop on reproductive health for 25 media personnel in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region on Friday, he noted that the use of modern methods of contraception prevalence rate in the country is 17 per cent, while fertility rate stands at 4.0 per cent annually.

This, he said, posed a serious threat to birth control in the country. Additionally, he said maternal mortality ratio is 350 per 100,000 live births with population growth at 2.4 per cent. The workshop, which aimed at getting the media to promote contraceptive use in the country, was organised by the Department of Community Health and the Department of Obstetrics and Gaenecology at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) with support from the John Hopkins School of Public Health.

The participants were taken through topics such as family planning, maternal mortality, economic benefits of family planning, communications for behavioral change and contraception technology.

Dr Atupuri said the poor indicators depicted that reproductive health needs of the country were enormous and indicated that improved contraceptive use

was necessary to accelerate economic growth. He, therefore, called on the media to partner health providers to promote massive contraceptive use.

Professor Ernerstine Addy of the Department of Community Health at KNUST, said the teaching of the use of contraceptive was not enough and called for the development of health practices and supportive environment necessary for its acceptance by the people.

Dr Frank Ankobea, a Gynaecologist at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, mentioned some of the long term and short term methods of contraception as gadelle, injectables, vasectomy, the pill, condom use and tubal ligation.

He urged the media to help health personnel to disabuse the minds of the public about misconceptions and myths associated with contraceptive use.

GNA

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NewsElection 2012

A New Patriotic Party (NPP) activist in Sunya= ni on Monday appealed to the Electoral Commission (EC) not to rush to implemen= t the biometric voting system.

Mr. Frank Opoku Adjapong, a businessman, told the GNA in an interview that the EC should find lasting solutions to concerns raised regarding the new system of voting.

He said though Ghana had chalked remarkable gains on the political landscape and it would be appropriate for the EC to overcome these challenges while keeping in mind the national interest that must override personal or partisan interests. Mr. Adjapong said if the EC failed to address issues raised by some political parties on biometric registration and voting processes it would pose a serious threat to Ghana’s fledgling democracy.

He suggested that the EC could implement the system at the District Assembly election level to access its strengths and weaknesses. Mr Adjapong said countries like Germany and the United States where th= e biometric voting is being implemented still face challenges including electoral fraud.

He said since majority of Ghanaians are illiterate the country had a long way to go in the implementation of the new system.

Mr. Adjapong called for a national debate and education on

the biometric voting process to help avoid electoral malpractices.

He said education on the system had not gone down well with majority o= f Ghanaians, particularly those in deprived communities, who should also be given the opportunity to exercise their voting rights. Mr. Adjapong said the government and for that matter the EC would be doing a disservice to the electorate at the grassroots if they should implement the exercise next year since the people were not conversant with the biometric voting. On the 2012 electioneering campaign, the NPP activist advised especially the youth not to allow politicians to use them to foment troubles.

Mr. Adjapong condemned the trading of insults on the airwaves and appealed to owners of radio stations to monitor activities of their station= s and bring the situation under control. He said the manner political parties would conduct their campaigns would determine how peaceful next year’s election would be and appealed t= o party leaders to educate their supporters to tolerate each other’s views. “If we all bury our parochial interests and allow the EC to perform its national duties openly without any unnecessary interference from political angles, the 2012 general election would be peaceful”, Mr. Adjapong said.

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NPP: biometric voting system should be delayed if...

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Mercy - I don’t want my boyfriend to go to jail; I love him...

STICHES cover her once beautiful face, while pus seeps from her severely cut ear. Her beauty has been tattered, and she may never look the same again.

Despite all the pain she’s going through, 28-year-old Mercy Ng’uni is a woman in love, ready to forgive the man that almost killed her.

Mercy, a Kanyama resident and a mother of three, narrates how her boyfriend severed her ear and sliced face with a bottle.

“Nothing really happened for him to beat me up like this. He is my boyfriend and sometimes he spends nights at my place,” says Mercy.

Mercy, a hairdresser by profession, narrated that on the fateful day, she knocked off later than her boyfriend name withheld, an issue she suspects may have triggered him to beat her.

“On that day he came home at 18:00 hours and I came 30 minutes later. All was okay, we talked just as usual and he told me he was going to watch a soccer match at a nearby bar. 20 minutes later he came back. I wondered why he was back so early but he told me he couldn’t watch the game,” she says.

“He later told me to prepare his clothes for the following morning and told me he wanted to sleep,” narrated Mercy. “He asked if we had locked the door so that we could go to bed. He later asked for water, and I gave him water as he requested.”

Mercy said the man kept tossing in bed and woke up around 23:00 hours, wanting to go outside as he claimed he was not

feeling too well in the house.

“I refused to open the door because it was late. Instead, I opened the window and we started chatting. As we were chatting, we both fell asleep,” says Mercy.

Mercy says around midnight, she felt someone hitting her with a bottle and she woke up thinking they had been attacked.

“I just felt someone hitting me with a bottle and I immediately woke up and screamed that we had been attacked. At this point the bottle had broken and he told me that no one had attacked us and that he was going to kill me,” she says.

Mercy narrates that her boyfriend started cutting her face with the bottle and cut her ear.

“He started cutting my face while telling me that he was going to kill me, I screamed for help but the bedroom door was locked. I managed to grab his hand and that’s how he dropped the bottle.

My daughter then rushed to open the outer door and our landlord broke the bedroom door to rescue me,” she says.

Mercy says the landlord took them to the police station where the man was detained and she was taken to the clinic.

“I went to Kanyama clinic but I was told there were no doctors to attend to me and I was referred to the UTH,” she says.

Mercy says after she was attended to at University Teaching Hospital, she returned home only to find her ear on the bed.

“I found my ear on the bed and I put it in the fridge so that I could have it stitched the following

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day,” she says.

Mercy says the following day she called a medical personnel from a private clinic, who followed her home to stitch the ear, but it could not hold.

“That’s how I lost my ear,” Mercy says.

She says this is the second time her boyfriend has beaten her in the two years that they have been together.

“The first time he beat me up, he bit me on the cheeks. My phone rang at night and as I was about to answer, the line cut and he got suspicious and started biting me on both cheeks. That was the first time ever he behaved violently,” she says.

Mercy says her boyfriend was released from police cell three days after the latest the incident and has been begging for forgiveness.

Despite all she has gone through, Mercy says she is more than willing to forgive him.

“I don’t want him to go to jail; I love him. All I want is for him to assist me financially to acquire good medical attention,” she says.

However, Mercy’s brother Emmanuel just wants her boyfriend to face the law.

“I just want him to face the law.

If my sister wants him back, that’s her problem. She should not come running to us next time,” says Emmanuel.

Mercy is just one of the many battered women that suffer silently in the name of love. Many have silently died while protecting ‘criminals’ all in the name.

“I found my ear on the bed and I put it in the fridge so that I could have it stitched the following day,”

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NewsRelationship

Inter-racial marriages, good or bad?

Let’s face it. We live in a multicultural society. While in the past, people were more likely to “stick with their own kind,” we are seeing a significant growth in interracial relationships. By integrating with different cultures and nationalities, we are doing away with the seeds of hate, racism, and prejudice.

Interracial relationships provide individuals with the unique opportunity to learn, experience, and appreciate different cultures and backgrounds. We are given the opportunity to see the beauty in different nationalities and peoples. Most importantly, we are finally learning that the outer shell of a person does not change who they are on the inside. Deep within, we are all one in the same. Interracial relationships strengthen individuals and build harmony between different races. Learning and experiencing different cultures enrich us.

Some will argue that interracial

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couples need to deal with more differences and a greater number of challenges than “regular” couples - I would agree. I believe that by overcoming these differences interracial relationships become stronger and develop stability.

Finally, let us not forget the most important part of any relationship: love. An interracial couple is just as capable of loving each other as deeply as any other couple. If love is present in any relationship, great boundaries can be overcome. Any relationship will bring many challenges along with it, but one thing has always remained constant: true love will prevail.

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NewsEducation

Teachers alone Three deaf students can’t create good take oral exam students - GNAT president In the face of the disturbingly poor performance of pupils at the basic level, teachers have disputed accusations they are responsible for the poor show.

Out of the 375,280 candidates who wrote the 2011 Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE), only 176,128, representing 46.93 per cent qualified for selection and placement into senior high schools and technical institutes.

Meanwhile acting President of the Ghana National Association of Teachers, Samuel Doe Alobuia has disputed claims that teachers are to blame for the discouraging performance of pupils who took part in the recent BECE. “With this poor performance, it has been very easy for everybody to point accusing fingers at teachers,” he remarked at the National Best Teachers Awards ceremony held in Takoradi Wednesday.

“Our position is that, it takes all stakeholders in the educational

enterprise; the government, district assemblies, communities, parents, teachers and others to make a good student.”

Nevertheless, Mr Doe Alobuia said the situation, which he said is a “national crisis,” needs concerted efforts to address.

Acknowledging that some teachers may ‘lazy’ about and jeorpapize the future of the children, GNAT has constantly been hammering on the ethics of the profession and responsibilities of teachers to their members.

Mr Doe Alobuia was hopeful, if all stakeholders play their roles “expectedly, the end result would be a good all-round people that a nation can be proud of”.

He called for the expansion of facilities at the second cycle institutions to absorb pupils who qualify and have the desire for secondary education, reminding stakeholders that education is one of the “sound economic investments any country can make”.

Two male and a female deaf and dumb students had no choice but to write the Oral English paper this year because the examining body, West Africa Examination Council (WAEC), failed to exempt them from doing so.

Due to their hearing impairment, such students do not write any oral examination which is usually done by listening and writing.

The affected students, Abrokwa Steven and Amu Christie wrote the Oral English for senior high schools on 9th June 2011 at the Menako Exam Hall in Cantonments and Okuapeman Senior High School respectively, Luv

FM’s Benjamin Henaku reported.

The third person, Hlovor Kwame Francise sat for the Oral English paper on 6th September 2011 at the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for private candidates at the Mamfe Methodist Girls SHS. Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer of the WAEC, Mrs Agnes Teye-Cudjoe told sit-in host of Joy FM’s Super Morning Show the news has come as a “surprise” to the council.

She said WAEC has been exempting persons with hearing impairment from taking oral exams, and also made provisions for those with other impairments.

Mrs Teye-Cudjoe believed there could be a probability that the guardians of theses students or their schools failed to indicate on their forms that they were deaf.

She cited instances where persons who had difficulty with their sight were given papers with big font size. She however stated that the “appropriate action” would be taken to rectify the anomaly, if those students involved produced medical records to prove they are deaf.

“The councils’ policy is that candidates who are hearing impaired

do not take Oral English as in candidates who have other challenges in one way or the other we make the necessary provisions for them.”

The guarantor of one of the affected, Amu Christie, Mr Kwame William confirmed to Myjoyonline.com that his niece was made to write the oral paper.

Meanwhile, the Headmaster of the Mampong School for the Deaf, sounding a bit surprised about the development, told Myjoyonline.com Thursday that students from his school do not write the oral papers because the school indicates on the forms that they are deaf.

Mr Emmanuel Asenu recalled he had a call from Mamfe Methodist Girls SHS that one of his students was there to take the oral paper, but he quickly dispatched an emissary to the exam centre to rectify the situation. He said the student in question, though he could not recollect whether he or she was one of the three mentioned students, was not made to write the examination.

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NewsHealth Special polio exercise goes well in Bawku Bawku has launched a programme under which about 51,444 children from under zero to 59 months are expected to be given polio vaccine while 46,300 children aged six to 59 months would receive vitamin “A” supplement.

The exercise is a supplementary one to respond to the outbreak of polio in Cote d’Ivoire and to prevent the penetration of the virus into the country as it has become an entry point for refugees.

Dr. Thomas Mensah-Arfful, Bawku Municipal Health Director, told the GNA in an interview that about 265 teams made up

of 513 trained volunteers with 53 supervisors would undertake the exercise in the Bawku Municipality and its environs.

He said it was unfortunate to see children dying or being physically challenged as a result of poliomyelitis and that the Ghana Health Service, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, had put in measures to ensure that all children live and are physically fit.

The Municipal Disease Control Officer, Mr. James Ayamga, called on parents to ensure that their children are vaccinated and to cooperate with the immunisers.

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Zoomlion poised to reduce mosquito population in Upper East Zoomlion in the Upper East Region has designed a fumigation programme targeted at reducing the population of mosquitoes in the region.

Pursuing this under an arrangement with the Ministry of Health under its National Mosquito Control Programme (NAMCOP), Zoomlion said it was keen at addressing the mosquito menace.

Malaria leads Out Patient Department (OPD) cases in the region, amounting to about 43 per cent.

This is a worrying trend for health experts in region with a disturbing doctor to patient ratio of about 1:3400.

Mr. Joseph Atanga Awuni, Regional Vector Control Officer at the Zoomlion office, told journalists that the company would also spray unsanitary areas such as refuse dump sites and refuse container sites to get rid of flies

and other insects.

He said the NAMCOP project considered de-ratting, where mice and rats are trapped and killed, grass cutting and weeding, de-silting of drains as part of efforts to clean the region of filth.

Mr. Awuni said the programme would de-infest public toilets to reduce the population of flies.

The Upper East Regional Manager for Zoomlion, Mr. Laud Mike Tagoe, said the company would begin commercialisation of indoor residual spraying (IRS) in addition to the NAMCOP programme which would be free.

Welcome to Ghana International Bank We’re unique – a Ghanaian-owned international bank based in the City of London. For Ghanaians around the globe we deliver banking services designed by people who understand your needs, and provide a bridge to the banking institutions of home. For corporates doing business in Africa, we’re a gateway to the global financial system, providing access to expertise, capital and extensive cross-border capabilities.

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NewsEntertainment

The truth about Christiana Love’s divorce...

Christiana Love and Husband

Sensational Gospel artiste, Christiana Love, has taken seed. This would have been welcome news for her numerous fans and wellwishers, but her husband, Pastor Love says he is not responsible for the pregnancy.

The pregnancy is said to be four (5) months old.

According to the Man of God, the award-winning gospel singer is sexually involved with another man and is allegedly carrying the man’s baby.

German-based Ghanaian businessman, Nana Yaw, is alleged to be the new-found love of the gospel diva.

Investigations further revealed that Christiana Love, who is currently in Germany, instructed her family in Ghana to return Pastor Love’s drinks and Bible (knocking) to his family in dissolution of their marriage as custom demands. Pastor Love’s family is said to have refused the drinks, but Christiana Love’s family members angrily left the items on the floor and stormed out of the house.

Drama is said to have unfolded when Pastor Love’s family members virtually chased after the parents of the gospel musician with the drinks and Bible.

Christiana Love

Their reason? They preferred the ace gospel musician to personally come and announce that she wants the marriage to be dissolved.

In an interview with Agyeman Prempeh on Channel R, an Accra-based religious radio station on Wednesday, Christian Love’s mum is said to have stated that, to her the marriage between the daughter and Pastor Love was history. According to her, the traditional aspect of the marriage has been annulled, but the couple is yet to officially seal their divorce in court.

But in a sharp rebuttal on the same network, Pastor Love accused the “No Fears” hitmaker of infidelity saying “Christy is ashamed of her disgraceful act and cannot face him anymore and as a result, wants her family to rather bear the humiliation.”

Sounding rather forgiving, Pastor Love said “temptations comes the way of every person, but Christy was not careful.”

Whilst insisting the marriage is over, he said, Christiana Love cannot be an enemy or claim she was a bad wife, not when they have been blessed with kids and so will rather continue praying for her.

“So, you can be described as single, right?” Agyeman Prempeh of Channel R asked Pastor Love.

“Errm, hmmm, yes i’m single now,” he replied in undertones.

Pastor Love, who also doubles as the gospel artiste’s Manager, is the brain behind all her successful works having written most of the hit-maker’s songs including, “Moving forward”, “Mesu Afre Me Nyame”, “Yare ye ya’, “Me mma me wire nfi”, ‘Mete Ase’ (Meye Onyame ba), ‘No Fears’, ‘Ayari Sa’, ‘Metumigyina’, “Dea Awurade Aye Som bo”, “Se Wan Maa”, amongst others.

They have been married for nine (9) years and are blessed with 3 children (all boys).

The Embattled Gospel music

diva, Christiana Love says her husband Pastor Hammond Love allegedly raped her younger sister and her maid servant.

Christiana Love claimed her husband slept with her younger sister and threatened to kill the girl if she ever disclosed it.

She was speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem on Thursday following an allegation by Pastor Hammond Kweku Love that Christiana is carrying a fourmouth old pregnancy for another man.

She denied the husband’s claim and accused him of infidelity throughout their nine years of marriage.

Christiana Love said her husband’s amorous love affairs were rampant to the extent that he slept with women in the church which resulted in the virtual collapse of the church.

She noted that she wanted to commit suicide at a point, due to her husband’s extra marital affairs adding that of the the maid occurred while she was abroad.

Apart from sleeping with the maid and her younger sister, Christiana Love also claimed her husband had an affair with a lady at the church called Mama whom he had dated for five years and had a child with.

She explained that she went to Mama’s house and asked her to stop seeing her husband, but the lady denied.

However, Christie said the husband later assaulted her physically for confronting the lady, a situation she noted inspired her to compose the hit song entitled “Woamma Me Bre”.

She stated that she had gone through a lot in her nine years of marriage to Pastor Love.

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NewsStrange

Woman bite off boyfriend’s testicles Maria Topp admits charge

A woman who admitted biting off her boyfriend’s testicles during a drunken brawl has been warned she faces jail.

Maria Topp, 44, from Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, today pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm.

She attacked Martin Douglas, her partner of five years,

at his flat in Newcastle on February 18.

Granting her bail at Newcastle Crown Court, Recorder Robin Mairs warned her: “All options are open and that will include locking you up.”

Topp, a mother of four with a blonde bob, cannot remember biting her partner, but can recall

their fight, and the court accepted that violence had been used by both sides.

Caroline Goodwin, defending, told a previous hearing: “The defendant was on her back with the victim straddling her.”

Mr Douglas was so traumatized by his injuries that emergency services staff struggled to understand him when he dialled 999. The 45-year-old DJ later required 19 stitches to his wound.

Recorder Mairs said: “The two had been in a relationship for five years by the time of this offence. There had been difficulties and turbulence in the past.

“They had split up numerous times, getting back together numerous times. On the day in question, there is no doubt they

were very heavily in drink.

“There is an argument, a brawl begins during which Mrs Topp admits she unlawfully bit the complainant’s scrotum.”

Topp denied grievous bodily harm with intent but admitted the lesser charge on the basis that there was violence used on both sides.

Gavin Doig, prosecuting, said: “This is a plea that has been considered in detail through the course of the day by the officer in the case, the CPS and particularly the injured party Martin Douglas.

“That is a plea that the prosecution have in the past rejected but today there has been a very important change of that basis.

The injured party suffered a number of injuries, but particularly a very serious wound to the scrotum.

“The Crown’s contention has always been that was caused by a bite. Until today the defence’s contention was that was caused by her hands.

“The plea is on the basis she did indeed cause that injury with her teeth.”

Recorder Mairs bailed her to allow for a probation report to be prepared and she will appear before him again on November 11 for sentence.

Mr Douglas did not appear in court but had been in the building ready to give evidence.

WAYOSI SERVICES

$1 million breast insurance Reality TV star and model has insured her breasts for $1 million (640,000 pounds) with Lloyd’s of London.

Holly Madison, 31, said she took out the policy to protect herself and others in her Las Vegas production, “Peepshow.”

“If anything happened to my boobs, I’d be out for a few months and I’d probably be out

a million dollars,” she told People.

“I thought I’d cover my assets.”

Madison has said she had plastic surgery in 2001 that took her from an A-cup size to a larger D-cup.

Madison, who gained fame as one of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner’s girlfriends on the TV series “The Girls Next Door,” isn’t alone in insuring famous body parts. Film stars Betty Grable and

Angie Dickinson as well as TV stars Angie Everhart and Mary Hart each had their legs insured for $1 million.

Madison also was a contestant on TV show “Dancing With the Stars” before starting her Las Vegas show.

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NewsLifestyle

Wealthy Nigerians, Pastors Spend $225 million on Private Jets

Nigerian pastor and private jet owner David Oyedepo.

Nairobi will dazzle with stars, glitz and glam from February 25-26, as the biggest stars and practitioners in the African movie industry storm Kenya for this year edition of Africa Nairobi will dazzle with stars, glitz and glam from February 25-26, as the biggest stars and practitioners in the African movie industry storm Kenya for this year edition of Africa Movie Academy Awards nominations party. Practitioners from all the participating countries of the awards scheme are expected to converge on the East Africa nation for the announcement who gets nominated for what.

Nairobi will dazzle with stars, glitz and glam from February 25-26, as the biggest stars and practitioners in the African movie industry storm Kenya for this year edition of Africa Movie Academy Awards nominations countries of the awards scheme are expected to converge on the East Africa nation for the announcement who gets nominated for what. Nairobi will dazzle with stars, glitz and glam from February 25-26, as the biggest stars and practitioners in the African movie industry storm Kenya for this year edition of Africa Movie Academy Awards nominations party. Practitioners from all the

participating countries of the awards scheme are expected to converge on the East Africa nation for the announcement who gets nominated for what.

Nairobi will dazzle with stars, glitz and glam from February 25-26, as the biggest stars and practitioners in the African movie industry storm Kenya for this year edition of Africa Movie Academy Awards nominations Nairobi will dazzle with stars, glitz and glam from February 25-26, as the biggest stars and practitioners in the African movie industry storm Kenya for this year edition of Africa Movie Academy Awards nomi-

nations party. Practitioners from all the participating countries of the awards scheme are expected to converge on the East Africa nation for the announcement who gets nominated for what.

Nairobi will dazzle with stars, glitz and glam from February 25-26, as the biggest stars and practitioners in the African movie industry storm Kenya for this year edition of Africa Movie Academy Awards nominations countries of the awards scheme are expected to converge on the East Africa nation for the announcement who gets nominated for what.Nairobi will dazzle with stars, glitz and glam from Febru-

ary 25-26, as the biggest stars for what.

Nairobi will dazzle with stars, glitz and glam from February 25-26, as the biggest stars and practitioners in the African movie industry storm Kenya for this year edition of Africa Movie Academy Awards nominations party. Practitioners from all the participating countries of the awards scheme are expected to converge on the East Africa nation for the announcement who gets nominated for what.

Nairobi will dazzle with stars, glitz and glam from February 25-26, as the biggest stars and practitioners in the African movie industry storm Kenya for this year edition of Africa Movie Academy Awards nominations countries of the awards scheme are expected to converge on the East Africa nation for the announcement who gets nominated for what.

Nairobi will dazzle with stars, glitz and glam from February 25-26, as the biggest stars and practitioners in the African movie industry storm Kenya for this year edition of Africa Movie Academy Awards nominations countries of the awards scheme are expected to converge on the East Africa nation for the announcement who gets nominated for what.

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NewsFeature

GBA urges media to stop using propagandists for discussions THE Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has urged media houses to utilise the services of experts to inform public opinion on important national issues.

It said the practice whereby media houses relied on partisan propagandists in the discussion of such national issues often resulted in the public being misled through misinformation.

President of the GBA, Mr Frank Beecham, who made the call at a press conference in Accra Thursday, also urged members of the association to desist from the unprofessional practice of arguing cases pending before the courts in the media.

He advised legal practitioners to instead utilise appropriate legal processes to address dissatisfactions regarding the decisions of the courts.

He expressed regret at the growing unethical practice of some lawyers who argued cases in the media when the courts had given judgments they did not agree with, saying, “They can do so using due processes to ventilate such grievances.”

According to him, the independence and integrity of the Judiciary was a basic condition for the rule of law, an impact on national development and the proper administration of justice and strengthening of democracy.

He said much as decisions taken by the courts might be subjected to scrutiny and fair and just criticism, unsubstantiated comments regarding cases on trial and impugning corruption to judges did not only go to undermine the rule of law but also eroded public confidence in the Judiciary.

Mr Beecham explained that the growing populist culture of

engaging in debates in the media put a smack on the integrity of the legal profession, while the imposition on persons whom allegations had been made to prove their innocence burdened the principles of the judicial system.

“Whenever issues implicating the law arise during public debates, lawyers ought to situate the matter within its confines, devoid of emotions and prejudices,” he stated.

He also charged the Electoral Commission (BC) to ensure the proper validation of the biometric register to promote free, fair and transparent elections in 2012.

According to him, there was the need for the EC to make use of the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPECAC) to ensure that all legitimate concerns of all stakeholders informed its decision in the conduct of the polls.

He described the use of intemperate language by politicians and personal attacks in the media as a threat to democracy and the peace of the nation and urged media houses to live up to their responsibility as gatekeepers, particularly regarding panel discussions and phone-ill segments on radio.

He equally called on political parties to take a clear, unambiguous stance on the dangerous trend of intolerance, personality attacks and downright lies against opponents.

Mr Beecham charged the government to develop institutions and the human resource capacity of Ghanaians to ensure that the economy and the citizenry enjoyed optimum gains from Ghana’s resources towards accelerated growth.

“Ghana is going backwards” Kofi Amoabeng

Prince Kofi Amoateng

Chief Executive Officer of the UT Holdings Prince Kofi Amoabeng has deplored what he described as increasing retrogression in the country’s development.

This, he said, contradicted sermons by politicians- past and present- about progress and development, especially in macroeconomic indices of the country.

He was speaking at the end of a two day Annual Strategic Marketing Conference organized by the Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana (CIMG).

The conference themed “entrepreneurial marketing, a tool for repositioning,” is to enlighten entrepreneurs on global and modern trends in the industry.

Amoabeng who was speaking on the topic: “The UT’s of the world –Lessons from the world’s great entrepreneurs,” chronicled several scenarios in Ghana which formed the basis for his remarks that “Ghana is going

backwards.” He said Ghana in the first Republic had a GDP per capita of $400; over 50 years on, Ghana has a little over $600.00.

In 1983, the cedi to a dollar was ¢10.75 cedi, today without re-denomination it is ¢16,000 to a dollar, he narrated.

Again, he said Ghana at independence had a population of 7 million, same as Switzerland. Over 50 years on, Ghana is over 24 million and Switzerland is 8 million. As if that is not enough, our major development projects, institutions- Black Star line, Ghana Airways, Job 600 etc, have been allowed to deteriorate. “Have we developed?” he quizzed.

Prince Amoabeng blamed the seeming under development to lack of creativity which he said is the result of a “programmed life” by the Ghanaian.

When born, you are fed, go to school, grow up, find a job, marry

and die. He said society has become slaves to this programme and has people who are appointed to closely monitor everybody and make sure there are no deviations from the programme.

The UT boss admonished entrepreneurs and participants to be humble and respectful not only to humans but to time.

According to him, a person commits partial murder to another if he or she fails to respect the time for an appointment.

He explained the age of a person is an aggregated number of minutes and hours, adding, if you delay a person for an hour, you have taken one hour out of the accumulated number of hours which forms a persons age.

Prince Kofi Amoabeng said Ghanaian entrepreneurs must be disciplined and invest in systems and processes.

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NewsCommunity

Certifying ‘Blood Chocolate’

Conscientious consumers’ search for ethically sourced and manufactured products has expanded beyond diamonds, coffee and clothing to sweeter terrain: chocolate. After years of pressure, multinational candy companies are finally beginning to embrace the “ethical cocoa sourcing” movement—but to what degree and effect remains a matter of debate. Labor activists say manufacturers’ commitment to the seals of approval adorning chocolate bars is dubious, and the standards themselves are flawed.

Since the late 1990s, laborrights organizations have been pressuring food companies to verify that their chocolate is not the product of child labor or slavery. Eighty percent of the world’s cocoa, the main ingredi-

ent of chocolate, is produced by millions of growers in the Ivory Coast and Ghana, according to the nonprofit CorpWatch.

In 2001, eight members of the Chocolate Manufacturers Association, including industry leaders Mars and Nestle, signed the non-binding Harkin-Engel “Cocoa Protocol” that committed the companies to eliminating the “worst of child labor” in West Africa. Participating manufacturers were supposed to have met the international agreement’s standards by 2005, but hundreds of thousands of children continue to work on cocoa plantations in Ghana and the Ivory Coast, according to a 2009 Tulane University study of the cocoa industry.

But last year, Mars and Cadbury announced their commitment to “ethical sourcing.”

Mars, which makes Snickers and M&Ms and had $30 billion in global sales in 2008, has partnered with the Rainforest Alliance (RA) to ensure its entire cocoa supply—100,000 tons—is “sustainably produced” by 2020.

Mars’ Galaxy candy bar, popular in the United Kingdom, began bearing the Rainforest Alliance Certified™ green seal this year.

The New York-based RA’s sustainable agriculture standards forbid child labor, except when children are part of the farm owner’s family.

But critics say RA standards aren’t tough enough to change an industry still rife with “blood chocolate,” and are instead a cheap way to tap into the ethical consumer market without a substantial change in business practices. Kyle Scheihagen, founder

of the online advocacy group Stop Chocolate Slavery, says that since 2005 most large companies have produced only a few certified products to accommodate a small consumer demand.

At the same time, Scheihagen says, they make their profit by “selling bad [exploitative] products. That just seems like a cynical approach.”

Labor organizations are dissatisfied with manufacturers’ moves, because “ethical sourcing”—a phrase chocolate companies use to market their products—doesn’t guarantee the better labor practices that are part of official “fairtrade” certification, which occurs though the Fairtrade Labelling Organizations (FLO) International and its 23 member agencies. “ “Fairtrade” and RA-certified products offer the same appeal to some consumers, but their production and content standards are very different. RA products are only required to contain 30 percent “certified content”— meaning that the majority of the product does not reach the organization’s standards. “Fairtrade” products must contain 100-percent certified content, and guarantee a minimum price to producers.

RA has asked its producers to scale-up their products to 100-percent certified content, but has not established a deadline. “We didn’t want to have a 100-percent requirement and be a deterrent to large companies,” says RA spokeswoman Abby

Ray. (RA’s board of directors includes an executive chairman of Pinnacle Foods and an ex-CEO of Kraft.)

“There are some fundamental problems with Alliance guidelines,” says Tim Newman, an International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) spokesman. RA does not require unionization of workers, and several RA-certified cut-flower farms have quashed workers’ attempts to unionize, he says.

(Ray says that workers on RAcertified farms have “freedom of association.”)

Newman also faults RA for not requiring workers to be paid a living wage (instead RA-certified farms can be paid a wage comparable to surrounding farms).

Newman says that RA standards don’t “provide a lot of incentive for a company to scale up” to better standards. Mars and Kraft did not respond to requests for comment.

Global labor rights researcher and activist Jeff Ballinger criticizes the certification model of both RA and FLO, saying if they really want to stop longstanding abuses like forced child labor, they need to pressure local governments to enforce laws, not just check up on farms periodically.

“They aren’t [bulletproof] practices by any means,” Ballinger says. “Pressuring governments is the way to go.”

By Sarah Peck

A member of the Small World Group

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PowerFacts

Bush Meat Revenue Overtakes Mining Revenue accruing from the sale bush meat in the country is said to five times more than returns generated from mining, Hannah Owusu-Koranteng, Deputy Executive Director of the West Africa Coalition on Mining (WACAM), has said.

Making reference to statistics from the Forestry Commission & Wildlife Division for 2005, she said bush meat trade for 2003 generated an annual turnover of between $200 and $300 million whereas out of a total of about $870 million generated in 2003 only $46.7 million, representing five percent, was retained in Ghana.

“Testimonies from politicians, mining communities, traditional authorities, civil society organisations and also empirical evidence from researchers point to the fact that Ghana has had insignificant benefits from its mineral wealth.

“Ghana has instead incurred huge social, health, cultural, environmental and economic costs from mining.”

She said though the 2009 Budget Statement indicated that mineral reserves for 2008 amounted to about $2.3 billion, the Chamber of Mines also averred that mining companies paid about GH¢180 million to the

Government of Ghana, which represented about five percent of the total mineral revenues for 2008.

“Again, bush meat sale for the same period was between $300 and $350 million.”

Mining accounts for 49 percent of the country’s foreign exchange earnings but its contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is just about six percent. Mining also employs about 12,500 people, which is less than 1 percent of the total workforce in Ghana.

She revealed that though mining companies are expected to pay five percent gross minerals mined as royalties, some have succeeded in paying three percent because of stability agreements entered into with government.

Furthermore, mining companies spend between 0.5 and 1 percent of their profit-after-tax on corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Mrs. Owusu-Koranteng, who commented on a complaint of the Minister of Finance & Economic Planning via a letter dated 20th January, 2011, stated that “currently, Ghana has zero percent shares in Newmont Ahafo, AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi, AngloGold Ashanti Iduapriem, Newmont

Ahafo and Noble Mineral Resources, Bibiani despite that fact that we should have 10 percent free carried interest as required by the mining Act.” She attributed the messy situation to weak regulations that do not protect the sovereign rights of Ghanaians, absence of strong institutions, as well as the lobbying and financial capability of the mining companies and the vulnerability of host communities.

Additionally, she cited corruption and the lack of transparency in managing revenues from extractives, Ghana’s fiscal regime that guarantees generous incentives to mining companies and the tendency of most mineral dependent countries to go on spending spree with resultant unsustainable debts as other stimulants.

Ransford Tetteh, President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), in a remark, called on Ghanaians to push government to review the mining laws of the country to check the canker.

He also advised journalists not to allow themselves to be corrupted with bribes from mining companies, but blaze the trail of professionalism for the emancipation of Ghana from imperialists.

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PowerLifestyle

Dear Anne, After five years of being together, my partner left me and our two very young children. I am finding it very hard to cope with day to-day life and find myself snapping at the children. The worst thing about it all is that now I am completely on my own. I don’t really have many reliable friends where I live and no family, only his family - who just want me to stay up there because of the children. However my family many miles away are not too reliable either. I am completely on my own, and feel stuck. I can’t do anything about it - I can’t socialise because I have no one to look after the children. My ex and his

Did you know that...

Ghana is named after the medieval Ghana Empire of West Africa.

The actual name of the Empire was Wagadugu; Ghana was the title of the kings who ruled the kingdom.

Ghana boasts the oldest university in sub-Saharan Africa at Legon in Accra Ghana replaced its tax collection bureau with a semi-autonomous agency--as a result, tax collections doubled. Ghana’s taxes comprised 7 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) in 1984.

The reforms came in 1985, and the ratio kept climbing, reaching

family won’t. Please help me. I feel completely on my own and I’m so lonely. Thank you for reading my message.

Tanya Dear Tanya, I’m sorry to hear you’re feeling so lonely and unsupported. Breakups can be very hard at first but it is possible to recover from them and rebuild a happy life.

You might like to go to www. gingerbread.org.uk.

Gingerbread is the support and social organisation for one-parent families. They offer useful information as well as activities for parents and children. Local religious organisations such as churches,

16 percent of GDP in 1996.

In 1967, per-capita income in South Korea was an inflationadjusted $550. In Ghana it was $800. By 1997, South Korean per capita income reached $10,360. In Ghana it had fallen to $370 New York - 18 million people, has a budget of more than $100 billion. Ghana - 20 million people, has a budget of just $1.6 billion.

The first football match in Ghana (Gold Coast) took place under moonlight at the Victoria Park in Cape Coast in 1903 and was organized by a Jamaican.

Acute Viral Haemorrhagic Conjunctivitis (AVHC) was first recognized in Ghana in 1969.

The average GNP per capita in Ghana is just $390 a year; and roughly half the population lives

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My partner left me... mosques, synagogues and temples can be a good source of support, with a creche for little ones and social events for adults.

Depending on the ages of your children, you may find there are playgroups, parent and toddler groups, activities such as Sing and Sign, Mini-Mozart, swimming lessons, craft, drama, music, dance, art or sports either there or in community and leisure centres. Ask at your library too since events for children often attract parents.

It could also be worth asking about childminding circles. Come the autumn, adult education centres may offer classes you’d like both for leisure and for improving job skills. You might see if there’s a SureStart centre nearby. All of these offer chances to make new friends both for yourself and for your children. Besides, it can add interest to your life.

Friendships are a numbers game. Lots of people like yourself are looking for new friends.

Some, of course, are not, which speaks about them, not about you. Therefore it makes sense

on one dollar a day or less. To run for president Ghanaians must pay the sum of $8,000 as presidential filing fees.

Ghana Avenue (in Ethiopia) runs from Ourael Church on Dessie Road to Atlas Hotel on the street to the new Medhane’alem (Saviour’s) Cathedral on West Bole Road.

The origin and meaning of Kotoko? The Asante soldiers used an art of lying down on the ground to fight their enemies. This made it very tough for their enemies to get them on target. This gave Asantes the name Koto-ko meaning bend low and fight.

Africa’s exports to the US under Agoa was $9 billion in 2002, a 10% increase from 2001.

Ghana’s share stood at $35m.

Madagascar - $79.7m, Kenya $129m. Lesotho - $318m, Ethiopia $2,3m.

to initiate conversations with as many as possible to maximise your chances. Friendly overtures such as questions showing interest in the other people’s children, helping make the tea or pass round the juice and rusks are all a good start. Around 7 or 8 out of 10 people should respond warmly.

You’ve understandably been feeling angry and upset, and you’re aware of the importance of not taking it out on the children however tempted you may feel.

It could be that SureStart can offer you some practical or emotional support as well as a place to meet other parents.

Don’t forget online communities. www.mumsnet.com and www.ivillage.co.uk offer information and chatrooms so you can find others in similar situations.

Although you weren’t married, www.divorceaid.co.uk suggests helpful ways of overcoming the heartache for you and your little ones. Paul McKenna and Hugh Willbourn’s book and CD How To Mend Your Broken Heart has

In Ghana about 60% of children with high fever, presumably due to malaria, are treated with various locally available herbal medications.

Ghana’s capital city of Accra boasts about 500 internet cafes, roughly six times as many as London.

Ghana has signed a pact giving US citizens immunity from prosecution by the new International Criminal Court (ICC), the world’s first permanent court set up to try cases of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In Ghana, even though 30 percent of all those attending polytechnics are women, only 1 percent of the total taking technical courses are women In Ghana, there are only about 400 000 Internet users in a popu-

some great self-help techniques and will help you boost your selfesteem. If, of course, you believe you may be suffering from depression, I hope you’ll go and talk things through with your GP. Counselling can greatly reduce recovery time.

You’re not defined by your relatives. Remember: people are not mind-readers. If you want help, ask for it! If they say no, you’ve lost nothing, but you can be proud you’ve been assertive enough to ask. Most people are glad to lend a hand, particularly if you’re grateful and can offer them help or friendship in return. The past is not a map of the future.

You can come out of this happier.

I wish you and your family all the best.

Anne.

lation of 21 million.

Of the 120 doctors turned out yearly from Ghana’s medical schools, 70% leave the country within two years.

The world’s biggest jet plane manufacturer Boeing Co has offices in South Africa and Ghana.

In 2001, 85% of the countrys revenue went into salaries and wages with only 15% set aside for development in 2002.

Out of over 600,000 registered vehicles in Ghana, 270,000 are in Accra alone and more than 50 per cent of the remaining number, ply Accra periodically. In the second quarter of this year, about 1768 accidents involving 3048 vehicles were recorded in Accra, in which 62 persons were killed and another 813 seriously injured.

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Power Interviews

Yvonne...

Secs

with

Why the interest in Nollywood?

Of course everybody wants to project his or her own country.

Also I want to cross boundaries because it is important for you to go international, so you can also sell your country by making other countries know that we also exist. It sounds so good to have this collaboration between Ghana and Nigeria; it is really good because it is helping the industry.

How did you get into Nollywood?

It all started in 2007 and that was my first Nigerian movie. I was invited here to shoot a movie

by Kingsley Okereke of Divine

Touch Productions, so I came and ‌

Which movie was that?

To love and to cherish was the title of the movie and I did it with Genevieve. It went well and it was a very nice experience for me and I have no regrets at all.

How has it been, working with Nigerian artistes?

It has been great, only that everybody wants to keep to themselves because of fame and all that but Nigerians are very nice people. I have learnt much from the directors and from the

artistes themselves. Generally, everybody was okay and on the average not too friendly.

How did it all begin?

It just happened by the way. I took part in Miss Ghana beauty pageant and that gave me a little exposure.

You said you participated in Miss Ghana beauty pageant and you are not a model. How come?

Taking part in a beauty pageant does not necessarily make you a model. We have professional models and we have beauty queens. I am not really into modelling.

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Guaranty Trust Bank (Ghana) Limited was registered in Ghana in October 2004 and obtained its universal banking license from the Bank of Ghana on 23rd February, 2006, thereby paving the way for the commencement of operations.

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NewsBribes Gifts to public officials are bribes - CHRAJ

Lauretta Lamptey, CHRAJ Commissioner

The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has kicked against taking of gifts by public officials for duties performed as it smacks of endemic corruption and bribery in the country.

“Any gift that a public officer receives, which will change his lifestyle significantly is not a gift,” Charles Ayamdoo, Director, AntiCorruption unit of CHRAJ, stated.

Speaking at this year’s human rights lecture organised by the CHRAJ, in collaboration with Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) in commemoration of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on Monday, Mr. Ayamdoo observed that donations given as gifts had sometimes led to corrupt practices in various state institutions.

“We have reduced the levels

to such an extent that nothing gets done without a bribe (often disguised as gifts) to public officials,” he observed.

CHRAJ, Mr. Ayamdoo announced, had made recommendations to enhance integrity in Ghana including adoption of a code of ethics for public officers and guidelines as to the circumstances under which public officers might accept gifts.

Giving a lecture on the topic, ‘Anti-Corruption: A Means to Poverty Eradication and Human Rights Promotion’, Mr Ayamdoo said past attempts had failed to successfully combat corruption because “there was weak political will and commitment, low public participation in the efforts to combat corruption and poor enforcement of rules”.

According to him, past efforts to

fight corruption had been “piecemeal, adhoc, uncoordinated and difficult to monitor progress”.

Such ineffectual efforts, Mr. Ayamdoo enumerated, included moral crusades, use of commission of enquiry, ‘house cleaning’ strategies, draconian laws, executions and zero tolerance for corruption.

He said unless there was strong political will, backed by huge investment in anti-graft institutions such as CHRAJ and the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), the fight against corruption would continue to be a mirage in the country.

Corruption, Mr. Ayamdoo recounted, had been one major reason for the change of governments the country had had until 1992 when the nation returned to constitutional rule.

GHANA Nsawam Road, Doboro, Accra, Ghaana 00233 2088 42674 UK Victoria House, 10 Woolwich Manor Way, Beckton, London E6 5PA Telephone: 020 7476 1855

The deepening menace, he observed, had caused and deepened human rights violations in the country through insurrections, coups and countercoups.

Corruption is commonly understood as the abuse or misuse of entrusted power for private gain and it is manifested in different ways such as bribery and kickbacks for public procurement, extortion of money for services rendered, diversion of public funds, conflict of interest, influence peddling and illicit enrichment.

Other speakers at the programme were Nana Oye Lithur, Executive Director, Human Right Advocacy Centre; and Ebenezer Odotei, Deputy Director, National Development Planning Commission (NDPC).

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PowerTips How to have longer sex

When it comes to lasting power, there are some guys who have it and some who don’t. The bottom line is if you and your partner are having a happy and healthy sex life, then there is no reason for

alarm. But if you feel your sexual endeavors are a little bit on the short side, then there are ways to make the experience last longer.

Premature ejaculation, or PE as it is also called, is actually a common phenomenon. According to the Mayo Clinic, as many as 1-in3 men will deal with this problem sometime in their lives. The way to have longer sex is by following some specific steps that involve some exercises and some mental strength.

form the same action when you feel the urge to ejaculate again.

Step 1

Work on your technique. When you are alone, practice masturbating until the point when you are about to ejaculate. Stop and wait until the urge has passed, then resume masturbating again.

Keep doing this for 15 minutes or more, then finally ejaculate. This is a way to condition yourself for actual sex.

Use the squeeze technique.

When you are having sex and you are about to ejaculate, squeeze the end of your penis where the head meets the shaft.

Hold for several seconds, then let go. Continue having sex and per-

Step 2 Take a yoga class. One of the root causes of premature ejaculation is being too stressed. A good way to relieve this is by doing some form of relaxation activity such as yoga, tai-chi or meditative breathing.

Step 3

Step 4

Step 6

Seek some professional help.

Psychotherapists or sexual therapists can help facilitate ways for you to overcome your feelings of stress and reduce any anxiety you may be feeling. It is also a good idea to go with your partner.

Strengthen your pubococcygeus muscle. This is known as a Kegel exercise. A way to strengthen these muscles is to stop urinating in midstream, hold, then release again. This will give you an idea of how to contract the muscles.

Once you have figured it out, you can do this exercise anytime.

Strengthening these muscles will give you better control of when you are about to ejaculate, causing you to last longer.

Step 5 Take your mind off the obvious.

Another reason that premature ejaculation often develops is because of over stimulation which starts in the mind. A way to combat this is by focusing on other things while you are having sex. They don’t have to be bad thoughts either. Envision yourself cutting grass, playing basketball or going for a walk and looking at beautiful scenery.

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Essien: I will

never forget any September for as long as I live

Hello everyone, September 2011 is a month I will never forget because it represents a month where things were going well on the injury front. The medical team are doing a great job in helping me come back to full fitness and its going well.

At the same time it is a month when one of the people I would have loved to share the comeback good news with passed away so tragically and suddenly.

Alhaji Sly Ibrahim Tetteh – the man who discovered and mentored me from the age of 14 – died suddenly in Ghana. It was such a shock I am still recovering from the sudden loss and the emptiness that tends to follow such incidents.

I had just got to our Cobham training ground on the fateful September day for my usual physio sessions when the news

broke. I could not believe that someone as fit and strong like Sly could die suddenly.

I was in so much shock that I could not hold back the tears. I sobbed uncontrollably to the extent that the physios called off the session. The simplest of things like driving were so difficult; I had to be driven home.

I was confused and just couldn’t work out that someone as strong and ‘healthy’ as Sly will suddenly drop and will not be seen or heard anymore. He was fine as far as we knew and was playing football with friends when he suddenly collapsed and died on the pitch.

Sly Tetteh didn’t just discover me but was also my mentor, father, brother and very close friend.

I am not the only one who was discovered by Sly Tetteh – Asa-

moah Gyan, Sulley Muntari, John Pantsil to name but a few – were all discovered by him. He nurtured us and taught us how to be footballers as well as men.

I am struggling to come to terms with the fact that Sly Tetteh will not be here to witness my latest comeback. Typically he would have sent me a message of ‘welcome back from injury’ and would have phoned after my first game to see how I was doing.

I will miss him dearly and my first game back will definitely be dedicated to him. I am working hard to be back so I can play for Sly and in his memory.

On a positive note I am working hard to be back and I want to thank you all for your best wishes and kind messages. The warm words keep me going and I’m grateful for all your support.

My autobiography will transform lives - Azumah Nelson Ghana boxing legend Azumah Nelson says his autobiography titled “12 rounds of boxing and Life” will transform many lives.

Azumah who is a member of the world boxing hall of fame has

launched a 100-page book which captures the principles of the legend’s secret of becoming a world champion.

In an interview with joy sports, he stated his desire to help needy

people and believes his autobiography will go a long way to impact lives positively.

“I intend to help needy children and this will help me raise money to make my dream come true”. Azumah told JOY Sports.

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NewsSports

Adebayor: I’m So Glad I kept My Dignity EMMANUEL ADEBAYOR admits he was hurt by the abuse hurled at him by Arsenal fans during the North London derby.

Gunners fans sang songs mocking the machine-gun attack on the Togo team last year, which left three of his friends dead.

But Tottenham’s on-loan striker, 27, who moved from Arsenal to Manchester City in 2009, said: “The songs that they sung about me were very bad but was I surprised? No. Disappointed? Yes. “Obviously it was all meant to hurt me, to upset me, to anger me. But I am so glad I kept my dignity in the face of people behaving like that.”

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