Akufo-Addo: Corruption probe 'not witch-hunt'

Ghana’s President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo

Ghana’s President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo says he will set up a special team to investigate corruption but said it would not be a “witch-hunt”.

He said his government would distance itself by allowing an independent prosecutor to investigate cases and make its own decisions.

Mr Akufo-Addo defeated incumbent John Dramani Mahama in last week’s election.

In an interview with the BBC in his home in Accra, Mr Akufo-Addo outlined how he intended to deliver the promises he made to Ghanaians which earned him the presidency.

He said the prosecutor would be “somebody who will be independent of the executive and whose remit will be to investigate and tackle issues of corruption”.

He also warned that people in his government would not be “immune from investigation merely because we are politicians”.

Mr Akufo-Addo is to be sworn in on 7 January.

AU observer mission applauds Ghana polls

The African Union observer mission to the just concluded 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections in Ghana has adjudged the poll as peaceful, transparent and credible.

After an assessment of pre-election and Election Day activities in the West African country, the regional election monitoring team asserted that despite isolated pre-election incidents the election was conducted under peaceful environment.

In the preliminary communiqué released at the weekend, the AU observer mission team while acknowledging Ghana’s excellent democratic culture, however canvassed innovations in the political system.

For instance, the mission recommended that political parties should refrain from the use of vigilante groups and other personal security paraphernalia, stating that security agencies were capable of protecting political aspirants. This it noted would considerably reduce tension before election.

The Communiqué which was read by the head of the team, former Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba, further suggested that the National Peace Council should be institutionally strengthened and effectively decentralized to regions, district councils and if need be to the villages.

The AU had noted with concern that women participation in politics in the country was generally low. Out of 1,168 parliamentary candidates, only 136 were women, representing 11.7 percent, which was lower than the figure in the 2012 election and far below 30 percent regional and global thresholds for women involvement in politics.

The observer mission report stated, “The Electoral Commission was adequately prepared for the 2016 polls and adhered to the electoral challenge.”

President Buhari congratulates Ghana’s president-elect Nana Akufo-Addo

President Muhammadu Buhari and the president-elect of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo

President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated the president-elect of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, describing his victory in the December 7 election as historic.

Buhari’s congratulatory message was contained in a statement yesterday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina.

He also felicitated with the government and people of Ghana, the National Electoral Commission and candidates of political parties for the decorum, maturity and peaceful conduct of the election that produced a winner from an opposition party who was contesting for the third time.

The statement read: “As a scion of one of the biggest political families in Ghana, and with the lessons learnt from previous unsuccessful attempts preceded by years of service to the country, most notably as foreign affairs minister, President Buhari believes Akufo-Addo is widely experienced and skilled in leadership to build on the legacies of President John Dramani Mahama.

“The Nigerian leader extols the statesmanship and great leadership qualities of Mahama, who came into power at a trying period for the country with the passing away of former President John Atta-Mills, and kept pushing for a better life for all Ghanaians, and strengthening diplomatic relations with countries in the sub-region, especially Nigeria.

“He particularly commends the incumbent President for the great courage to call his opponent and concede defeat, stressing that leaders must always honour their pre-election pledge to accept the results of polls as the will of the people.

“President Buhari remains optimistic that the future of African development rests on building strong political, democratic institutions, ensuring free, fair and credible elections, and respect for the sanctity of the ballot.

“He urges the president-elect and other winners of the parliamentary elections in Ghana to be magnanimous in victory while losers should explore peaceful and legal mechanisms to challenge the outcome of the polls where necessary.

“President Buhari notes that the greater interest of the country and the stability of the sub-region should be uppermost in the minds of all stakeholders”.

Ghana's social media watchers help to keep the peace in tense election

Inside a small building in a quiet part of Accra's beachside Osu neighbourhood, around 40 volunteers gather around a large white screen showing Twitter, Whatsapp and Facebook posts in real time.

“I can get through at least 1,000 posts in an hour,” says a slightly exasperated volunteer, who is monitoring social media chatter around Ghana's presidential and parliamentary elections.

This is Ghana's Social Media Tracking Centre (SMTC), led by Accra-based media organisation Penplusbytes. The centre's chief executive officer, Kwami Ahiabenu II, oversees dozens of volunteers who scour social media for any irregularities or incidents such as late voting, missing voting materials, lack of security and issues of violence.

On 7 December, when Ghanaians went to the polls, Ahiabenu's team found more than 50 confirmed electoral incidents. These were mostly reported in Accra where people have good access to mobile data.

As the election process goes into the third day, supporters of both parties are becoming agitated. President John Dramani Mahama and his main opponent Nana Akufo-Addo have both asked their followers to remain calm as the electoral commission works on collating the official results.

When Ahiabenu's team finds a disturbance, they alert a large group of more than 10,000 people including domestic observers, media practitioners, security agencies, electoral officials and civil society groups, who are on the ground to confirm any incidents. Should case be confirmed, the escalating team report it to the police task force and the electoral commission.

Social media has played an important role in Ghana's campaign season. While politicians sent out through sharp tweets and trendy Instagram posts, citizens engaged in debate around the issues they care about most.

“Democracy requires that citizens participate, they can do that through various options but the use of mobile phones, SMS, mobile apps and social media provide a cost-effective mechanism," Ahiabenu tells The Africa Report.

Ahiabenu's initiative ran in the 2012 election, taking inspiration from the 2011 Nigerian elections. But social media in Ghana has developed considerably over the last four years, increasing the amount of interactions for the the platform to work with and making it more relevant.

The project has pooled together a team of 50 volunteers from the University of Ghana and the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology with students also coming from Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. Interest to take the initiative across the continent – including Kenya for the August 2017 elections – has already been made clear.

Read the original article on Theafricareport.com : Ghana's social media watchers help to keep the peace in tense election | West Africa

Buhari accuses UN, others of exaggerating crisis in North-east Nigeria

President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday said the reports by local and international humanitarian agencies detailing the high level of deprivation in the war-ravaged north-east Nigeria were exaggerated.

The president said the United Nations and other private humanitarian groups are deliberately hyping the level of the crisis for financial gains.

The reproach came two days after the United Nations warned that more than five million victims of Boko Haram face serious food shortages in the coming year.

“A projected 5.1 million people will face serious food shortages as the conflict and risk of unexploded improvised devices prevented farmers planting for the third year in a row, causing a major food crisis,” the U.N. Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator, Peter Lundberg, said in a statement Friday.

Mr. Lundberg’s alert followed a similar one issued by a sister agency, UNICEF, in September.

President Muhammadu Buhari

UNICEF, which focuses on humanitarian assistance for children and mothers, said more than two million people remained trapped in Boko Haram-controlled areas while about 400,000 children were at risk of acute malnutrition.

The agency said more than half of the children could diewithin 12 months unless urgent measures were taken by the concerned authorities.

But in a statement signed by his media aide, Garba Shehu, Mr. Buhari faulted the findings of the UN and also added some non-governmental organisations raising concerns about looming food crisis for the victims of the seven-year-long insurgency.

“We are concerned about the blatant attempts to whip up a non-existent fear of mass starvation by some aid agencies, a type of hype that does not provide a solution to the situation on the ground but more to do with calculations for operations financing locally and abroad,” the president said.

The president highlighted contradictions in some of the claims made by different humanitarian groups about the crisis.

“In a recent instance, one arm of the United Nations screamed that 100,000 people will die due to starvation next year. A different group says a million will die.”

“So while local and international humanitarian responders including the United Nations have done an immeasurable amount of effort filling in the gaps wherever they existed, it is not true as these reports have indicated that 100,000 or even a million people will die because the government is unable to provide care at the camps.

“This country has a responsible government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, which is doing a lot to bring relief to the displaced people,” the statement said.

Boko Haram

While acknowledging a decline in socio-economic activities of the people of north-east, Mr. Buhari said his administration is making efforts to resolve the crisis and improve the living conditions there.

“There can be no doubt that the effect of the Boko Haram terrorism and their occupation of communities and destruction of houses, infrastructure and means of livelihood has been manifested in the decline of socio-economic activities throughout the North-East.

“Arising from this, farming, pastoralism, trade, exchange of goods and services and social interaction among the people have negatively been impacted leading to the displacement of more than two million people, mostly women and children. Consequently, there is death, there is hunger and there is poor nutrition.

“The Nigerian government which has been making the most efforts in the entire endeavour will continue to work closely with the local and international response groups to overcome this humanitarian crisis. At this time when the focus is gradually shifting to towards rehabilitation, reconstruction, resettlement, recovery and the dignified return of IDPs back home, we can do with all the support out there in the donor community,” the statement said.

But in the interim, the president warned that humanitarian agencies should desist from continuing to blow the situation out of proportion for financial gratification.

“We do not, however, see the reason for the theories and hyperbolic claims being made ostensibly to draw donor support by some of the aid agencies.

“The situation on the ground, as it exists, provides sufficient motivation to all well-meaning donors to come and do a decent part.

“The hype, especially that which suggests that the government is doing nothing is, therefore, uncharitable and unnecessary,” Mr. Buhari said.

Nigeria civic group, CDD, to monitor Ghana election

The Centre for Democracy and Development, CDD, has deployed its staff to monitor the December 7, 2016 presidential election in Ghana.

A statement by its director, Idayat Hassan, on Monday said that the CDD is one of the 400 international observers accredited to observe the election.

“Ghana has been envied for its atypical quality of elections and democracy in Africa. The Centre’s election observation mission is to assess the conduct of the forthcoming elections against international standards,” said Ms. Hassan.

“In particular, CDD will observe how rules and regulations that govern as well as practices that characterize the conduct of the election comply with standards established in the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance and AU Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance”.

Ghana, which is increasingly becoming a beckon of democracy in the West Africa sub-region, will hold its presidential election on Wednesday. The main contenders in the poll are the incumbent president, John Mahama, 58, of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and Nana Akufo-Addo, 72, the candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Interestingly this is the second time both candidates will contest against each other. In 2012, Mrs. Mahama narrowly defeated Mr. Akufo-Addo by three points.

Power shortages and double-digit inflation are some of the topical issues in the election.

Fake U.S. embassy in Ghana shut down after issuing visas for decade

Authorities in Ghana have busted a fake U.S. embassy in the capital Accra, run by a criminal network that had issued visas illegally for one decade, the U.S. State Department said in a statement.

The statement noted that until its shutdown this summer, the sham embassy was housed in a run-down, pink two-storey building with a corrugated iron roof and flew a U.S. flag outside it.

It hung the portrait of U.S. President, Barack Obama, inside it.

The U.S. statement added that “it was not operated by the United States Government, but by figures from both Ghanaian and Turkish organised crime rings and a Ghanaian attorney practicing immigration and criminal law.”

Turkish citizens who spoke English and Dutch posed as consular officers and staffed the operation.

Investigations also uncovered a fake Dutch embassy, the State Department said.

Officials in the Netherlands were not immediately reachable for comment on Sunday.

The crime ring issued fraudulently obtained but legitimate U.S. visas and false identification documents, including birth certificates at a cost of 6,000 dollars each.

During raids that led to a number of arrests, authorities also seized authentic and counterfeit Indian, South African and Schengen Zone visas and 150 passports from 10 different countries, along with a laptop and smart phones.

The U.S. State Department statement, however, did not say how the gang obtained the authentic visas and did not say how many people were believed to have illegally entered the U.S. and other countries using visas issued by the crime ring.

“The criminals running the operation were able to pay off corrupt officials to look the other way, as well as obtain legitimate blank documents to be doctored,” the statement said.

There was no immediate comment from Ghana’s Criminal Investigations Division.

Visas for Western countries are in high demand in Africa and embassies say the visa market is a big target for organised crime.

The real U.S. Embassy in Ghana is a prominent and heavily fortified complex in Cantonments, one of the capital’s most expensive neighbourhoods.

Lines of people queue outside each day for visa appointments and other consular business.

The fake embassy was open three mornings a week and did not accept walk-in appointments, instead, the criminals advertised on billboards in Ghana, Togo and Ivory Coast and brought clients from across West Africa to Accra where they rented them rooms in nearby hotels.

U.S. authorities conducting a broader security operation were tipped off about it and assembled a team, including the Ghana Detectives Bureau and police, as well as other international partners to shut down the ring. (Reuters/NAN)

Ghana presidential candidates sign peace pact

Ghana presidential candidates sign peace pact

Seven political parties in Ghana have signed a peace accord, pledging to ensure a free, fair and credible ballot.

The peace pact which was done at the instance of the Electoral Commission (EC) had the presidential candidates, except the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) in person signing the peace agreement. The PPP’s candidate, who was absent, was represented by his running-mate, Bridgitte Dzogbnuku.

Six of the candidates namely: President John Mahama (NDC), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo (NPP), Dr. Edward Mahama (PNC), Ivor Greenstreet (CPP), Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings (NDP) and Jacob Osei Yeboah (independent candidate) were present at the event.

The occasion was witnessed by the Commonwealth Observer Mission led by former South African President, Mr. Thambo Mbeki, The chairperson of the ECOWAS and Liberian President, Mrs. Ellen Sirleaf, former President Jerry John Rawlings, the Chief Justice of Ghana Georgina Wood and members of the National Peace Council.

Speaking on the occasion, the ECOWAS leader had urged Ghanaians to maintain the enviable credentials of being the most stable democracy in the continent by ensuring the peaceful and successful conduct of the polls.

TMG lauds Gambia electorates, tasks Ghana on peaceful poll

The Gambians jubilating with the poster of Adama Barrow.

The Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) has congratulated the government and people of the Gambia on the successful outcome of the just concluded December 2, 2016 Presidential election in the country.

Chairperson of the group Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi said in a statement on Monday that this is the first peaceful transition of power in the West African nation’s history since her independence from the United Kingdom in 1965.

She also commended Yahaya Jammeh, who had ruled Gambia for 22 years for conceding defeat in the election as he vowed not to contest the result in a phone call to his political opponent, Mr. Adaba Barrow who was pronounced winner by the Chairman, Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), Alieu Momarr Njai.

“It is believed that this laudable gesture as displayed by President Yahya Jammeh of Gambia marks the end of an era of a ‘sit tight’ leader and hoping it will redefine governance and democracy in the small African country,” Akiyode-Afolabi said.

“TMG feels very passionate that it’s about time Africa eliminated the last vestiges of “sit tight leaders” as witnessed in some of the African countries, particularly Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Uganda and Zimbabwe over the years,” she stated.

She said that the only factor that determines legitimacy and development globally is a peaceful political environment and electoral process where people’s votes count and that with the newly concluded presidential election in the Gambia, there is indeed a new political narrative in Africa, which re-affirms the power of the electorates in elections.

She therefore urged the Ghana Electoral Management Body (EMB) to make adequate plan for a rancour free election by ensuring that peoples’ votes count during the December 7, 2016 presidential election in the country.

“We also appeal to the public and electoral stakeholders most especially political leaders to commit to peace as no drop of the blood of a Ghanaian is worth any political power. TMG cautions that the challenges facing the various polling station with the Special Voters List as presently witnessed in the country should be adequately resolved ahead of the Election Day as we urge security personnel and others involved to remain calm,” the statement reads.

[PHOTOS] Ghana Taekwondo Represented at the International Referee Course in Ivory Coast

Ghana Taekwondo Represented at the International Referee Course in Ivory Coast

Ghana Taekwondo Federation represented in the ongoing International Referee Course in Ivory Coast. They have five new international referees. Some are bringing home certificates back home. See more picture below.

Allow students to vote – Mahama orders SHS heads

President John Dramani Mahama has asked heads of various Senior High Schools to allow registered students to go and vote on Election Day.

According to President Mahama, no student must be disenfranchised during the December polls saying measures must be put in place to allow qualified students cast their vote.

The directive by the President comes on the back of fears that some registered students can be disenfranchise on Election Day.

The President gave the order when he opened the 22nd Community Day Senior High School in Dieaso in the Central region on Monday.

“I stand here and ask all headmasters of secondary schools, I know some of your students who are 18 years registered and are qualified to vote so please when the time is due for election, please allow them to go and vote.”

The President is currently in the Central region campaigning for a second term in office as Ghanaians head to the polls on December 7.

On Monday, pollster Ben Ephson predicted that the president will win the presidential election with 52.4 percent while New Patriotic Party’s Nana Akufo-Addo is expected to chalk 45.9% with the other parties claiming a meagre 1.7%.

Lets pray for citizens to make intelligent choice December 7 – Otabil

Pastor Mensa Otabil, The Founder of the International Central Gospel Church

Founder of the International Central Gospel Church, Mensa Otabil says it is not enough to ask citizens to pray for a peaceful elections.

In his view, a nation becomes what it citizens vote for therefore “we have to pray that citizens make intelligent choices.

Pastor Otabil comment comes on the proliferation of prayer and peace concerts across the country due to the upcoming elections.

Majority of them being championed by the Christian Council of Ghana is to call for God’s intervention to avert any pandemonium in the presidential and parliamentary polls.

But in a sermon replayed on Adom FM on the theme: ‘Your Vote’, Pastor Mensa Otabil explained that, though prayer is good, if citizens don’t make intelligent choices, “God is not going to rule Ghana for us”.

Lavender hill to generate 7.5 MW of power from faeces

The famous Lavender Hill at Korle Gonno in Accra will soon be closed down but in its place are two new liquid waste treatment plants that will produce clean water, compost for manure and up to 7.5 Megawatts of power in the long term.

The two new plants, estimated at $65 million, are the Lavender Hill Faecal Treatment Plant and the Mudor Waste Water Treatment Plant built under a public-private partnership arrangement between government and Zoomlion Ghana Limited.

The famous Lavender Hill got its name from the stench that emanates from that side of the coast because of the daily dumping of loads of liquid waste into the sea for more than a hundred years now.

At least 180 truckloads of liquid waste are poured into the sea at that spot on daily basis, and city authorities collect fees for the dumping while residents and visitors to the area endure the stench.

But the two new plants, due to be commissioned by President John Mahama on Friday, would mean all the trucks would now have to send the liquid waste to the faecal treatment plant, while various sewage systems in parts of the city will pump liquid waste directly into the waste water plant for treatment.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Jospong and Zoomlion Groups of Companies, Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong told Adom News the first phase of the plant will generate one megawatt of power, which will be consumed by the two plants and relieve the national grid of some load.

He said the second phase will then generate an additional 7.5 megawatts of power to be distributed to Korle Bu and other communities close to the plants.

Dr. Agyepong said besides the power, the plants will also produce clean water and pump it into the nearby lagoon so that it can be used for recreational purposes, adding however that the water would also be clean enough for domestic use.

He said the plants would also generate biogas and compost that can be used for bio-charcoal or manure for farms across the country and other West African countries.

"We also designed this plant to be used as a training facility for university and other tertiary institutions students who are interested in environmental science and waste management studies," he said.

Dr. Agyepong was full of gratitude to the President, Local Government Minister, Collins Dauda, and Accra Mayor, Dr. Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, for embracing the project, which promises to provide loads of employment to both skilled and unskilled labour and also make Ghana a waste management hub in the sub-region.

Actress calls out NDC celebs, says they are stomach politicians

Jessica Williams

Ghanaian actress Jessica Williams has lashed out at Ghanaian celebrities that have publicly endorsed President John Dramani Mahama and are taking an active part in the electioneering campaign by National Democratic Congress (NDC), accusing them of engaging in stomach politics.



To Jessica, artistes such as John Dumelo, Mr. Beautiful, Mzbel, Abeiku Santana, Kalsoume Sinare, Amandzeba, Bulldog,Tracey Boakye, among others, are rallying behind NDC mainly for their personal gains and not necessarily because they believe in the party’s ideologies or have the welfare of the state at heart. She claimed these artistes had been baited with money among others for their endorsement of the ruling party and added she had evidence to support her charge, having allegedly been approached to join the campaign trail in return for a juicy offer.

“Frankly, all these people know that the country is not moving forward but have decided to endorse the NDC and President Mahama because of their stomachs,” she told Showbiz in an interview.

Famous for roles in TV series such as Living With Trisha, Charade, Table of Men, and The Storm, Jessica said she did not belong to any political party but was of the conviction the NDC had failed Ghana and Ghanaians. According to her, such “stomach politics” by celebrities was nothing short of a betrayal of their followers’ trust.

“What are you telling your followers who have been loyal to you and trust whatever you say or put out. I believe the right thing should be done and these celebrities are not doing the right thing?” she added. Jessica confessed to Showbiz that she had previously been approached by an NDC bigwig for her endorsement of the party and the promised benefits that came with the request were awesome.

“I had to turn down the offer because I would have been doing the wrong thing if I had accepted it, knowing very well everything is wrong with the Mahama led NDC administration,” revealed the actress who has also starred in movies such as Mysterious Girls, Prison or Marriage, Prince Sam, The Bond and Mabre Agu.

Ironically, despite her strong criticism of the NDC and its celebrity endorsements, the actress stated unequivocally that she was neither a supporter of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) nor had any difficulties with celebrities such as Agya Koo, Kwabena

Kwabena, Praye, Lucky Mensah and Kwaku Manu throwing their weight behind other political parties out of conviction that Ghana needed a change.

“Despite not being affiliated to any political party, I support change and I side with any celebrity who joins the other political parties and not NDC who have nothing new to offer.

African exit from ICC must be stopped - Kofi Annan

Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary general and one of the ICC’s chief architects

The apparent African exodus from the international criminal court must be stopped or the most heinous crimes will be allowed to go unpunished, Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary general and one of the ICC’s chief architects, has warned.

Burundi, Gambia and South Africa said this year they would no longer recognise the court’s jurisdiction and announced their intention to quit. They claim the ICC disproportionately targets African leaders. Nine of the 10 cases taken by the court have involved former African rulers.

State impunity is back in fashion – we need the international court more than ever

Annan’s intervention is designed to influence the annual meeting of the Assembly of States Parties, whose members are signatories to the ICC. He warned the actions of the three African countries risked giving the false impression the entire continent was hostile to the court.

Annan was pivotal to the court’s creation when he was UN secretary general, hosting the inaugural conference in Rome in 1998.

Writing in the Guardian, he says: “Most of the continent’s democratic governments stand by the ICC. I stand by the ICC, because the most heinous crimes must not go unpunished.”

He says Africa “was [the court’s] most enthusiastic supporter” at the ICC’s inception. “Memories of the horrors of the Rwandan genocide were still fresh in our minds. In fact, the first signatory of the treaty was an African country, Senegal. Africa remains the single largest regional bloc, with 34 states party to the Rome statute out of 124,” he writes.

Annan said the focus of the ICC’s work in Africa did not indicate any bias but rather Africa’s willingness to refer cases to it. “Of the nine investigations on the African continent, eight were requested by African states. Six African states referred their own situation to the ICC, and African states voted in support of the UN security council referrals on Darfur and Libya,” he writes.

“Kenya was the only case in Africa opened independently by the court, but it enjoyed the enthusiastic support of a majority of Kenyans. They wanted justice for the 1,300 people killed and hundreds of thousands displaced in election-related violence.”

Annan said Africa was not the sole subject of international justice, pointing out that criminal tribunals were first set up after the second world war, at Nuremberg and Tokyo. After the cold war, more international or mixed tribunals were launched for crimes in Lebanon, Cambodia and Yugoslavia. The ICC has opened investigations in Georgia and is conducting preliminary examinations in Afghanistan, Columbia, Ukraine, Iraq and Palestine.

He said the “ICC remains the continent’s most credible court of last resort for the most serious crimes … [It] does not supplant national jurisdictions; it only intervenes in cases where the country concerned is either unable or unwilling to try its own citizens.”

Adidas Donates Kits To Ghana’s Fastest Winners

Valerie Fontanier Country Director of Adidas Ghana has advised the three winners of Ghana’s Fastest Human who have been selected to form the GNPS Speedsters Club to be focused on what they have been chosen for and train hard to become future champions.

She said the focus should be the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and she believes it will happen with the support of Adidas.

Reks Brobby, Founder of Ghana’s Fastest Human event which has produced the Speedesters Club sponsored by GNPC said the athletes were selected on merit and they are being camped for one year with the provision of quality health and medical care, good nutrition, mentorship, psychology of winning and effective physical training backed by coaching from experts.

He stressed that the keys to success are credibility, accountability and transparency. He said with the support of Adidas and other partners Athletics can overcome Football.

The selected athletes Desmond Aryee, Ida Mensah and Gifty Oku were today presented with Adidas kits at the Adidas House in Accra.

Desmond Aryee has been a sensational athlete since he started running the 100 and 200 meters at St. Aquinas SHS. Now studying Computer Science at the University of Ghana, Legon, he represented Ghana at the All African university championship in South Africa and won gold in the 100 meters to become the Fastest University Student in Africa.

Ida Mensah was Sports Prefect at Wesley Girls SHS and effectively combines education and sports. Now at level 200 at the University of Ghana, Legon studying Business Administration, she has been a consistent participant and winner of Ghana’s Fastest Human since 2013 and represented Ghana at the ll Africa University Games and was fastest under18 in Ghana. She keeps on improving her time and now her personal best is 11.81 timed at El Wak Stadium this year. She wants to become one of the world’s best sprinters.

Gifty Oku turned 15 this year and she is the fastest 15year old female in Ghana, having won the National Under 15 category of Ghana’s fastest human in 2015 and 2016. Her current time of 12.21 seconds makes her trainable to become a super athlete. The natural strong sprinter from the Central Region is now in Form Three at the University of Ghana Basic School at Legon. Her ambition is to become the fastest women in Africa.

I still love Rawlings – Lady Tamara

Popular and controversial business woman, Lady Tamara

Popular and controversial business woman, Lady Tamara has spoken passionately about her affection for former President Jerry John Rawlings.

Lady Tamara who is a queen mother with the stool name Nana Esi Koree I, Nkosuohemaa of Akuapim Guan, has been interacting with host of 3FM Sunrise, Winston Amoah. Asked about age-old rumours that she had an affair with the former President, Lady Tamara replied that it was her greatest wish.

“He is the one who made most Ghanaians abroad come home. Most of the Ghanaians who came home to establish some sort of business did so because of him. But now most of us want to go back because of the current hardships.

“I love him so much; he made me what I am today. He advised most of us to come home and invest, we did and saw results. I was so in love with him I would have loved to date and even marry him”.

Asked whether she was ever warned by the former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings because of her friendship with President Rawlings, she snapped.

“No! She never did; but that would mean she would have had to warn all the market women in Accra who admired and equally loved the former President and called him ‘Rolex’, ‘Rolex’ because they couldn’t even mention his name Rawlings properly (because of their level of education).

“She would also have the uphill task of warning all the boys at Kawukude for their admiration and obsession for the man. Rawlings is simply adorable. Till today I still love him and no one can stop me from loving him”, she reiterated.

Source: 3news.com

[VIDEO] This is a video showing us how Plastic Rice is made in China

A facebook user named Priscilla posted this video showing us how she bought plastic rice made in China. This is a video showing us how Plastic Rice is made in China and imported to Africa for consumption Becareful Africans when buying rice in the supermarket. And let the custom officers do their job to protect Africans.

Watch the Making of the plastic rice

Former Miss Ghana Naa Okailey now a Dental Surgeon

It will be apt to call it beauty with brains as Carranzer Naa Okailey Shooter, Miss Ghana 2012 and Miss World Africa 2013 graduated last Friday from the University of Ghana as a Dental Surgeon.

It was all excitement as family and friends joined the graduates at the Great Hall of the University of Ghana, Legon where the congregation took place.

Showbiz caught up with the beauty queen yesterday to have a little chat with her and she was full of gratitude to God for seeing her through, “If you ask me how I made it combining my role as a beauty queen and a medical student, I would just say it was God.”

“I deferred my course for a year and made up my mind not to look back once I went back to school, I had to make new friends because I had joined a junior class. I surmounted all that and here we are today,” she said.

Former Miss Ghana Naa Okailey at the Miss Universe 2013

According to Carranzer, the course required that she did four years in Medical School and two years in Dental School. “I had to meet up to expectation so I challenged myself to do just that. I must however say that my lecturers were very supportive and I am truly grateful to them,” she explained.

Now that she is done, Carranzer says she will do her two-year housemanship and also focus on her foundation, the Naa Okailey Shooter Foundation which provides free medical care for rural communities, “Some of my mates have volunteered to come on board so we will get that going, “ she said.

She had a piece of advice for up and coming beauty queens and other celebrities, “Education is key, you can do anything, sing or anything but you need to get your degree out of the way. If it’s a trade you want to learn, you can go ahead, you should be empowered. Provided you believe in yourself, you can do it,” she said.

Carranzer used the opportunity to thank all those who have been supportive of her as Miss Ghana and Miss World Africa, “I have people on Facebook who send inspirational messages, I read them and I appreciate all of them.”

Source: graphic.com.gh

NPP likely to win 2016 elections – University of Ghana research

Nana Akufo-Addo is the flagbearer of the NPP

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has a better chance of winning the December polls, a research from the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana has indicated.

A team of researchers from the department led by senior lecturer, Isaac Owusu-Mensah disclosed that the opposition party would record 49.9%.

The ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), the team said, also has an approval rate of 39.9%.

The Progressive People’s Party (PPP), the research continued would also record 5% whiles the Convention People’s Party (CPP) recording 1.7%; the National Democratic Party (NDP) recording 1.7% and Dr Edward Mahama of the PNC recorded 0.2% respectively. He also indicated there was a margin of error of between 2 to 3%.

Three percent of the respondents to the quantitative and qualitative survey, the researchers said were not ready to vote for an independent candidate whiles 0.9% of the respondents failed to give an answer.

The research was conducted in constituencies in seven out of the ten regions of the country. The Eastern, Ashanti and the Volta Regions were the regions left out by the researchers.

Issues that the respondents said would affect the direction of their votes, the research team said includes job creation, education and healthcare.

On education, the respondents explained that they were concerned about their inability to pay their wards school fees which results largely from the bad management of the economy. The ‘collapsed’ National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) were also the main issues talked about on Healthcare.

In the Brong Ahafo region, the microfinance scam popularly referred to as the DKM would also dictate the direction of the vote of the electorates.

According to the lead researcher, Dr. Isaac Owusu-Mensah, the respondents believes that the failure of the Bank of Ghana to regulate the microfinance companies makes the government guilty.

“And I want to state the NDC has more work to do to win the elections especially as the party won with not more than 300,000 votes, the NPP has an upper hand…,” Dr Owusu-Mensah said.