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Despite seeing plenty of bench time under Ten Hag, Ronaldo is billed as a “leader-type” for Manchester United.

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Cristiano Ronaldo remains a “leader-type” figure at Manchester United despite seeing plenty of bench duty this season, says Erik ten Hag.

  • Portuguese has struggled for minutes
  • Returned to favour of late
  • Heading back to Spain in Europa League

WHAT HAPPENED? The Portuguese superstar has made plenty of unwanted headlines in the 2022-23 campaign, with a failed push for the exits at Old Trafford during the last transfer window being followed by uncharacteristic struggles for goals and regular game time. Ronaldo has aired his frustration at times, with the 37-year-old dropped after refusing to enter a Premier League clash with Tottenham as a substitute, but he has come back into favour of late and is being backed to enjoy a productive return to Spain when United face Real Sociedad in the Europa League.

WHAT THEY SAID: Ten Hag has said of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner: “He is really professional, he’s in a group, he’s a leader type, he’s a really important part of this group and in Spain he’s a real threat to every defence, every gap he will use.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Ronaldo’s previous stint in Spanish football saw him hit a record-setting haul of 450 goals for Real Madrid, with 15 of those efforts recorded across nine appearances against Real Sociedad.

 

IN THREE PHOTOS:

Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United 2022-23Getty

 

Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United 2022-23Getty Images

 

Erik ten Hag Manchester United 2022-23Getty

WHAT NEXT? Ronaldo has passed 700 club goals this season, in what has been a remarkable career at the very highest level, but has just three efforts to his name in 2022-23 and continues to see questions asked of how long he will be sticking around in Manchester as the final year of his contract with United runs down.

 

Cheap fuel: I’m not aware of any company willing to sell at a loss unless… – ACEP’s CEO

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Regarding the government’s search for cheap fuel, Benjamin Boakye, Executive Director of the African Centre Energy Policy (ACEP), stated that he is not aware of any company or government that is willing to sell fuel below market prices unless there is something to gain from it.

To that end, he believes the government should be pressed to explain the discount that the country will receive from the companies involved.

In his address on Sunday, October 30, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo stated that the government was working to secure reliable and consistent sources of affordable petroleum products for the Ghanaian market in order to stabilize fuel prices.

Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah had said that the government has tasked the Energy Ministry and the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) to find reliable and cheaper sources of fuel.

He said “The deregulated market we have here where BDCs import from big companies on high fees from the refinery wherever and bring them in is contributing to the quickened escalation of fuel prices.

“To arrest it, the Energy Ministry working through NPA and other agencies etc is been tasked to finding reliable, cheaper sources of fuel for the Republic so that the OMCs locally can tap into and hopefully halt that escalation in fuel prices.”

Reacting to this on the News 360 on TV3 Thursday November 2, Mr Ben Boakye said “what I am not sure is the proposal on the table. Government itself says they are going to look for a cheaper product for consumer.

“I find that like looking for milk in the global oil market, I do not see any company or any government that wants to trade oil below the market prices unless there is something to gain for it.

“Maybe we have to push government for a broader conversation on what they are given for the supposed discount for the from the companies that they are engaging.”

Regarding this matter, the Institute Energy Security has said that the government is embarking on an unrealistic mission in search of of cheap reliable fuel around the world.

The IES in a statement issued on Thursday November 3 said “Meanwhile, the search for that heavily discounted fuel price from elsewhere is an unrealistic hope, and the team may return empty handed, unless the expectation/request is exchanged with something valuable to the would-be supplier.

“If His Excellency the President and the handlers of Ghana’s Energy Ministry look within, they would find what they are desperately looking for from outside the country. Indeed the search for reliable and affordable source of petroleum products starts with the Tema Oil Refinery, which has been down since March 2021, due to lack of crude oil which is the refinery’s main raw material.

“It beats ones imagination how an oil producing country with a refinery capacity of 45,000 barrels per stream day (bpsd), would have it top government officials abandon its domestic competitive advantage, and rather seek to import refined petroleum product elsewhere, in the name of reliability and affordability.”

 

The team’s search for cheap fuel is an unrealistic hope; they may come up empty-handed – IES

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According to the Institute of Energy Security, the government is embarking on an unrealistic mission to find cheap, reliable fuel all over the world.

In his address on Sunday, October 30, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo stated that the government was working to secure reliable and consistent sources of affordable petroleum products for the Ghanaian market in order to stabilize fuel prices.

According to Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the government has tasked the Energy Ministry and the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) with finding reliable and cheaper fuel sources.

He said “The deregulated market we have here where BDCs import from big companies on high fees from the refinery wherever and bring them in is contributing to the quickened escalation of fuel prices.

“To arrest it, the Energy Ministry working through NPA and other agencies etc is been tasked to finding reliable, cheaper sources of fuel for the Republic so that the OMCs locally can tap into and hopefully halt that escalation in fuel prices.”

The IES in a statement issued on Thursday November 3 said “Meanwhile, the search for that heavily discounted fuel price from elsewhere is an unrealistic hope, and the team may return empty handed, unless the expectation/request is exchanged with something valuable to the would-be supplier.

“If His Excellency the President and the handlers of Ghana’s Energy Ministry look within, they would find what they are desperately looking for from outside the country. Indeed the search for reliable and affordable source of petroleum products starts with the Tema Oil Refinery, which has been down since March 2021, due to lack of crude oil which is the refinery’s main raw material.

“It beats ones imagination how an oil producing country with a refinery capacity of 45,000 barrels per stream day (bpsd), would have it top government officials abandon its domestic competitive advantage, and rather seek to import refined petroleum product elsewhere, in the name of reliability and affordability.”

 

Haircut: Akufo-Addo has tied IMF negotiators’ hands – Kojo Poku

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Analyst Mr Kojo Poku believes President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo should have refrained from commenting on whether or not there would be a haircut in light of the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

According to Mr Poku, the President’s statement that there will be no haircut ties the government’s negotiators’ hands because that was an option on the table.

He believed that the President could have waited until the negotiations were finished to see the nature of the agreement reached with the Fund before making that statement.

President  Akufo-Addo has assured that no investor will lose his or her money including pensions funds, government treasury bills or instruments if Ghana finally seals a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Mr Akufo-Addo noted that some members of the public have concerns that they will lose their investments if the deal with the Fund is closed,

But delivering an address to the nation on Sunday October 30, Mr Akufo-Addo allayed the fears saying, just as customers’ deposits were saved during the banking sector clean up exercise, no one will lose money in this also.

He said “There will be no ‘haircuts’, so I urge all of you to ignore the false rumours, just as, in the banking sector clean-up, Government ensured that the 4.6 million depositors affected by the exercise did not lose their deposits.

“I also want to assure all Ghanaians that no individual or institutional investor, including pension funds, in Government treasury bills or instruments will lose their money, as a result of our ongoing IMF negotiations.”

Commenting on this on TV3’s Big Issue with Roland Walker on Wednesday November 2, Mr Kojo Opoku said “This thing keeps coming, principal. If you leave the person’s principal and renegotiate his interest you are still giving him a haircut.

“If you elongate his tenure and do not give him the interest over that same tenure you are giving him a haircut. If you are looking at options of getting yourself to breathe and the President comes and makes this emphatic statement, you have really tied the hands of the negotiators of the IMF deal because it takes some of the options available to them off the table.

“I thought the President would have stayed away from that statement and let the negotiators negotiate and let us see what the final statement would have been form the IMF.”

 

The digital economy will enable all citizens to make meaningful contributions – Minister of Communications

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Ursula Owusu Ekuful, Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, has stated that the government is working hard to promote digital inclusion because of the benefits it provides to both individuals and the country as a whole.

She stated that the government is committed to closing all forms of the digital divide by ensuring that all citizens benefit equally and equitably from digital skills, products, and services.

“We are actively working to close the gender digital divide, and I believe women living with disabilities suffer twice as much as men,” she said at a workshop hosted by the Ghana India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence on Wednesday, November 2.

The Ablekuma West Member of Parliament indicated that “We are establishing a digital Ghana in which all citizens are equipped to contribute meaningfully and the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation, which is tasked with overseeing and coordinating all ICT-related activities or initiatives, has invested in digital infrastructure, which the public and private sectors are leveraging to improve our socio-economic development.

“Giving the right skills to Persons with disability and providing them with assistive technologies will enable them take advantage of the available job opportunities and even work remotely, conveniently and safely. We will leave no one be

“Through the Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project, the Ministry is enhancing internet access through GIFEC with the goal of connecting people in unserved and underserved communities around the country.”

To position Ghana as a vibrant ICT hub, she stated, the Ministry has established the Ghana Digital Center, which provides the necessary environment, infrastructure, and services to support ICT growth.

“We are in the process of establishing regional innovation centers to provide citizens with access to these ICT facilities. I encourage the youth including the physically challenged to utilise the Ghana Digital Centre and ICT Labs to develop ICT solutions aimed at addressing social issues including the peculiar ones faced by PWDs.

“The Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communication (GIFEC)  also conducts digital skills training for people in unserved and underserved communities to address the digital skills gap. It may interest you to know that people with disabilities make up at least 30% of those who enroll in these digital skills training programs. they have also provided training and assistive devices to several students with disability in secondary and tertiary institutions across the country

“GIFEC also collaborates with GIZ to provide PWDs with digital training. This year, 150 people with disabilities were trained on how to use handheld devices to access information and government services.

“Assistive technologies were provided to these PWDs so that they could use the device without difficulty. We have established community information centers in all districts to support access to ICT tools as part of the sustainability measures for these digital trainings.”

 

Quality assurance and good manufacturing practices are taught to 1D1F firms.

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Conformity to standards, product regulation, and product safety in general have become important factors influencing today’s consumer choices, and many markets require products entering their regions to have certain certification, quality, or, at the very least, be registered by national conformity bodies.

As Ghana works to transition from a raw material-based country to a sustainable, industrial nation and scale up its sustainable structural transformation, regional and national value-chain integration in cosmetics, cassava, and fruit is critical.

As part of a joint effort by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Government of Ghana, and the European Union (EU) to sustain the future of the manufacturing eco-system, another session of quality assurance training workshops has been organised for 50 “One District One Factory” (1D1F) companies.

The capacity-building session, which was targeted at factories and small-scaled manufacturers in the middle and northern zones of Ghana, was held in Kumasi from 25th to 26th October, 2022.

The UNIDO Chief Technical Advisor for WACOMP-Ghana, Mr Charles Kwame Sackey, revealed that the processors of cassava, shea and fruits products, face a myriad of practical challenges which impact the safety and quality of their final products, especially for the international market.

“The training session aimed to support 1D1F enterprises, to improve and sustain quality, hygiene and good manufacturing principles to minimise the risks associated with production and to improve product quality,” he said.

He further stressed that “avoiding contamination and improving efficiency are very important components of WACOMP and for the European Union.”

Mr. Sackey added that the One District One Factory Secretariat and UNIDO are committed to ensuring that products are consistently produced and controlled according to the prescribed quality standards.

The Chief Commercial Officer and Head of the government’s flagship 1D1F Initiative, Kofi Addo, recounted that in March 2020, the Secretariat and UNIDO agreed to support the beneficiary factories and SMEs of the programme to implement the appropriate standards in food safety and quality management to enhance competitiveness and market access.

“The feedback from selected quality assurance officers of 1D1F companies after the first training in Accra, on the 29th and 30th August, 2022, has been very positive as standards have improved,” he noted.

“We are glad those in the northern and middle zones too, will now get to impart knowledge to other factories.”

The collaborative exercise by these key stakeholders envisages enhancing the skills of new entrants in the manufacturing eco-system, to improve compliance to standards.

80 factories have so far benefitted from the partnership between the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI) and WACOMP – Ghana.

 

Police hold Remembrance Day for fallen officers in Central Region

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The Central Regional Police Command on Wednesday held a Remembrance Day for three gallant officers who lost their lives in the line of duty this year in the region.

Held at the forecourt of the Regional Police head office, the ceremony brought together families of the bereaved officers and other security agencies.

The deceased police officers were Sergeant Hifzullai Alihu, Corporal Kojo Mahama, and Chief Inspector Williams Dogbe.

Sgt. Alihu, who was with the operations units in Cape Coast, was run over by a driver, C/L Mahama, with the Court unit died in a motor accident and Inspector Dogbe died after a short illness.

Wreaths were laid to celebrate the fallen heroes for their dedication and commitment to the peace and stability of the country.

Mr Ernest Arthur, the Cape Coast Metropolitan Chief Executive, who represented Mrs. Justina Marigold Assan, the Regional Minister laid a wreath on behalf of the President and the people of Ghana,

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Alexander Amenyo, the Regional Police Commander, laid the wreath  on behalf of Dr. George Akufo-Dampare, the Inspector General of Police while Mrs Fatimatu Issah did for the departed officers.

Reverend Chief Inspector Felix Mensah-Kwagyir, the Chaplain at the Command led the memorial service, exhortation, and a call to remembrance.

There was a sounding of the last post and a minute silence was observed and flags hoisted at half mast and  officers in uniform saluted.

Addressing the gathering before the ceremony, DCOP Amenyo charged the officers not to be discouraged by the challenges but be resilient and determined to maintain national peace.

He said the Remembrance Day had been singled out by the Police Administration to give special recognition to serving police officers who lost their lives while on duty, be it in the country or on peacekeeping duties.

It is a day to recognize the contributions and the sacrifices made by the officers at the peril of their lives.

According to him, once police officers paid the ultimate price in the course of performing their duty, the Police Memorial Day celebrates such heroes and engraves their memories as a permanent monument.

The idea for the observation was conceived in November 24, 2014 but the maiden event took place on a bare floor at the time.

The cenotaph was first used to mark the Remembrance Day for officers who perished in November 2015 and 2016.

The day has been permanently fixed for November 2 to coincide with all Souls Day of the Catholic Calendar.

The Police Administration also uses the occasion to visit families of the bereaved families and offer them some support while church services and Muslim prayers are held after the ceremony in honour of the dead.

In an exhortation, Rev. Mensah-Kwagyir reminded everyone about the inevitability of death and said: “The reality is that we will all exit the world in different circumstances and so no one can escape it.”

He said the death of a police officer was not only a loss to the family but to the nation as well and charged the police officers to be steadfast and focused on their duties.

Women trained to promote peace in Kessena-Nankana

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The Sirigu Women’s Organisation for Pottery and Art (SWOPA), a Non- Governmental Organisation, is empowering some women groups in the Kassena-Nankana West District and the Kassena-Nankana Municipal of the Upper East Region, to promote sustainable peacebuilding and social cohesion in communities.

The women groups termed “Poyaasi and Isi” are to, among other things, play critical roles in maintaining peace in their respective communities of marriage and maternal communities to promote accelerated development.

These were made known at a two-day training workshop on peacebuilding and conflict resolution for women and men at Sirigu, a community in the Kassena-Nankana West District, organised by SWOPA under its peacebuilding project.

The project dubbed, “leveraging community connections to build sustainable peace and conflict resolution: role of Poyaasi and Isi”, is being funded by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI).

“Poyaasi” is a Gurune term referring to women married in a particular community while “Isi” refers to their children (both men and women) born in the marriage.

Ms Bridget Adongo Akasise, the Manageress of SWOPA, said apart from being one of the vulnerable groups in times of instability, women were naturally peace makers who could play key roles in ensuring sustained peace in communities and prevent conflicts.

She, therefore, urged major stakeholders, including traditional authorities, to tap into the influence of women to resolve differences within and between communities, through non-violence means.

Ms Akasise said women were mostly neglected when it came to decision making regarding peace in communities and the situation was worrying and needed to be addressed to ensure attainment of lasting peace for development.

She explained that women groups had been formed in communities in the area and in those groups, women who were from the same community and married in another community were put together (poyaasi).

This, she said, would enable the women to discuss issues affecting their growth and development and help resolve conflicts in both their fathers and husbands’ communities for lasting peace and development.

“Women are peace makers but circumstances sometimes lead them to do things out of ignorance, so we want to bring them together and train them to understand and appreciate how to be peace makers in their communities and let that peace continue to reign wherever they find themselves,” she said.

She urged the women to use the knowledge acquired from the training to influence the two communities  to ensure peace at all times.

Mr Eric Chimsi, the Senior Development Officer, Canadian High Commission to Ghana, explained that conflicts and disputes disrupted development and progress and mostly affecting women and children, who were always left behind in the decision making process.

He said it was time for leaders to recognise the significant role women could play in ensuring peace in communities and called for stakeholders to ensure that women had enduring roles to building peace for development.

Ms Ayelwaa Ayaba, one of the participants, noted that the land dispute between Doba and Kandiga was affecting their lives and economic activities and appealed to stakeholders to help resolve the conflict to protect women and children.

 

President, Asantehene, others expected to grace Hogbetsotsoza Saturday

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President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei-Tutu II and his retinue of chiefs will on Saturday November 5 join the chiefs and people of the 36 states of Anlo to celebrate the annual traditional festival, Hogbetsotsoza.

Daasebre Akuamoah Agyapong II, the Kwahuhene and King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, the Ga Mantse are also expected to be guests at the famous festival.

The festival also known as Hogbeza commemorates the legendary exodus of the Ewe-Dogbo folks from Notsie in present-day neighbouring Togo.

The celebration  is returning this year after its suspension in 2020 and 2021 in compliance with COVID-19 protocols.

The presence of the Asantehene would mark the celebration of the age-long relationship between the Anlo State and the Asanteman while that of the Kwahuhene and Ga Mantse would help forge a bond with the two kingdoms as part of the bigger objective of using the Hogbeza platform to foster unity, peace and national cohesion.

Daasebre Osei Bonsu II, Mamponghene represented the Asantehene at the 2019 Hogbetsotso Festival at Anloga after Togbi Sri III, the Awoamefia of Anlo visited the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi for the 2018 Akwasidae.

Mr Ken Kpedor, President of Anlo Youth Council, the umbrella body of the youth of Anlo, in an earlier interview with the Ghana News Agency, called on citizens of Anlo, both home and abroad to patronise this year’s festival being held on the theme: “60 Years of Anlo Hogbetsotsoza: Uniting for Development, Sustaining our Unique Cultural Commonwealth for Future Generations.”

“I urge all citizens of Anlo, especially the youth to come home for the single most important event on the Anlo calendar, the Hogbetsotsoza. It is ours and its celebration has benefits for us and the Anlo State. Let’s patronise it to make it the best traditional festival in Ghana.”

Mr Silas Aidam, Publicity Chair, 2022 Hogbetsotsoza Planning Committee also appealed to the Anlo citizens, cultural enthusiasts, local and foreign tourists to the festival, which he said “bounces back in a special form.”

Hogbeza is celebrated every first Saturday in November at Anloga, the traditional and ritual capital of Anlo State and is usually characterised by a display of rich tradition and culture with patrons treated to a variety of drumming and dancing, including the ever-popular “agbadza”, “atsia” and “misego” or “husego”, the incorporated dance style of the backward movement of the people during their escape from Notsie.

International entrepreneurial platform to be established in Ghana

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Twenty-eight Credentials of Entrepreneur (28COE), an international entrepreneurial platform, has established its presence in the country to support the development of business acumen.

The initiative, with presence in 85 countries,  was founded in 2018 in Malaysia by Bilal Ahmad Bhat for the enhancement of the world’s entrepreneurial front to  strengthen economic growth.

A Global Ghanaian Chamber has been established and would be launched in Accra next week, and the CEO and six other leaders were on Saturday installed development leaders of the Tsrukpe Tota Community in the North Dayi District of the Volta Region.

The Community had conferred the revered honour during a colourful ceremony to celebrate their daughter, Rev. Dr. Victoria Esinu Vitashie, President and Founder of Divine Outreach Ministry International at Westline Meridian Limited, and who is the West Africa Representative of the 28COE

The event brought together traditional and political leaders, and entrepreneurs from across the country.

The leaders of the 28COE, among who were three women, were taken through various rites of instalment, and which included oaths and adornments in royal regalia.

Dr. Vitashie, who was given the stool name Mamaga Doenyeame Nuku, said 28COE carried a wide-reaching portfolio for business and entrepreneurial support that would benefit all including startups and aspiring millennials.

She expressed appreciation on behalf of the group to the community for the honour, and noted the strong connection to traditional leadership in the pursuit of the mandate.

“We are the first organization that acknowledges the role of chiefs,” Dr. Vitashie said while assuring local communities of sustained partnerships for development.

She mentioned a private international healthcare initiative that held a free health screening at the event, and which sought to establish a hospital in the remote enclave.

“28 Credentials factors in all who are entrepreneurs. We leverage, network and brand entrepreneurs and we support them to ensure development. We help package and enhance businesses, and we teach business sustainability,” she added.

The Representative spoke also of the organization’s educational support programmes, which she said included foreign scholarships and exchange programmes.

28COE is partnering with Universities to upgrade entrepreneurs, and a business summit would be held from November 03 to 04 at the National Theatre in Accra, with the Minority Leader of the Parliament of Belize as guest speaker.

The launch of the Global Chamber would follow on November 06 at the Accra Marriott Hotel as the highlight of an awards night that would have the Ga Mantse as guest of honour.

About 30 multinationals would be awarded for their efforts in the world of business and entrepreneurship, and a book on 28 core values of the entrepreneur would also be launched.

The founder, given the title Togbega Dortor, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) 28COE was established to advance along the lines of the sustainable development goals, and that “achieving those is central to our core mission and mission for life in all its fullness for every human being.

“We want to be the largest and number one platform of help for people,” he said, floating the prospect of building a network of 10,000 entrepreneurs by 2030.

Mr. Bhat mentioned the provision MBE (Master of Business Entrepreneurship) and other long and short courses, as well as coaching and mentoring programs, and said 28COE also undertook case studies, with one on divorces upcoming as part of women support programming.

A platform called Go Daughters is in the making for women aged three upwards, and which would herald the formation of several organizations for the upliftment of women.

An “Admission” platform is also available for students to network and encourage success, and facilitates cross country study programs.

Book publications features inputs from the over 1200 entrepreneurs from about 90 countries, and are resource outlets for budding and wannabes.

speaking on outlooks for the nation, he said “Ghana has lots of fertile land, growing communities and advancing people, and we are looking for people to form part of the 28.

“28 will help promote sustainable living and climate consciousness. The platform will help improve the economy of Ghana through enhanced entrepreneurship”.

Bilal has founded 25 companies under the 28COE.

The Ghana chamber would be headquartered in Accra, and would be extended to all regions.

Dr. Prince Kofi Kludjeson, Chairman of KIL, and President of the Volta Development Forum (VDF), told the GNA such platform was timely to support the nation’s entrepreneur and was hopeful it could facilitate efforts to revitalize the economy.

 

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