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Richard Commey’s Manager is grateful to GBA

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Mr. Michael Amoo-Bediako, manager of former International Boxing Federation (IBF) Lightweight champion, Richard Commey has expressed gratitude to the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) for lifting Commey’s two-year ban.

The 34-year-old former Champion had his two-year ban lifted last week after the new Executive Board reviewed the ban meted out six months ago.

“We understand that this is a new regime who are working hard to push Ghanaian boxing forward and help steer it to its rightful place at the top of African boxing and to the top table of world boxing.

“Commey has always been proud of representing Ghana and likewise myself doing as much as I can for the country of my heritage so it’s important that we all stand together with the same purpose,” Mr. Amoo-Bediako said in a statement.

He also thanked Ga Mantse Nii Tacki Tsuru II and his Personal Assistant Man-nye Ohetse who played a crucial role in the mediation process for the resolve of the matter with the GBA.

“We would like to put this issue firmly behind us and we look forward to working together for the greater good of Ghanaian boxing,” the statement said.

He also rallied support for the boxer ahead of his crucial bout against Vasily Lomanchenko on December 11 at the Madison Square Gardens (unconfirmed).

Ghana to admit 4,000 fans for World Cup qualifier against Zimbabwe

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The Confederation of African Football (CAF) and Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) have approved Ghana’s request to admit spectators for Saturday’s Group G FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifier against Zimbabwe.

The Group G encounter between Ghana and Zimbabwe will kick off at 1600GMT on Saturday, October 9, 2021.

A statement from the GFA said CAF has approved 4,000 spectators for the match – an improvement over the 2,250 spectators which was approved for last month’s opener against Ethiopia.

The statement said, per this directive, the Safety and Security Officer of the GFA, Mr. Julius Ben Emunah shall together with all the relevant stakeholders i.e., Ministry of Youth and Sports, National Sports Authority, the Security Agencies, and the COVID-19 Officer, Dr. Christine Baah ensure strict adherence of the CAF/FIFA COVID-19 protocols.

The GFA advise Ghanaians to obey all the Protocols strictly to first and foremost have a successful match and also to avoid any sanctions from CAF and FIFA.

Minister charges new MMDCEs to demonstrate commitment to duty

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Alhaji Shani Alhassan Saibu, Northern Regional Minister has charged all the 16 newly confirmed Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in the region to demonstrate the spirit of commitment to duty to bring the needed development to the people.

He tasked them to justify their nominations and subsequent confirmation by their Assemblies by representing the interest of the people in their areas.

He emphasised that, “Today, you attained new positions, and for this reason, you need to jealously guard it by being committed to your duties through hard work and discipline.”

Alhaji Saibu gave the charge during the swearing-in of the new MMDCEs in Tamale to officially assume office following their nomination by the President and subsequent confirmation by Assembly Members of their respective Assemblies.

His Worship, Amadu Yussif, Judge at Tamale Magistrate Court, led all the 16 MMDCEs to swear the oath of secrecy and allegiance whilst the Regional Minister led them to take the official oath.

Mr Punalar Daniel Npabu, a 35 year-old Banker, was also sworn into office as the Presiding Member for the Zabzugu District Assembly.

Hajia Ayishetu Seidu, Municipal Chief Executive for Savelugu, on behalf of her colleagues, expressed gratitude to the President and Assembly Members of their jurisdictions for the confidence reposed in them and promised to work for the benefit of the people in their various areas.

Retained MCE for Ketu North fails confirmation

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Mr Anthony Avorgbedor, the renominated MCE for Ketu North has been rejected by Assembly Members of the Ketu North Municipal Assembly.

The nominee secured 25 out of the 55 votes cast, representing 46 per cent.

Thirty Assembly Members voted against him.

From the foregoing, Mr Avorgbedor would have a second chance, meet the mercy of President Akuffo-Addo for renomination or a new nominee would be chosen.

He is the second incumbent Chief Executive to be rejected as the region begins the confirmation of the MDCEs.

The heavily attended event which was held at the Ketu North Municipal hall saw participants in a state of shock while others showed signs of joy.

All Municipal, District Chief Executive nominees of Oti Region unanimously approved

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All the eight Municipal and District Chief Executives (MDCEs) nominated by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the Oti region, have been successful in their various confirmation polls.

The polls which were held from October 2 to October 5, 2021, throughout the region saw four nominees recording 100 per cent approval while the rest crossed the two-thirds votes stipulated to get approved.

The unanimous approved nominees are Mr Francis Kofi Okesu, Municipal Chief Executive for Krachi East, who garnered all the 29 votes cast, Mr Nkrumah Kwasi Ogyile, Krachi Nchumuru DCE, polled all the 29 votes cast, Mr Wilson Agbanyo aka Sapato, Kadjebi DCE polled all 52 votes and Madam Millicent Kabuki Carboo, Biakoye DCE, polled all 47 votes.

Mr Emmanuel Kajal Jalulah, Krachi West DCE polled 24 out of 33 votes representing 72.7 percent, Mr Bright Kwame Lenwah, Nkwanta South MCE polled 29 out 43 votes, representing 67.4 percent.

The rest are Mr Williams Nawugma Kidinang, Nkwanta North DCE polled 15 out of 22 votes representing 68.1 percent while Mrs Elizabeth Kessewah Adjornor, Jasikan MCE polled 31 out of 37 votes cast representing 83.8 percent to be approved.

All the approved nominees pledged to work towards the development of their various Municipals and Districts while focusing on job creation, improved living conditions of residents, quality health, and education.

They thanked the President for his confidence imposed in them and their Assembly members for approving them.

Mr Joshua Makubu, Oti Regional Minister, noted that the approval of all the nominees was a sign that the various districts were poised for development and he would make sure they all benefitted from the government’s agenda to develop the nation.

He urged the MDCEs to work with the Assembly members and the various traditional authorities to ensure a smooth running of the Assemblies.

The Minister said issues of ex-gratia and allowances owed Assembly members would not be a case in the region and added that there would be capacity building for Assembly members throughout the region to enhance their efficiency.

In a separate development, the Guan District consisting of the Santrokofi, Akpafu, Lolobi, and Likpe (SALL) traditional areas is set to be inaugurated on October 8 and when inaugurated, will become the ninth District in the Oti Region.

Akatsi North: Assembly members displays outright rejection for DCE nominee

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Assembly members of the Akatsi North District Assembly in the Volta region have rejected President Akufo-Addo’s District Chief Executive (DCE) nominee for the area, Prosper Kofi Patu.

The assembly members, failed to give the adequate number of votes to get the nominee approved.

Of the 18 assembly members who were present and voting, only seven voted in favour of the nominee, while the remaining 11 rejected his nomination representing 39 per cent.

Mr Peter Nortsu Kotoe, the Member of Parliament for the area before the exercise, has called on assembly members to choose a leader of vision whose, “interest will be targeted towards the growth of the area.”

“Our assembly’s Common Fund and others must be released on time,” he added.

In attendance were Dr Archibald Letsa, the Volta Regional Minister, Chiefs, and party supporters.

The development according to some dignitaries present, described the failure to accept the nominee as unfortunate saying “they never expected it.

Mr Patu, a professional teacher, was expected to get at least two-thirds of the total votes cast to be confirmed.

The current situation calls for renomination or fresh nomination by President Akuffo Addo under the local government act.

Krachi West Assembly confirms DCE Nominee

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Members of Krachi West District Assembly have confirmed Mr Emmanuel Kajal Jalulah as the new District Chief Executive (DCE).

A total of 24 assembly members present voted for the nominee while nine voted against him.

Mr Jalulah, in his victory speech, thanked Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo and the assembly members for the confirmation and assured them of his readiness to consult and work with relevant stakeholders towards the development of the District.

The new District Chief Executive pledged to improve the revenue mobilisation efforts of the assembly and urged residents to remain law-abiding and give him their support to develop the Krachi West District.

Mr Joshua Gmayenaam Makubu, the Oti Regional Minister, called on assembly members to consider the development of their respective assemblies devoid of religion, politics or ethnic considerations.

The exercise was supervised by officials of the Electoral Commission.

AU delegation wraps-up meeting with Pan-African Parliament

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A delegation of the African Union Commission (AUC), has wrapped up its working visit to the seat of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) in Midrand, South Africa.

The mission formed part of the fact-finding exercise undertaken by the Chairperson of the AUC on the circumstances surrounding the suspension of the elective ordinary session of the PAP in May 2021, AU document made available to the Ghana News Agency in Tema on Wednesday stated.

During its three-day mission, the delegation held consultations with officials of the PAP Secretariat; representatives of the Southern Region caucus of the PAP; and the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa.

The team is also expected to interact with representatives from the Central, Eastern, Northern and Western caucuses of the PAP as part of the investigation into the events that occurred on May 31 and June 1, 2021.

Deliberations revolved around the implementation of the principle of rotation for the position of President of the PAP; security arrangements during PAP meetings; and the overall mandate of the PAP in line with the upcoming institutional reforms of the AU.

The findings of the ongoing inquiry will form part of a report by the Chairperson of the AUC to the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC), ahead of the meeting of the Executive Council of the AU slated for mid-October, which will provide the way forward for the resumption of the PAP Parliamentary activities.

Mr. Ratebaye Tordeka, Deputy Chief of Staff in the Office of the Chairperson of the AUC and leader of the delegation, hailed cooperation from the PAP Secretariat and all relevant stakeholders engaged so far during this fact-finding mission.

He committed to ensure that all evidence collected as well as recommendations from all parties are loyally transmitted to the Chairperson to enable policy organs to chart a way forward for the PAP.

“The Chairperson, in his capacity as the Chief Executive Officer of the Union, suspended all Parliamentary activities of the PAP in the aftermath of the PAP session marred by scenes that were damaging for the image of the entire Union,” he said.

The importance of the PAP within the AU architecture remains undisputable; this explains the Chairperson’s interest in understanding the underlying issues behind the disagreement among members of Parliament and the suspension of the session.

The objective is to resolve any stalemate so that the PAP can get back to its full operational capability, said Mr. Tordeka.

Mr. Vipya Harawa, Clerk of the PAP, described the working visit as a positive development given the urgent need for the PAP to resume its suspended session and elect political leadership to steer the institution in the right direction.

“The intervention of the Chairperson of the AUC through the deployment of this delegation is a significant step.

“The report of the PAP Secretariat to the delegation contained an account of the events that led to the suspension of the session as well as recommendations for a return to normality at the PAP.

“We emphasised the need for the issue of rotation and modalities for its implementation to be settled by higher bodies of the AU as a condition for the resumption of the session, which will yield expected results.

“We also called on the delegation to further examine the current mandate and relevance of the PAP so that the institution comes out of this situation with a clear direction on how to better serve the peoples of Africa,” said Mr. Harawa.

Proceedings of the fourth Ordinary Session of the fifth Parliament were suspended following disagreements and disruptions that transpired during the procession of the Plenary on May 31 and June 1, 2021 as the PAP was looking to elect the President and Vice Presidents of its Bureau.

A resumption of the session has been tentatively planned for mid-November pending guidance from the highest decision-making structures of the AU.

The AUC delegation also comprised of Professor Pierre Moukoko Mbonjo: Head of AU Reforms Unit; Mr. Floribert Kabalu: representative of the Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in Addis Ababa; Mr. Lagizabar Bekele: representative from the Office of the Legal Counsel of the AU; and Ms. Ouriatou Danfhaka: Senior Policy Officer in the office of the Chairperson of the AUC.

Chinese Embassy offers technical assistance to GNA

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The Chinese Embassy in Accra has donated some digital equipment to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) to facilitate its role of delivering quality information, which aids the building of an inclusive prosperous nation.

The items are 10 HP Desktop Computers, 10 Avita laptops, 10 Huawei Mate pads and 10 Huawei Nova 7i phones.

Ms Catherine Lou, Director of Political Affairs, who presented the items to the Agency, said the gesture, which followed a request from the Agency, was aimed at strengthening the cooperation between the Embassy and the Ghanaian media.

It was also parts of efforts to build their capacity to serve their nation and the international community effectively.

The Embassy is a traditional supporter of the Agency, providing equipment valued at GHC50.000 to the Ghana’s only wire service in 2018.

The General Manager of the Ghana News Agency, Mr. Albert Kofi Owusu, on behalf of the Board and Management, thanked the Embassy for the donation and said the equipment would go to support the news agency’s digitization drive.

The Agency has embarked on a process of revamping its newsgathering operations, which include recruitment, training of reporters and editors in the production of digital news content and the acquisition of modern digital equipment to aid speedy transmission of stories from the field.

Mr. Owusu praised the more than two decades of partnership between the Ghana News Agency and Xinhua News Agency and expressed the hope that the two organisations would deepen the relationship through sharing of media development strategies, especially in the post-pandemic era.

He said GNA was poised to be the source of news on Ghana’s investment and industrialization drive, economic and tourism potential through story exchanges with its international partners.

They include Deutsch Press Agentur of Germany (DPA), South Korea News Agency, Presse Trust of India, and Agence France Press (AFP).

The Agency is also in partnership discussions with the Namibia News Agency under the Nambia-Ghana Joint Permanent Commission of cooperation (JPCC), and the Bulgaria News Agency, among others.

GNA is the second highest contributor of stories to an African network of 25 state news agencies, Atlantic Federation of African Press Agencies, FAAPA, with its headquarters in Rabat, Morocco.

FAAPA affords the Agency a platform for dissemination of authentic news stories from Ghana to the rest of the world.

Parliamentary Select Committee on Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs visits Pwalugu Project

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The Parliamentary Select Committee on Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs, has conceded the need to push government to show financial commitment towards the construction of the $404, 857, 414.06 Pwalugu Multi-Purpose Dam and Irrigation Project (PMDIP).

The dam will serve relieving needs of the citizens of northern Ghana.

Both sides in the committee hailed President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, for the bold step taken to initiate the commencement of the project, which was on the national drawing board for about five decades.

The Committee, led by its chairman, Mr John Osei Frimpong, Member of Parliament for Abirem, reiterated the need for government to source funding for the project to come into fruition.

He described the Pwalugu project as a game changer, at Nalerigu, the North East Regional capital and said it would address relevant perennial problems of food stocks in the country, and especially make Northern Ghana the new food basket base, in Ghana’s quest to enhance all year round food production, food security and food sustainability.

He said the project which had 48 months to be executed, was behind schedule and after almost 24 months of sod-cutting to commence the Multipurpose Dam, the pace at which work was progressing was discouraging, adding that there was the need for the committee to advise government to source alternative funding to streamline work progression to meet deadlines per work schedules on the project.

Mr Frimpong said the Committee’s meeting was an extension of Parliament and was in the region to solicit information at first hand to see way forward for the construction of the multipurpose project, which he said was dear to the heart of Ghanaians.

The GNA gathered that only about $11,949, 052 was advanced to the contractor, PowerChina International Group Ltd, to execute capital plan under the project, out of estimated $55,939,719.26, thereby delaying the project from its scheduled plan.

President Nana Akufo-Addo cut the sod on November 29, 2019, to commence work on the Pwalugu Multi-Purpose Dam and Irrigation Project (PMDIP), one of the flagship Projects of the Government of Ghana.

The Project has three major components of power generation, irrigation and flood control.

The Volta River Authority (VRA) and Ministry of Energy is responsible for the power generation and flood control while the Ministry for Food and Agriculture (MOFA) through the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA) is responsible for the Irrigation component.

The irrigation component is expected to unlock the agricultural potential of the Savannah zone and to become the largest irrigation scheme in Ghana.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA), Mr Wilson Kwabena Darkwah, said the project was justified and approved, with MPs as part of the approving agency, adding, it would take care of flood excesses to protect property, open bigger avenues for employment, and sustain all year round farming to discourage youth from the area from migrating down south.

Member of Parliament (MP) for the Nalerigu-Gambaga Constituency, Alhaji Baba Issifu Seidu, Commended government for bold steps taken to start the project, which he said was dream come through, and called on his colleague MPs on the Committee to get involved in matters on the PMDIP to bring it to fruition.

He proposed to government and other stakeholders on the project to mitigate the funding gap on the project, as the Overlord of Mamprugu, and the people in the area were ready for the project and would play their roles for its full executionn.

Mr Chen Junming, Commercial Manager, of PowerChina International Group Ltd, Contractor on the PMDIP, giving overview of the project, mentioned lack of cash flow per the scheduled scheme for financing the project as hindering progress of work and excessive rains and floods resulting from the opening of the Bagre Dam.

The North East Regional Minister, Mr Zakaria Yidana, said government had the political will to ensure the project was successful and urged the contractors to communicate any hampering factors including; security to the Coordinating Council for redress.

He appealed to the committee to look into getting most of the farm products processed locally by encouraging and advocating laws to cater for such interests.

The Committee earlier visited the Palace of the Nayiri, to pay homage and to formally seek his consent to officially start its assignment in the traditional area.

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