Day: July 29, 2021

Asante Kotoko head coach Mariano Barreto has taken a swipe at the management of the club over the lack of toilet facilities at its training ground.

The Porcupine Warriors currently train at the Adako Jachie training complex, which is under construction.

Phase two of the project will be completed in the next two weeks as revealed by the Chief Executive Officer of the club, Nana Yaw Amponsah.

However, speaking to Kumasi-based Nhyira FM, Barreto slammed the club for its lack of toilet facilities at the training ground.

“For a big club like Kotoko, I can’t fathom how our players come to training and have to go to toilet and urinate in the bush,” the Portuguese manager lamented.

This comes after the 64-year-old called for an investigation into the club’s last league game of the season.

Kotoko fell to Elmina Sharks on the final day of the 2020-21 Ghana Premier League season following a 1-0 defeat.

The result brought finality to a difficult campaign that saw Kotoko lose out on the league title to arch-rivals Hearts of Oak.

The Kumasi-based side also ended the season without a trophy after being eliminated from the FA Cup by Berekum Chelsea.

“In the last match, some strange things happened. I have already said that these issues have to be investigated and punish those that have to be punished,” the Portuguese said, as quoted by Citisportsonline.

“This is to the board of Kotoko and these things should not happen. Kotoko is a big brand and one of the biggest clubs in Africa.

“What happened this season I hope never happens again to any player or coach,” he added.

Source: Modern Ghana

Augustine Boakye has been named the Ghana Premier League (GPL) Player of the Month for June.

The West Africa Football Academy (WAFA) midfielder emerged as the best player for the month ahead of Asante Kotoko midfielder Fabio Gama, Ebusua Dwarfs’ Emmanuel Anaful and Elmina Sharks midfielder Benjamin Boateng.

Boakye was impressive for the Academy boys after winning the MVP award twice in June.

The mercurial midfielder was also on target for the Academy boys in their game against Dreams and against Aduana Stars both at the WAFA Park in Sogakope.

He featured in the club’s matches in the month of June in their quest to finish in the top four.

For his award, he will receive a NASCO television set and a personalized trophy.

Source: Modern Ghana

Gushegu (N/R), – Madam Sakina Salifu, Girls Education Officer at the Gushegu Municipal Education Directorate says about 309 girls failed to return to school after schools were closed during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Madam Salifu indicated that most of the girls were either given out in marriage or were engaged in petty trading.

She made the revelation from a survey conducted by her outfit which showed that about some 119 primary school girls, 155 Junior High School girls and 35 Senior High School girls could not return to the classroom after the COVID-19 lockdown.

Madam Salifu announced this during a high level stakeholder consortium dialogue at Gushegu, on ending child marriage and trafficking in the Gushegu Municipality of the Northern Region.

Similar forum was held in the Karaga District in the same region.

The dialogue, which was on the theme: “Ending child trafficking and violence against children: The role of traditional and religious leaders” was jointly organised by the Savannah Women Integrated Development Agency (SWIDA -GH) and World Vision Ghana, both non-governmental organisations working to develop and empower women rights in the country.

Hajia Alima Sagito -Saeed, Executive Director of SWIDA-GH said the dialogue sought to solicit inputs from chiefs, religious leaders, heads of department, women and youth groups on ending child marriage and child trafficking.

She indicated that there were reported cases of child marriages and child trafficking in the Gushegu Municipality, and said it called for urgent deliberations amongst key stakeholders on strategic measures to adopt in getting action points to addressing the needs of girls in the area.

She said “Regionally, Gushegu tops in child trafficking. The beginning of this year saw the Municipality record some 19 child trafficking cases and other forms of child abuses, hence, the need for this dialogue.”

Madam Barbara Asare Amegavie, National Campaigns Coordinator, World Vision Ghana, said the dialogue was necessary as it would help keep the young girls in school to help reduce the prevalence of poverty.

She said, “When young girls are forced into early marriages, they drop out of school and the cycle of poverty will continue.”

Miss Lydia Wumbei, a victim of child marriage lamented the plight of other victims and urged the stakeholders to urgently come out with measures that would better protect girls against child marriages and other forms of abuse.

Participants amongst other things agreed on ending child marriages by customising and implementing by-laws at the local level that guaranteed the safety of young girls.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, – Women in Law and Development in Africa, has organised a Webinar in Accra, for Women’s rights organisations on the “Generations Equality Forum” (GEF) launched in Mexico and Paris in March and July 2021, respectively.

The Webinar was aimed at sharing with the organisation’s outcomes of the launch of the GEF in Ghana and across the West African region.

The GEF is the global gathering for gender equality convened by UN Women and co-hosted by the governments of Mexico and France, in partnership with youth and civil society.

It is a five-year agenda that seeks to commit and take action for gender equality and a landmark global initiative, driving commitments that embed gender equality as a central component of building back equality from COVID-19 and fuel significant and lasting change for generations to come.

Ms. Lois Aduamoah-Addo, Programmes Manager for WILDAF Ghana, said GEF responded to the fact that despite commitments made in Beijing in 1995 on taking strategic and bold actions on gender equality, progress and implementation had been slow and that not a single country today could claim to have achieved gender equality.

She said with the incidence of the COVID-19 pandemic, women’s rights had been at risk and rolled back, leading to heightened poverty and increased risks of gender-based violence among other inequalities.

Ms Aduamoah-Addo said GEF, therefore, sought to be the rallying point leading to finally achieving the human rights of all women and girls and to fuel a powerful and enduring coalition for gender equality, bringing together governments, activists, corporations, feminist organizations, youth, and allies to achieve transformative change.

“The GEF has introduced six Action Coalitions. They are the world’s roadmap for gender equality and are focused on the most intractable barriers to equality— from violence to climate change, and economic systems that leave women and girls behind.

“They also identify actions that, if implemented and fully funded, can lead to lasting and transformative change and help to ensure that women, girls, and gender diverse people everywhere can fully enjoy their human rights.”

Ms Addo said the selected themes of the Generation Equality Action Coalitions included: Gender-Based Violence, Economic justice and rights, Bodily autonomy and sexual and reproductive health and rights, Feminist action for climate justice, Technology and innovation for Gender Equality and Feminist movements and leadership.

Ms Zoneziwoh Mbondgulo-Wondieh, Executive Director, Women For A Change, Cameroun, said “this conversation should not end after this meeting, but we really need to engage different governments since some of them are action-oriented leaders. The President of Ghana for instance is the AU gender champion for Africa so we hope to see new leadership from Ghana leveraging on this agenda in promoting gender equality.”

Ms Aisha Rahamatali of Care International, Senegal, said GEF accountability mechanism fell within the already existing international mechanisms such as the SDGs, the Maputo Protocol, and the CEDAW.

WILDAF West Africa Coordinator, Madam Kafui Kuwornu, said the engagement was the beginning of the GEF process, and that it was important for all to join the conversation at national levels in promoting and ensuring gender equality.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Asante Kotoko great, Malik Jabir has urged the club to sign good players for head coach Mariano Barreto if he stays for next season.

The Portuguese gaffer joined the Kumasi-based club midway through the 2020/2021 Ghana Premier League season. Although he gave fans a lot of promise, the team was beaten to the league title by rivals Hearts of Oak at the end of the campaign.

Amid the uncertain future of coach Mariano Barreto, he has received backing from ex-Asante Kotoko coach Malik Jabir.

Speaking to Class 91.3FM in an interview, the former Ghana player has called on the management of the Reds to sign good players and give the Portuguese trainer time to work.

“They said within two years the number of coaches Kotoko used, they should now sit down and see that it was one of their problems. This time if Barreto decides to stay, and they agree with him fine. But they should give him ample time and help him with disciplined players,” Malik Jabir told Gabby Offei of Class Sports.

The veteran gaffer added, “How can you go to do recruitment when there is no research on the player. No big team will go in for a player just because you saw him play well.”

As stressed by Asante Kotoko CEO Nana Yaw Amponsah, Mariano Barreto’s season is set to be assessed by the top hierarchy of the club after the team’s exit from the MTN FA Cup.

His future will subsequently be decided before the team commences preparations for the 2021/2022 football season.

Source: Modern Ghana

Ghana defender, Gideon Mensah is on the verge of joining French Ligue 1 outfit, Bordeaux on loan with an option to buy.

The left-back who spent last season on loan at Portuguese side Votoria Guimaraes has returned to his parent club, Red Bull Salzberg.

The Primeira Liga side failed to sign the defender because of the asking price of Red Bull Salzburg, although, there was interest from the club.

According to transfer guru, Fabrizio Romano, an agreement has been reached with RB Salzburg for highly-rated left-back to join Bordeaux.

Mensah is expected to travel to France in the coming days to finalize the move to Bordeaux.

It will be his third loan spell since joining the Austrian giants after stints at Zulte Waregem and Vitoria Guimaraes.

Bordeaux are in the market to augment their squad ahead of the upcoming season, with six players identified by new owner Gérard Lopez. Mensah is the first player to join the club in the summer transfer window.

Mensah has been a regular member of the Black Stars since the appointment of Charles Kwablan Akonnor as coach of Ghana.

He played in the friendly defeat to Morocco in Rabat last month.

Source: Modern Ghana

Accra, — The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) has cautioned the general public against a fake EOCO recruitment claim and advertisement being circulated online.

A statement signed by Madam Faustina Lartey, Head, Public Affairs Unit of EOCO and copied the Ghana News Agency in Accra said EOCO had not put out any advertisement for recruitment.

It added that the Crime Office did not and would not engage any third parties in its recruitment process.

“The general public is therefore advised not to pay monies to any individual or group of persons with the view of facilitating recruitment into the Office.”

“Any person(s) found culpable of peddling such falsehood will be arrested and prosecuted. The general public is hereby duly warned,” the statement said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Hohoe (V/R), – The Hohoe Magistrate Court has fined the Hohoe-Ahado Branch of the Goil Company Limited for non-payment of the company’s 2019 and 2020 property rates.

The fines included a 50-penalty unit amounting to GH₵600 and a compensation of GH₵600.00 to the Hohoe Municipal Assembly.

The company was brought to court on August 8, 2020 for failing to pay an amount of GH₵2,097.58 as at December 2019 contrary the Assembly’s 2018 byelaws.

One Michael Donkor, appeared in court on July 26, this year representing the Company after its Manager failed to appear before the court after 12 sessions compelling the prosecution to opt for a bench warrant to arrest management of the company.

Donkor appeared in Court with an amount GH₵4,200.00 being property rates for 2019 and 2020 and pleaded with the Court to be allowed to clear the Company’s arrears of GH₵4,195.58.

Mr Frank Azila-Gbettor, giving the facts of the case to the Court, said in March 2019, the Revenue Unit of the Assembly distributed its 2019 property rate bills to businesses and individual house owners.

He said several visits were made to the convict’s firm to demand for the rates but this proved futile, adding that in May 2020, a demand notice from the Assembly’s lawyer was served on the firm but this also failed to ccmpel the company’s management to comply.

Togbe Ayim IV, a lawyer who acted as a “friend of the court”, pleaded on behalf of the convict describing the act as a ‘nothing to write home about’ since the rules on payment of property rates were clear.

He said it was a basic and civic responsibility to pay rates while pleading with the Court to temper justice with mercy on the company by allowing it to pay the said amount.

The Court presided by Madam Edith Lucy Dzormeku noted that the lawyer’s plea on behalf of the company was taken into consideration and granted.

The Court also said attempts of the company to pay the rates proved that its representatives were liable and guilty of the offence.

Source: Ghana News Agency