Day: April 5, 2022

Fast-rising Ghanaian rapper Black Sherif has made an impressive mark on Apple Music’s global chat.

In less than a week, the young rapper’s latest street jam ‘Kwaku The Travellor’ has debuted at number 76 on Apple Music’s Top 100 Global.

The rapper beat J.Cole’s ‘No Role Modelz’, Drake’s ‘Wants and Needs’, Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Good 4 U’, and Doja Cat’s ‘Women’.

Black Sherif recently made history when he became the first solo artist from Ghana to reach number one on Nigeria’s Top 100 Chart on Apple Music.

In Ghana, the rapper has nine songs on Ghana’s Apple Music Top 100 Chart.

His song “Kwaku The Traveller” leads the chart at number one. Second Sermon, ‘First Sermon’ and ‘Second Sermon Remix’ are also on the chart.

Black Sherif’s new song ‘Kwaku The Traveller’ depicts the story of a young man struggling to make a life for himself.

On this path, which he has eventually come to accept, a lot of sacrifices and life-altering decisions seem to have been made.

Considering the gravity of some of these moves Blacko makes during this ordeal and the criticisms thereof, he is asking who is without sin to cast the first stone, like Jesus asked the Pharisees who accused a woman of sexual infidelity in John 8:7.

Since its release, Twitter users who have had the opportunity to interact with this piece have been left amazed. Many noted they relate with the lyrics of the song.

Source: Modern Ghana

Appiatse (WR), April 05, GNA – The Ghana Red Cross Society has identified 400 household to benefit from the Cash Voucher Assistance Programme for the affected victims of the Appiatse Explosion Disaster.

Additionally, 220 hygiene kits and 220 dignity kits including sanitary wear have been distributed to some families.

Mr Jonathan Hope, the National Disaster Manager during a visit to the relocated site of the victims promised an extra 180 hygiene kits and 320 dignity kits.

He said the Ghana Red Cross Society focused its initial intervention on affected families, including those injured and displaced and noted that the Cash Voucher Assistance was to directly assist affected victims.

The Society was currently supporting Shelter, psychosocial first aid and family tracing, as well as hygiene promotion, health messages and awareness.

Mr Hope said the community was consulted, listened to and informed of the selection process through a stakeholders’ engagement to arrive at the numbers.

The beneficiary selection criteria included families of injured persons, as well as households led by women who lost their livelihoods due to the explosion.

The Regional Chairman of the Society, Mr Frank Asante pledged the continued support of the society through the reconstruction stage until life returned to normal.

Mr Benjamin Acquah, the Western Regional Manager of the Society was collaborating with international partners and donors to build more shelters for the victims.

He stated that the society had provided some 15 hand washing deliverables at vantage points to enhance general wellbeing of the people.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Tema, April 5, GNA – The outgoing United States Ambassador to Ghana, Ms Stephanie Sullivan has presented the annual US Embassy Ramadan gift to the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr Osman Nuhu Sharubutu.

The Embassy initiated the tradition of presenting symbolic food items during Ramadan and Eid ul Adha to the National Chief Imam in 2007, which has run for the past 15 years in demonstrating solidarity with the Muslim Community.

Ambassador Sullivan used the occasion to bid goodbye to the National Chief Imam as she ends her tenure in Ghana.

She thanked the National Chief Imam for the support and welcoming gesture that she and the Embassy staff had received anytime they paid him a visit and appealed to the Chief Imam to pray for her to achieve her goals in her next appointment.

The US Ambassador said her deputy would be in charge of affairs at the Embassy before the arrival of the new Ambassador at the end of April.

Ms Sullivan said that the United States holds in high esteem its relationship with the Muslim Community in Ghana, especially with the National Chief Imam who had proven to be a champion of religious freedom and harmony, promoter of inter-faith relations and tolerance with other religions.

The National Chief Imam thanked the Ambassador for maintaining the gesture of kindness to the Ghanaian Muslim community during the Ramadan and Eid ul Adha celebrations over the years.

He added that “we appreciate the role America plays in liberating and empowering people in America and other continents, especially in the areas of Freedom, Religious Liberty and Youth Empowerment.

Present at the meeting was Sheikh Armiyau Shaibu, the spokesman to the National Chief Imam, Alhaji Abdul Lateef Abdul Salam, protocol officer of the National Chief Imam, Alhaji Khuzaima Mohammed Osman, Executive Secretary of the Tijjaniya Muslims Movement of Ghana.

The US Embassy delegation included the Deputy Chief of Missions Nicole Chulick, Political Officer Christopher Perry, and other Embassy staff.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Tema, April 5, GNA – Prophet Abraham Kweku Annor Coffie, an Associate Pastor of ‘The Golden Lampstand Ministries,’ has described the mind as a powerbase of its own and must, therefore, be used carefully.

He explained that the mind’s power controls the entire being consciously or unconsciously; “it also has the ability to either trigger negativity or positivity depending on what you feed it with”.

Speaking to Ghana News Agency in Tema, Prophet Coffie explained that, human excuses started from the mind and had become an everyday norm of people, especially Christians.

He stated, “Humans have been created in the likeness of God, and there is absolutely nothing like excuses in God; so why do so?

He mentioned that thinking positively was what will put a person in whatever position they find themselves in, quoting the book of Proverbs 23:7a which states that “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he”.

He added,” You are what you feed your mind with and must therefore feed your mind with positive stuff”.

Prophet Coffie hinted that whenever an enemy needed to attack a person, be it physically or spiritually, it starts from the mind war or game.

He said people usually looked at the failures of others to predict what might happen to them which registered in the mind, restricting them from growing.

He believed that everyone had a path to take to success and must therefore overlook the failures and sayings from people that would dampen their spirit because certain people have been set on their paths to enable them to become stronger and not the opposite.

“Don’t pay attention or surround yourself with people filled with negative mindset or understanding, because it would influence your thinking and pollute your mind”, he advised.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Some communities along Volta Region’s coast have been hit by another tidal wave attack over the weekend rendering residents homeless.

Communities affected included Agavedzi, Salakope, Amutinu and Adina in the Ketu South Municipality in addition to Vodza, Keta Central and Abutiakope, Keta Municipality and Fuveme and Atiteti in the Anloga District.

The sea water which began its destructive journey last Saturday at some places, submerged homes, washed away belongings of residents and collapsed walls.

The most recent attacks in the region which happened in November last year, submerged hundreds of homes at Kedzikope, Abutiakope and Keta Central (Keta Municipality), Dzita, Agbledomi and Fuveme (Anloga District) and, Adina, Agavedzi, Amutinu and Salakope (Ketu South) rendering thousands of people homeless and destroying properties including school buildings.

Ghana News Agency’s (GNA) visit on Monday to Keta Emancipation Beach showed the beautiful beach resort was in disarray with some concrete walls brought to the ground.

At Agavedzi, a couple of houses were still inundated by tidal floods while others showed visible signs of collecting water.

Residents who spoke to the GNA said there was the need for government to act towards bringing a lasting solution to them saying, if the problem remained unattended, it would not be long for the communities along the coast to go extinct and the sea to go on a rampage annexing other communities and bringing down anything in its way.

“Our rooms were full of the sea water, and we spent quite a time heaping sand around the doors. All the running around yesterday made me feel dizzy. We practically kept wake because we had nowhere to go and we could not trust the sea at night,” a nursing mother, Madam Aku Agbotey recounted.

A displaced person, Mr Yao Ablame, who spent Sunday night at a sister’s place said, he slept under a mosquito net on a bench because there was no spare room to accommodate him and appealed for government support to end their perennial suffering.

Another resident, Ms Makafui Atayi said “we were lucky that this weekend’s happened in the evening and not at night when we were asleep because that would have been more serious.”

Assembly member for Agavedzi, Mr Eben Assah who said he would welcome a temporary structure to house the affected people, appealed to the government for an extension of the sea defence wall to these areas to secure not just the coastline but human lives.

He said the sea used to be far away from the community and the current location been ravaged by the sea used to be the community’s sacred forest but all that was gone due to the coastal erosion and feared, the Keta-Denu Road might be lost in no time.

Assembly member for Amutinu-Salakope, Mr Sylvester Kumawu, added his voice for the continuation of the sea defense project discounting the option of a permanent relocation which he said would not be in the interest of the people, mostly fisher folks as their livelihoods would be lost.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Anglogold Ashanti Iduapriem Mine, has held its 19th annual non-denominational thanksgiving service to thank God for his protection and the preservation of the Mine.

With songs of praise and dance, employees of the Mine and their families, host communities, and government officials expressed their gratitude to the Almighty God for the successes achieved by the company.

This year’s thanksgiving service was on the theme: “Celebrating the goodness of the Lord” Psalm 107:8”.

The Managing Director of Anglogold Ashanti Iduapriem Mine, Mr Samuel Boakye Pobee, in his address said, for the past two years things have been difficult across several industries, especially in the mining sector with most companies experiencing production challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“That notwithstanding, the Almighty God has remained faithful to us, allowing the Mine to continue operating in a safe and responsible manner throughout the period. The Lord has indeed been good to us” he said.

Mr Pobee used the opportunity to thank the government, traditional authorities, host communities, Ministries, Departments and Agencies, Contractors and Employees for their unwavering support and cooperation, which continued to propel the Iduapriem Mine to shine and excel in all aspects.

He stated that although 2021 was a challenging year for the Mine, they were able to secure funding, land and permits for the construction of a new tailings storage facility to guarantee 10 years of their mining operations.

He said that it was a significant milestone in the life of the Mine to unlock the orebody potential further, adding “We count on your usual support and cooperation to see this project to its successful completion”

“We also want to thank the Lord for His abundance of grace which made it possible to sign a new five-year mining contract that gave birth to a joint venture (AMAX) between AMS and Maxmass (local contractor).

“This is a step in the right direction to ensure significant local participation in the Mine’s key value chain” Mr Pobee continued.

Bishop Joseph Anyane Asare, Provincial Bishop, Victory Bible Church International, advised individuals and firms to learn to appreciate God in all situations else they would lose what he has given them.

“Expressing gratitude to God offers him authority to preserve what you have, and he would increase your blessing. Iduapriem Mine would continue to prosper because they always appreciate God for what they have”.

The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Prestea Huni-Valley, Dr Isaac Dasmani, on behalf of the Western Regional Minister, Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, commended Iduapriem Mine for its continuous support to improve upon their host communities.

He also applauded the Mine for constructing the Nsuta-Tamso road with pavement blocks at the cost of GH¢1.5 million to ease the congestion on that stretch of road.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has lamented on the absence of Kwesi Nyantakyi from the football fraternity.

Nyantakyi, who is a former CAF 1st vice president and also served as President of the Ghana Football Association for 13 years was removed from office following the fallout of the ‘Number 12’ documentary which exposed corruption in Ghana football.

He is currently serving a 15-year ban from all football-related activities.

Under his stewardship, Ghana reached their first of three straight World Cups. They also began a streak of 6 straight semi-final appearances at the AFCON which ended in 2019.

Despite the recent World Cup qualification against Nigeria, Bagbin was full of praise for the disgraced Nyantakyi:

“He was one of the brightest spots at FIFA, he was a dynamic addition, he was highly respected and very influential.”

The former MP for Nadowli West was adamant that the fortunes of the Black Stars were directly linked to Nyantakyi as he said, “When we brought down Nyantakyi, we brought down Ghana football.

“We thought we were handling Nyantakyi, but we were handling the whole of Ghana,” he added.

Ghana also won the U-20 World Cup under the administration of Kwesi Nyantakyi.

Source: Modern Ghana

The Chiir family of Nandom in the Nandom Municipality, have expressed grave worry about the invasion of joint military and police operatives of the Palace.

According to them, the invasion happened in the early hours of Sunday, April 03, and added the security operatives were in search of weapons.

The family indicated that they were held hostage by the joint forces without a warrant describing the action of the two security services as “shameful”.

The Chiir family said this in a statement signed by Mr Peter Aabenyaa Deri, the Head of the Chiir Family, and Mr Frederick Polkuu, an elder of the family, and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Wa.

“We (the Members of the Chiir family) woke up this dawn to see heavy joint military and police team that besieged the Palace and held us hostage and forcefully entered our rooms to mount an unprovoked, unwarranted, unnecessary and utterly disgusting “unsuccessful search for weapons” without providing any warrant to that effect,” the statement said.

It added that the Chiir family members were prevented from attending to nature’s call within the period of invasion and called the action an “authorised curfew.”

The statement said the action followed the gazetting of Professor Edmond Delle, the Chief Executive Officer of Rabito Clinic, as the new Chief of Nandom by the Regional House of Chiefs, National House of Chiefs, and the Acting President of the Nandom Traditional Council, despite an injunction by the IGP to prohibit Prof. Delle from outdooring himself as Nandom Naa.

The statement appealed to all relevant stakeholders of Nandom to call the Regional House of Chiefs to allow due procedures to follow to ensure the right person was determined and gazette as the new Nandom Naa for peace to prevail in the area.

Source: Ghana News Agency