Day: May 9, 2022

The nostalgic feeling of a baby anxious to be breast fed in an open space.

Having witnessed the Ghana Music Awards now Vodafone Ghana Music Awards for the past decade and more, Friday 6th & Saturday 7th, 2022 gave music lovers and the music industry hope for a better tomorrow.

Resurrecting the award scheme which for some years lost its credibility amongst the general public and the said industry, leading to Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale’s fracas.

Peeping through the lens of social media for the past two days, I haven’t chanced on any discredited post by social media users or entertainment pundits.

SET UP

It seemed the act of enjoying monopoly was holding on, the creative sense of our able organizers “Charter House”. Moving from poor stage lights, screen display and others this year’s set design gave the viewing audience the best still and motion experience.

Chopping the stage for various emcees, gave room for suspense. “Gave the feeling of what’s next.”

PERFORMANCE

I have always argued that lack of creativity is killing our industry whereas other countries are lifting their industry with creative stage craft.

One can attest that Black Sheriff’s performance at the recent 3music Awards actually contributed to his current success story with “Kweku The Traveler” promotion.

Even though the event is over, one can relate and reflect on the superb stage craft exhibited and I will applaud Charter House for the effort injected into achieving such greatness.

I’m skipping “the same question everyday” on the red carpet for later, for a more critical look at the performance of musician Edem who piloted the day one of the events.

Samini’s performance on Friday with Osei’s groove house, The combination of Tinny & Obrafour, Stonebwoy’s white and yellow outlook on the live band master piece, to Joe Mettle’s stand-up minstration, Ohemaa Mercy’s “Ote Mu” all white umbrella rave coupled with Akwaboah, Cina Soul, Camido, Kelvyn Boy, Mr Drew, FBS, Sefa and others granting us nerve racking musical display.

Wrapping up on the part one of my critic, I will commend the seated audience for the two nights for contributing to the viewing pleasure.

Part two to be released in two days.

Source: Modern Ghana

Erling Haaland’s move to Manchester City is set to be confirmed this week according to reports.

The in-demand Borussia Dortmund striker has been linked with a move away from the German giants, with City reportedly the frontrunners for his signature.

The Athletic report that personal terms have already been agreed and discussions between the clubs were “cordial” ahead of the proposed deal.

Haaland, 21, will move to the Etihad in the summer to link up with Pep Guardiola’s side ahead of the new season.

The prolific Norwegian hitman has scored 85 goals in 88 appearances since joining Dortmund from Red Bull Salzburg in January 2020, earning admiration from the biggest clubs in world football.

But City appear to have won the race for his signature, fending off the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

Guardiola’s side have been keen to sign a striker since the departure of Sergio Aguero last summer and previously targeted Tottenham’s Harry Kane before a move fell through.

City are poised to win the Premier League title for the fourth time in five seasons, sitting top of the Premier League table with a three-point lead over Liverpool with three matches to play.

Source: Modern Ghana

Accra, May 09, GNA – Eight Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have called on the European Commission (EC) to open negotiations with Cote D’Ivoire and Ghana to reach an Economic Pact for Sustainable Cocoa.

The Group, in a letter dated April 27, 2022, and addressed to the Executive Vice-Presidents and Commissioners of the EU, noted that the “low and unstable price” the West African countries and their farmers received for their cocoa was a “key driver of child labour and deforestation,” and not only a human right issue, needing immediate attention.

“The vast majority of farmers in these two leading cocoa-producing countries live in extreme poverty, earning well under $1 USD per day. Despite back-breaking labour, farmers receive a pittance for the cocoa they produce: only around 6 per cent of the final sale price of a chocolate bar,” the MEPs said.

They observed that the low price of cocoa was partly as a result of a growing oversupply of cocoa on the world market, which had forced prices downwards over the years.

“This causes frequent price shocks. Companies can hedge against these risks and protect themselves, but small farmers cannot, and have no government subsidies or insurance to protect them,” they said.

The call was necessitated by a proposal by Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire to the EU for the adoption of an Economic Pact for Sustainable Cocoa in order to holistically address the economic, social, and environmental issues relating to sustainable development of the cocoa sector.

In a joint statement issued by the Heads of State of the two leading cocoa producing countries on February 18, 2022, they recognised that that the worst forms of child labour and deforestation “are linked to the living conditions of cocoa farmers.”

The Group agreed with the positions of Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire and said the proposed Economic Pact would provide an opportunity to reach an agreement with the producer countries on a way forward on the key issue of price as well as other sustainability issues.

The MEPs said the Pact would also help to obtain a concrete outcome of the Cocoa Talks – an initiative, which brings together representatives from EU member states, cocoa producing countries, industry and civil society organisations to advance the cocoa sustainability and equity agenda.

They said the negotiations should entail an agreement between all parties on what would be done to resolve the low price of cocoa, the management of cocoa supply to prevent market shocks, and sustainability.

“The negotiations should not only be conducted between the EU, and governments of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, but should bring together all important actors, such as cocoa-buying companies, and NGOs.

“The Commission should engage stakeholders at the very start and map their vision for the desired outcome of such negotiations to lay the groundwork for the negotiations,” it said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, May 9, GNA – An early second half strike from Seidu Bassit was enough for Accra Lions as they triumphed over Legon Cities in match -day 28 encounter of the 2021/22 Ghana Premier League.

The win for Accra Lions meant they moved five points away from the relegation zone with six matches to be played.

Accra Lions were very impressive in the first half having created numerous opportunities but couldn’t put them away as Legon Cities held them in their defense.

The second half got more exciting as both sides tried to break the defence of each other with Legon Cities in control of the midfield with their swift short passes.

Bassit finally got his side in the lead three minutes into the second half with a close-range finish.

Legon Cities huffed and puffed for the equalizer in late stages of the game but Lions held on to secure all three points.

Accra Lions have now won ten matches in 28 games played so far and would be looking forward to grab another win as they travel to Sogakope to face WAFA in a match-day 29 encounter of the 2021/22 Ghana Premier League.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Hearts of Oak head coach, Samuel Boadu says his side were failed to take their chances against Bechem United over the weekend.

In the matchday 28 games, the Phobians, who are the reigning champions picked up a point against the Hunters at the Nana Fosu Gyeabour Park on Saturday.

The draw sees Hearts of Oak drop to 4th on the league table with 44 points.

“We lacked scoring abilities. I spoke with my players about that and I believe it will gradually work going forward,” coach Boadu said after the game.

“Four game unbeaten now. That’s our hallmark but is unfortunate that we didn’t start the season well but we believe better things will happen getting to the end.”

“We are taking the rest of games match after match, if we go all out and play well. We will be in a better position,” he added.

Source: Modern Ghana

Former Black Stars midfielder, Derek Boateng has shockingly revealed that Ghana lost the 2012 African Cup of Nations [AFCON] semifinals against Zambia due to rumours of black magic [juju] among the players.

The former Fulham middle man speaking in an interview revealed that players declined to warm up because they believed current Black Stars captain Andre Ayew was utilizing magic powers to the Black Stars’ disadvantage.

According to him, the team only had 15 minutes warm-up of their allocated 45 minutes because some of the players vowed not to go on the pitch before Andre ‘Dede’ Ayew.

Speaking GTV Sports + in an interview, the former Panathinaikos midfielder said some of the players believed they have been bewitched.

“Before that game, we had 45 minutes to do the warm-up. The Zambians were on the field and we were also supposed to come out. Kwasi Appiah was the one to take us through the warm-up and he was standing at the entrance of the tunnel. I came on the field along with Jonathan Mensah or somebody else. We were standing and waiting for the rest of the players. Everyone was saying they will not go on the field first until Andre Ayew comes out,” Boateng said.

“For about 15 to 20 minutes, we were just standing there and without doing the warm-up. So the only warm-up we did in the game was for about 10 to 15 minutes. A lot of the players said they will not be the first to go on the field until Dede Ayew did.” he added.

“So you see some of them sitting on the toilet, some standing on the side, and some sitting. So it was very disturbing. Goran was the coach and he could not understand what was going on. So after the game, I heard a lot of voices. I flipped up and blasted everybody. After the game, Nyatankyi (the GFA President) came to me and asked me what happened and I told him what exactly happened.”

The midfielder also stated that the squad regretted their actions after the defeat and that the then head coach of the side, Goran Stevanović appealed to football authorities to assist in changing the thoughts of players about using “black power”.

“In the dressing room after the game, I saw that people are sitting down with regret. But why do you regret it when you knew what you were doing was not good? But it was not a club side, this was Ghana. It is not about you but it is about the whole nation. So it was disturbing some of the things that happened in camp and people don’t come out to talk about it. For me, it is what it is. We have finished our careers and I can say whatever I want to say. Nobody can stop me,” he summed up

“We all need to help in changing some players’ mentality about using ‘black power’ to destroy themselves, and also make sure we instill discipline and respect for each other,” he concluded.

It will be recalled that Ghana coach Goran Stevanovic caused a major uproar after claiming some players had used witchcraft against their teammates at the 2012 AFCON.

Ghana subsequently lost by 1-0 with Mayuka scoring the only in the 77th minute.

Source: Modern Ghana

Sampa (B/R), May 9, GNA – Residents of Sampa in the Jaman North District of the Bono Region have lauded the Case Tracking System (CTS) project and called for its efficient implementation to monitor suspected criminals hiding in border communities.

Launched in 2018, the CTS is an integrated software that tracks criminal cases in the justice delivery system from inception until their disposition.

Supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the implementation of the pilot project, among other objectives, seeks to provide a common platform for easy tracking of cases and communication between the justice delivery institutions.

At a public sensitisation meeting on the CTS, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), and the justice delivery system, at Sampa on the Ghana-Cote D’Ivoire frontier, the residents said the CTS would empower them with relevant information on suspected criminals to support the police to track them.

The meeting was organised with support from USAID, the Commonwealth Rights Initiative (CHRI), a non-governmental organisation, in collaboration with MIHOSO International Foundation, its local partner.

It was attended by the traditional authorities, teachers, artisans, market women and assembly members.

Many of the residents who spoke during an open forum noted that Sampa was experiencing rapid population growth and becoming cosmopolitan due to its closeness to neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire and consequently turning into a hideout for criminals.

“There are unapproved routes to enter Ivory Coast, so Sampa and its environs are becoming a hideout for suspected criminals because they can easily flee and hide in the neighbouring country,” Mr John Aseidu, a participant, told the Ghana News Agency.

“We meet all sorts of people with strange characters but who are you to question them because we share a common border, and trade with our Ivory Coast neighbours,” Mr Mensah Gyan, a staff of the Jaman North District Assembly, stated.

Mr Albert Agyei Oppong, a Clerk at the Sampa District Court, expressed concern over the rising cases of motor traffic offences in the area, thereby over-stretching the workload of the District Court.

He said the court building was always overcrowded because of limited space and appealed to the Assembly to facilitate its relocation process to the new building.

Touching on the use of ADR, Mr Oppong reminded the residents that court processes were always costly, and urged them to opt for the ADR mechanisms in settling minor offences.

Mr Thomas Benarkuu, the Programmes Director of MIHOSO, said the CHRI, through the NGO, was implementing the Case Tracking System at Jaman South, Sunyani West and Berekum Municipalities, as well as Jaman North in the Bono Region.

He called on all to develop interest and support the project implementation to promote transparency and accountability and generate instant reports on crime to guide and decision-making.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Socialite Abena Korkor is not happy with rapper Medikal over his newly-released street jam with a title bearing her name.

The AMG Gang rapper released his ‘Abena Korkor’ song late last month and has since received massive airplay.

To make matters worse, the artwork of the song has a cartoon of Medikal and Abena Korkor herself holding a stack of money.

Parts of the song touched on Abena Korkor’s ‘kiss and tell’ attitude where she never hesitates to mention the names of some renowned figures she has allegedly had sex with.

“Medikal needs to pay royalties for using my name for a song. Medikal, wherever you are come and pay me for using my name in your song. You used my name and never told me. I woke up one morning to hearing ‘Abena Korkor wudi a meka’. I’m also going to use her for a song,” she said in a recent interview.

Source: Modern Ghana