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May 2010May 2010

Political News HeadlinesPolitical News Headlines

Thousands protest poor mobile phone Thousands protest poor mobile phone services (27/5/10)services (27/5/10)

Thousands of mobile phone users took to the streets of Accra on Thursday to show their disapproval and displeasure with the poor services by mobile telecommunication companies operating in the country. The Consumer Protection Agency (CPA), together with other consumer right groups, called on all mobile phone users in the country to switch off their mobile phones from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m. local time on Thursday as part of its protest to express their demand for quality services from mobile phone service providers, MTN, Tigo, Kasapa, Vodafone, and Zain in the West African country.

Protesters gathered at the famous Kwame Nkrumah circle at the down town area, where they were briefed by their leaders on the routes and regulations for the demonstration. The organizers made sure that all protesters put off their mobile phones as a warning sign to the operators that their services were nothing to write home about before they embarked on the protest march.

The demonstrators, mostly students, danced and sang as they passed through the main streets of the capital city with placards, some of which read "we are tired of your poor services", "stop tricky promotions" and "MTN, Tigo, Kasapa, Vodafone and Zain, the value is the same."

10 pct pay rise for public workersACCRA, May 28 (Reuters) - Ghana's wages commission said on

Friday it had approved a 10 percent pay rise for public sector workers and that the potentially inflationary measure would be back-dated to January this year. Falling inflation and a stable currency have since late 2009 given the Bank of Ghana scope to make a total 350 basis points of cuts to bring the prime rate down to 15 percent, with further easing seen dependent on prices staying under control.

George Smith-Graham, chief executive of the Commission, told Reuters the pay rise would apply across the board to Ghana's 470,000 or so public sector workers and complemented a planned reform of the wages structure later this year.

Amending The Constitution Of Ghana: Is The Imperial Amending The Constitution Of Ghana: Is The Imperial President Trespassing? President Trespassing? The Statesman , 24/05/2010 , 24/05/2010

• In January 2010, Ghana‘s President John Atta Mills appointed a commission to review and propose amendments to the country‘s current constitution, in force since 1993.1 The ―constitutional instrument establishing the commission tasked the nine-member body2 to ―ascertain from the people of Ghana, their views on the operation of the constitution, and in particular its strength and weaknesses, articulate the concerns of the people on amendments that might be required for a comprehensive review and make recommendations to government for consideration.

• A Ministry of Justice document setting forth the administration‘s agenda for constitutional reform identifies about forty specific provisions and omissions in the constitution as likely candidates for review and amendment, and the commission is directed to consider these pre-identified issues in its review. By its terms of reference, the commission‘s final work product must include ―a draft Bill for possible amendments to the constitution

CHRAJ concerned about reports of unprofessional conduct of nurses 25/5/10

Mr Richard Quayson, Deputy Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), said the Commission is concerned about the increasing reports of unprofessional conduct of nurses in Ghana's health services delivery.

He said CHRAJ's monitoring activities revealed cases of unprofessional conduct against health professionals including impatience, inattention, rudeness, verbal assaults and discrimination against poor patients.

Ghanaians flee violence for Northern TogoGhanaians flee violence for Northern Togo2525thth May 2010 May 2010

Some 3,500 refugees have crossed into northern Togo from Ghana, Togo's security minister says. They are victims of ethnic conflict and land disputes in the northern part of Ghana, he said. The refugees started arriving last week and consist mainly of women, children and young people. A BBC reporter in Togo says Ghanaian refugees fleeing into northern Togo to escape unrest at home has become a regular occurrence in recent years.

DIASPORA NEWSDIASPORA NEWS

Gang jailed for kidnapping British teenager and Gang jailed for kidnapping British teenager and ordering her family to send ransom to Ghana 2/3/10ordering her family to send ransom to Ghana 2/3/10

The victim, a 17-year-old girl from Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, was reported to have been taken by the gang in autumn 2008. Her father told police demands were being made for money to be transferred to a gang member in the West African country. Armed police freed the teenager from an address in north London on October 22, 2008 and three men from London were arrested at or near the property. David Bonsouw, 36, from Morley Avenue, Enfield; Charles El Mawas, 20, from Hallfield Estate, Westminster; and Kwadwo Agyei, 24, from Tower Gardens Road, Tottenham, were charged with kidnap. The fourth man, Dwight Baker, 26, also from Morley Avenue, was arrested in London early last year.

All four pleaded guilty to charges of false imprisonment, blackmail and conspiracy to import cocaine. Bonsouw, El Mawas and Agyei were jailed for 14 years each and Baker was jailed for five years at St Albans Crown Court on Friday, Hertfordshire Police said. The case was brought after Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit officers travelled to Ghana to gather evidence and intelligence on the gang. The victim was told she would not face prosecution for her involvement with the gang, Hertfordshire Crown Prosecution Service said.

EWE-DUKOR UNION CONFERENCE IN EWE-DUKOR UNION CONFERENCE IN GERMANYGERMANY

The first National Delegates conference of Ewe Dukor Union of Germany was held in the city of Hamburg on Saturday 22nd May, 2010 at Washington Allee 65a.

The meeting was hosted under the auspices of Ewe Dukor union of Hamburg with large turn- out of Delegates and non-Delegates from Hamburg, Berlin, Bremen, Oberhausen and Frankfurt. In the welcome address, the Host vice President of Hamburg Ewe union, Mr. Dameshie Brown, briefed the audience about the importance and relevance attached to convening such historical conference. He however stressed that, such get-together has brought about unification of Ewe ethnic groups from Ghana, Togo and Republic of Benin to enhance family relationship in terms of Ewe culture and Tradition.

Anansekrom 2010 – The Premier African Cultural Extravaganza on the Park

Date: Saturday 17th July 2010 Venue: Orsett Showgrounds, Rectory Road, Essex RM7 3LB

Anansekrom (The Premier African Cultural Extravaganza), organised by The Noble Friends is the largest family oriented event focused on the Ghanaian and African Culture in the UK. It is open to all races and ages and is a successful attempt at opening out a Midas to true African Culture. It also provides social cohesion among Africans in the Diaspora.

It starts at 11am and finishes at 8pm, consisting of a traditional durbar, encompassing tribal groups from the entire country. A large number of stalls are on display, depicting a typical African village market scenery and catering for the best in Ghanaian cuisine, artefacts, ornaments, carvings and traditional clothing.

Activities on the day include a durbar of chiefs, drum master class, story telling, traditional Ghanaian games, traditional drumming and dancing, face painting, African artefacts display cooking and sale of exotic Ghanaian and for that matter African dishes. To ensure everyone gets to enjoy, the tickets, priced at £10 and £15 for children (5yrs-16yrs) and adults respectively come with a voucher for a free plate of food. The Sensational Ablade UK. Will provide cultural performances, covering the length and breadth of Ghana and some African countries.

Demo Against Mills In America 20/5/10

A group of Ghanaian shippers based in the United States of America are gearing up to stage a demonstration against the Mills administration over what they see as a “lukewarm attitude” by the authorities towards their constant complaints about the ill treatment meted out to them at the nation’s ports. The complaints include unbearable import duties, arbitrary charges, “inescapable exploitation” by CEPS officials, and irritating delay in clearing goods at the ports.

According to the Spokesperson of the group, Nana Attah Boamah, the demonstration which takes place in June will be patronized by hundreds of disappointed Ghanaian shippers in U.S. “We are mobilizing ourselves to hit the streets because we are particularly disappointed by the lukewarm attitude of Daniel Ohene Agyekum, Ghana’s Ambassador to U.S, towards the several requests we have sent to him to initiate moves for the Mills government to do something about the situation.”

Ghana’s UK Mission Set To Develop A Skills Data Bank

The Ghana High Commissioner to the UK, His Excellency Prof. Kwaku Danso-Boafo has set up a Taskforce to develop a Skills Data Bank to capture the profile of Ghanaian professionals in the United Kingdom.

The aim of the project is to develop a complete working register of all Ghanaian professionals resident in the UK to enable the Government and the private sector to tap into the skills of those suitable professionals in the Diaspora when the need arises.

The Taskforce charged to take forward the development of the skills project was recently inaugurated by His Excellency at the Ghana High Commission offices at Belgrave Square in South West London. Prof. Danso-Boafo asked the Taskforce to develop its own terms of reference and the modalities necessary for the Committee to carry out its mandate. He advised the Committee not to re invent the wheel since previous Heads of the Mission had started similar projects but stalled when the Heads moved on.

Hundreds Mourn Ghanaian Stabbed To Death In London 26/5/10Hundreds Mourn Ghanaian Stabbed To Death In London 26/5/10

Ghana’s High Commissioner to the UK, Professor Kwaku Danso-Boafo, some members of the UK Parliament David Lammy and Diane Abbott, together with some other parents of victims of knife and gun crimes in London such as Jimmy Mizen, Damilola Taylor and David Idowu were present. The mourners were clad in traditional Ghanaian Black and White funeral outfit. Godwin Lawson, 17, died on March 27 after being stabbed in Hackney, East London. He was stabbed at the Amhurst Park at 1.50am.

A post-mortem examination gave cause of death as a stab wound to the chest. Godwin and two of his friends aged 18 and 20 were attacked by at least four other youths during which the two other friends were severely wounded and later taken to hospital suffering from stab wounds. The soccer starlet who had won scholarship into the Oxford United Football Academy last summer had returned to visit his family from Oxford where he had been engaged in football studies. Another Ghanaian teenager, Moise Avorgah, of St Ann's Road, was later charged with the murder of Lawson who had dreamt of playing for Manchester United.

Other NewsOther News

Kwame Ayew, now striking for Jesus (28/5/10)Kwame Ayew, now striking for Jesus (28/5/10)

Like the Biblical Simon Peter, who quit his fishing profession and embarked on an evangelism mission, so has been the case of former Black Stars, Metz, Leiria, Lecce etc forward Kwame Ayew. And after an illustrious international soccer career, scoring 124 goals between 1990 and 2007 with clubs like Vitória F.C.Boavista, Sporting,Yimpa? Yozgatspor, Kocaelispor, Changsha Ginde, Inter Shanghai, Vitória F.C., among others, the former dreadlocked striker is now a minister of the Gospel. He is now the founder of Jesus is Alive Evangelistic Ministry and operates an NGO by name Reaching out for the poor organization. Reacting to what accounted for shaving his raster hair, he revealed speaking on his own behalf and that of his striking pal Maxwell Konadu that the 'bad' spirits that goes with wearing dreadlocks prompted himself and Max to quit wearing the locks

Olympics wallop Hearts of Oak 5:1 (23/5/10)Accra Great Olympics handed city rivals, Accra Hearts of Oak

their heaviest defeat in the history of the two Clubs when posted a 5-1 humiliating score line to win the first ever Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) Millennium City Cup at the Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra on Sunday. The match aims at raising funds to support the AMA's Educational Trust Fund to support the provision and development of educational infrastructure in the Greater Accra Region.

The Wonder Club began the demolition exercise as early as the 4th minute, when Raphael Quartey put them ahead. Five minutes on, Hearts were presented with a spot kick to put the game at level, but Ishmael Aryee surprisingly shot over the bar but was target to make amends in the 14th minute, when he connected home a perfect cross from Douglas Nkrumah.

After both sides struggled to have dominance but it was the "Dade Boys" who went to the recess with a lead as Quartey scrambled in the second goal in a goal mouth melee from a lethargic defence.

WORLD CUP NEWSWORLD CUP NEWS

Black Stars is Africa's best bet to win World Cup (22/5/10)

Ghana Football Association President Kwesi Nyantakyi says the Black Stars remains Africa's best shot at winning the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. No African side has ever won the competition since its inception in 1930 with the Cup having been won 18 times between just seven nations. A quarter-final finish is the farthest a team from the African continent has reached at the World Cup. But with South Africa having the chance to host the competition for the first time on the continent next month, an improved performance by an African side is expected. Africa is represented at the competition by hosts South Africa, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Algeria and Ghana.

Playing in group D which includes Serbia, Australia and three-time winners, Germany, Kwesi Nyantakyi tips the Black Stars as Africa's surest bet for Cup glory. "The Black Stars commence camping on 24th May, 2010 in Paris, France in preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. "We expect the Black Stars to perform well beyond the placing at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany," The GFA President said at an Ordinary Session of the Ghana Football Association's Congress on Thursday in Accra. "A World Cup in Africa is expected to be won by an African team. The Black Stars is the favourite Africa team to lay a claim to winning the World Cup."

Accra, May 27, GNA - Black stars midfielder, Michael Essien has been ruled out of the South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup. According to the official website of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), an evaluation by a combined team of medical experts from the GFA and Chelsea Football Club in Paris, France, revealed that Essien will not make full recovery until the end of July. The Chelsea midfielder has not tasted action since aggravating his knee injury at training during the Orange Africa Cup of Nations in Angola early this year.

The news will serve a major blow to the Black Stars technical team with doubts lingering on the fitness level of key players including Richard Kingson, John Mensah and Emmanuel Agyemang Badu. "The GFA wishes him full recovery and a quick return to football action," the statement added. Essien becomes the first player to drop out of the provisional 30-man squad of the Black Stars for the first ever World Cup to be staged on African soil.

Africa referees fail fitness test 27/5/10Africa referees fail fitness test 27/5/10Two trios of African referees have been dropped from the list of the thirty

referee trios selected to officiate at the FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010T and will not be able to take part in the competition. They are Referee Mohamed Benouza (Algeria) and assistant referees, Nasser Abdel Nadi (Egypt) and Maamar Chabane (Algeria).

Information gathered by GNA Sports from FIFA Media Channel said the two assistant referees of those trios did not pass the fitness tests which were held in their confederation prior to departure for South Africa.

The information said it is one of FIFA's main objectives to significantly improve refereeing standards and, to this end; the FIFA Referees Committee has selected trios of match officials who come from the same country or confederation and who share the same language.

Instructions issued to the referees prior to the competition made it clear that entire trios would be forced out of the competition if either the main referee or two of the assistant referees were unable to complete or pass the fitness test.