JAN 29, 2020

DIGITAL NO. 100826 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2020
DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
•A cross section of Ambulances
•President Nana
Akufo-Addo
• Eric Kojo Duah, the suspect in Police custody
•Alex Dautey,
CEO of AD
Construction Ltd
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02
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CONTENT
ANNIVERSARIES
Independence Day — Fri, 6 Mar 2020
Good Friday — Fri, 10 Apr 2020
Easter Monday — Mon, 13 Apr 2020
Labour Day — Fri, 1 May 2020
DAILY HERITAGE DIGITAL WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2020
Published by: EIB
Network / Heritage
Communications Ltd.
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Kasoa cops killer remand
warrant extended
BY MUNTALLA INUSAH
muntalla.inusah@dailyheritage.com.gh
THE KANESHIE
District Court
presided over by Her
Worship Rosemond
Dodua Agyiri has adjourned
the case in which Eric
Kojo Duah, the man at the centre
of the murder of two police officers
at Kasoa-Budumburam, to
Fabruary 17, 2020.
This was after the prosecution,
led by Assistant Superintendent of
Police (ASP) Sylvester Asare, had
informed the court that the prosecution
was still waiting for the bill
of indictment from the office of
the Attorney-General (A-G).
According to ASP Asare, the
A-G has taken over the original
documents of the case docket for
study and subsequent instructions.
He, however, requested for the
extension of the remand warrant
of the accused and the case was
subsequently adjourned.
• Eric Kojo Duah, the suspect
Murder charge
In court on December 30, the
Attorney-General asked the police
to formally charge Duah, with
murder.
The Prosecution led by ASP
Asare said the police had received
instructions from the Attorney-
General’s Department to formally
charge Duah, aka Sakora, with
murder.
However, the police are yet to
receive the Bill of Indictment (BI)
from the AG’s office.
The accused person is being
held on two counts of murder but
his plea has not been taken.
Background
The accused allegedly shot and
killed General Lance Corporal
Mohammed Awal and Lance Corporal
Michael Dzamesi who were
on task force duty on the Kasoa-
Budumburam-Aprah road on August
28, last year.
The officers had apparently
asked Duah, who was driving an
unregistered vehicle, to stop but
he ignored them.
The officers, who had a service
vehicle, chased him and Duah
pulled a pistol from his car and
shot the officers one after the
other a number of times.
While Awal died instantly,
Dzamesi died shortly after arriving
at the hospital.
The Prosecution
led by ASP Asare
said the police had
received
instructions from
the Attorney-
General’s
Department to
formally charge
Duah, aka Sakora,
with murder.
Estate developer grilled
BY MUNTALLA INUSAH
muntalla.inusah@dailyheritage.com.gh
THE CHIEF Executive Officer of
Real Estate company, AD Construction
Limited, who has been
sued at the Land Division of the
Accra High Court for unlawfully
causing the demolition of a threebedroom
house sold to Jerry
Amesimeku (plaintiff) for
$200,000.00 in 2007 has been
grilled by counsel of the plaintiff.
Mr Alex Dautey was making his
Demolition of 3-bedroom apartment
• Says I forgot actual receipt
second appearance in court since
2016 when the court action was
initiated against him at the Lands
Court over the matter.
He was led by his lawyer to
open his defence in the action filed
by Theophilus Amesimeku, on behalf
of Jerry Amesimeku ( his lawful
Attorney) as he resides in the
United Kingdom and he is asking
for a compensation sum of $450,
000 from the estate developer for
the demolishing of his property
without lawful authority.
Evidence-in-chief
Mr Dautey, who was representing
himself as the CEO and the
company as the defendants when
he mounted the docket was led by
his lawyer to give evidence, said he
would rely solely on his witness
statements filed in court on May
31, 2017.
The court presided over by Justice
Samuel Asare Nyarko, however,
adopted same as his
evidence-in-chief, including a evaluation
report and its attached exhibits.
Cross-examination
However, the CEO of AD
Construction was subjected to vigorous
scrutiny and grilling by
counsel of the plaintiff to test the
veracity of the evidence the defendant
gave to the court regarding
the demolition of the three-bedroom
apartment.
Under cross-examination from
counsel of the plaintiff, the defendant
said plaintiff was a “good
friend of mine” and that “whenever
plaintiff visited Ghana, I live
with him in my house.”
He told the court that he (defendant)
“later suggested to him to
purchase one of my properties and
he (plaintiff) told me to bring a
plan for a three-bedroom house, a
plan he told the court he sent it
personally to the plaintiff.
Asked by counsel for the plaintiff
to tell the court how much the
property was sold to his client, the
defendant said “the property was
sold for $150, 000,” but counsel
said the property was sold to his
client at $200, 000.
Receipt of convenience
• CONTINUE FROM PAGE 6

WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
DAILY HERITAGE DIGITAL WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2020
03
Don’t abuse
Emergency Services
NEWSDESK REPORT
PRESIDENT NANA Addo
Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has
cautioned the people of
Ghana not to abuse the
emergency health care system
of the country which has been
given a great boost with the introduction
of a single emergency contact
number (112) as well as three hundred
and seven (307) state-of-the-arts ambulances.
Addressing attendees of the commissioning
and distribution ceremony
of 307 ambulances under his government's
flagship programme, 'One
Constituency, One Ambulance' at the
Black Star Square, President Akufo
Addo said information available indicates
that some citizens have been
misusing the emergency service number,
a development he says could in
itself put the lives of other members
of the citizenry at risk.
"I will appeal that this improvement
in the provision of emergency
services be not abused. We are told
that 90% of calls made to the
providers of emergency services are
usually prank calls. This is not right
as it only endangers the lives of
Ghanaians in need," President Akufo
Addo stated.
President Akufo Addo called on all
the 16 Regional Ministers in the country,
as well as Metropolitan and Municipal
Chief Executives and all
health officials to provide the needed
cooperation and support to make the
operationalization of the 307 ambulances
a success. He also urged the
National Ambulance Service (NAS) to
ensure satisfactory maintenance of
the ambulances.
• President Akufo-Addo cautions
• A cross section of Ambulances
"The goal of this government is to establish
in our country a strong and accessible
health care system of world class
quality which will assure the health and
well-being of our people and I entreat all
of you to be an integral part of this vision,"
President Akufo Addo said.
Health Minister
The Minister for Health, Kwaku
Agyeman-Manu, in his remarks at the
ceremony, said accessibility to healthcare
would improve significantly with the deployment
of one ambulance to each constituency
of the country. He drew the
attention of members in the constituencies
to the fact that the ambulances
would be managed by the Ghana Ambulance
Service and none other organisation.
He urged Members of Parliament to
assist the NAS to serve their respective
constituents.
"I would like to call on the Director
General of the Ghana Health Service,
the CEOs of the Teaching Hospitals, the
• President Nana Akufo-Addo
Regional Directors of Health Services as
well as heads of all Ministry of Health
agencies to cooperate and collaborate
with National Ambulance Service as they
carry out their duties in providing prehospital
care services in the country so
that together we can all assist in the
building of a comprehensive, effective
and efficient emergency response system
for our country," the Health Minister
said.
CEO of the NAS
The Chief Executive Officer of the
NAS, Professor Ahmed Nuhu Zakariah,
enumerated the components
and detailed composition of each of
the ambulances as well as the emergency
services that a patient would receive
once the emergency care system
is contacted.
He indicated that the 145
new stations for the National
Ambulance Service
that were coming onboard
to add up to the existing 130
is a welcomed development
that would go a long way to
improve emergency care
service delivery in the country.
Mock
Demonstration
The NAS demonstrated
to the admiration of President
Nana Addo Dankwa
Akufo Addo, the Vice President,
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia,
and all other attendees a
situation of emergency.
National
Ambulance
Service
The National Ambulance
Service was established in
the year 2004 as an agency
of the Ministry of Health. The NAS is a
product of collaboration between the
Ministry of Health and the Ghana National
Fire Service of the Ministry of Interior.
The role and responsibility of the
NAS is to establish and operate a nationwide
comprehensive pre-hospital emergency
services.

DAILY HERITAGE DIGITAL WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2020
WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
Tarkoradi-Tarkwa railway
opens after 12 years of break
THE GHANA Railway
Company Limited
(GRCL) has begun a
three-day free test ride
for passengers from
Takoradi to Tarkwa in the Western
Region.
The free ride started yesterday
beneficiary passengers said the
opening of the route had brought
According to a GRCL
statement, several
successful test runs had
been done in
collaboration with the
Ghana Railway
Development Authority,
hence the three-day free
test ride from January
28 to 31, 2020.
relief to them after waiting for 12
years for the train to start work.
According to a GRCL statement,
several successful test runs
had been done in collaboration
with the Ghana Railway Development
Authority, hence the threeday
free test ride from January 28
to 31, 2020.
The statement added that although
work would officially commence
on February 5, 2020, the
Western line was still being developed
and occasionally there would
be the need for the company to
stop operations to enable the contractor
to do some civil works on it.
Some of the passengers on the
train explained that operation of
the train would boost businesses,
improve lives and reduce traffic on
the roads.
Representatives of the Ministry
of Railways Development, GRCL,
Ghana Railway Workers Union and
some members of a technical team
and administrative staff of GRCL
were on the free test ride.
• Takoradi-Tarkwa trains station have started operations
&Env.
Investment in health necessary to achieve
‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ agenda — Nsiah-Asare
DR. ANTHONY Nsiah-Asare, Presidential
Advisor on Health, has stressed
the need for adequate investment in the
health sector to keep the country’s population
healthy and productive, in order
to achieve the ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ and
the universal health coverage agenda.
He said attaining the ‘Ghana Beyond
Aid’ agenda required a healthy population
who are economically productive
and prepared to use their skills, expertise
and physical abilities to contribute to national
development.
Speaking at a ceremony to inaugurate
a 30-bed health facility for the people of
Apagya in the Afigya-Kwabre South
District, Dr Nsiah Asare pointed out
that achieving the ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’
was the responsibility of all able-bodied
citizens.
The GH¢1,450.000.00 facility was
constructed by the Methodist Health
Services to provide quality healthcare
• Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare
delivery services to the people in the
community and its environs.
“Government remains resolved in its
quest to move the country beyond aid.
Achieving ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ and universal
health coverage is, however, not
only a government responsibility; it is
the responsibility of all of us and we all
need to come together and get it done.
Indeed, we have a duty as individuals,
communities and churches to do what
we can do and that we should not cry
for help if we can help ourselves,” he
told the gathering, which included the
clergy, traditional rulers, health professionals
and community members.
Dr Nsiah-Asare said Ghana could no
longer rely on the goodwill of the developed
world or philanthropists, but on its
own efforts and scarce resources.
He said without the readiness to put
in special efforts towards achieving the
wellbeing and the common good, the
country’s quest to achieve universal
health coverage and the government’s
agenda of ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ and alleviation
of poverty could not become a
reality.
Dr Nsiah-Asare praised the zeal and
commitment of the Methodist Church
to complement the effort of the government
to provide health infrastructure to
improve access and quality of care to
the people, especially those in rural communities.
He charged health workers to guard
against unethical conduct and behaviour
that tended to drive away clients from
patronizing services at health facilities.
Mr Joseph Atta Amankwaa, Chief
Executive Officer of Methodist Hospitals,
said the second phase of the facility
would include the construction of a
two-storey complex that would house
medical, surgical and pediatric wards.
GNA

WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
News
DAILY HERITAGE DIGITAL WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2020
Save us
• Neoplan Ghana cries to President as it
intends to close down on January 31, 2020
BY PRINCE ESSIEN
NEOPLAN
GHANA Limited,
a bus-manufacturing
company, has
called on President
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo
to intervene to avoid the collapse
of the company.
According to the company, the
Prof. Mills and Mahama's government
never responded to the cries
of Neoplan (Ghana) Limited.
In a statement signed by Mr
Razak Kojo Opoku, who is the
Founder of Concerned Voters
Movement (CVM) and Chief Executive
Officer (CEO) of the
company, said the Akufo-Addo's
government too had not made any
meaningful efforts to revamp the
Neoplan (Ghana) Limited.
“This is very sad, considering
the fact that [the] Government of
Ghana has 55% shares in the company
and is the majority shareholder,
and the remaining 45% is
for a private company known as
Fadoul Group,” he said.
He added that in 2002, President
Kufuor's government contracted
Neoplan (Ghana) Limited
to build 450 DAF/VDL buses for
Metro Mass Transit. This contract
ended in July 2010 and Neoplan
(Ghana) Limited has since not
gotten any contracts from successive
governments.
The Neoplan (Ghana) Limited,
which is a bus manufacturing company
and has been in an existence
since 1974.
Mr Opoku said since its establishment
in 1974, the company has
made history in producing over
4,000 buses for government institutions,
universities, the Metro
Mass Transit (MMT) company,
GPRTU and private
individuals/companies.
Closure of the company
The CEO referred to an internal
memo from Neoplan (Ghana)
Limited dated 15/01/2020, a copy
of which is in the possession of
CVM, saying it indicated that the
company would officially close
down all its branches on January
31, 2020.
“The closure is largely due to
the lack of support and contracts
from the Government, which is
the majority shareholder, as well as
recurring monthly losses, he said.
He added that once the closure
took effect, all employment contracts
with Neoplan (Ghana) Limited
would be terminated January
31, 2020.
He said further that President
Akufo-Addo is constantly looking
for employment opportunities for
young people and that Ghana's
biggest issue is jobs for young
people. On this basis, President
Akufo-Addo has no choice but to
see the revamping of Neoplan
(Ghana) Limited.
“We are urging President
Akufo-Addo to intervene and save
the collapsing Neoplan (Ghana)
Limited since his appointees at the
Transport Ministry have failed
woefully to support the company,”
he said.
Mr Opoku also said the government
has an obligation towards
Ghanaians and so it could not
continue to rely on the importation
of Chinese, Korea and Indian
buses at the detriment of Neoplan
(Ghana) Limited, a 55% government-owned
company.
“This is absolutely unacceptable,”
he said.
Minister’s comment
Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister
of Trade and Industry says the
government is ready to intervene
to avoid the collapse of Neoplan
Ghana Limited.
Carlos Ahenkorah said, “Let
me say on authority, it’s not government’s
desire to see Neoplan
collapse. It has been one of the
flagship companies of Ghana.”
“The Ministry of Trade and
Industry is also prepared to capture
them in the Auto policy and
let them have the full benefit of
whatever incentive we have within
this concept.”
SHSs risk closure over
lack of funds, food?
BY KOJO ANSAH
16 Obregyima residents
arrested over land violence
BY KOJO ANSAH
AT LEAST 16 residents of Obregyima, a
community near Teacher-Mante in the
Eastern Region, have been arrested by the
police in a Tuesday dawn swoop.
They were arrested for allegedly attacking
and injuring a pay-loader operator and
causing damage to the tyres of the machine.
The Public Relations Officer of the
Eastern Regional Police Command, DSP
Ebenezer Tetteh, confirmed the arrests to
Starr News.
There has been tension in the Obregyima
community between residents, predominantly
peasant farmers, and a
developer claiming ownership of many
hectares of land the farmers have been
cultivating.
The complainant, Eddie Francis, 27,
the pay-loader operator, said on January
24, 2020 he rushed to the Teacher Mante
police post with a cut on the forehead to
report that on the same day, about 10:30
a.m., while grading a parcel of land for
one William Asante Agyekum Acquah, a
mob numbering about 20, went on rampage,
attacked him and caused injury to his
forehead.
He said the rampaging residents also
caused damage to three tyres of his payloader.
The police issued a medical form for
his treatment
Background
Residents of Obregyima in the
Nsawam Adoagyir Municipality last week
agitated against the destruction of their
farmlands by a developer who had come
to the community with armed men.
Many hectares of farmlands have been
graded, destroying crops and fruits planted
by the farmers without any negotiation.
Some of the affected farmers said their
orange, pawpaw, plantain, and cassava
among other crops nearing harvesting had
been destroyed.
The farmers claimed the lands were
bought by their forefathers hundreds of
years ago and that they have documentation
to that effect.
However, the owners of the land at the
centre of agitations say the residents have
no right to protest because the land does
not belong to them.
Mr. Kojo Aquah, who is the secretary
to the Oyoko Family of Odumasi, which
owns the land, says the family gave instructions
for the land to be graded after
giving the residents several notices of eviction.
• Some SHS students
SENIOR HIGH Schools in the
country risk closure over lack of
funds and shortage of food.
Funds have not been disbursed
to the schools since the beginning
of the 2019/2020 academic year, a
situation affecting the smooth running
of the schools.
Starr News checks in the Eastern
Region reveal most schools
have run out of food.
Some headmasters who spoke
to Starr News on the condition of
anonymity described the situation
as “terrible”. One of them noted,
“I had to feed students from my
pocket last week and this week”.
Another Headmaster lamented
that ”As we speak now, all first
years, Green 2nd years and SHS 3
students are all in school but nothing
has been paid as at now”.
The Education Ministry on January
8, 2020, assured the senior
high schools would receive their
funds for the academic year within
10 days.
It was after the Conference of
Heads of Assisted Secondary
School (CHASS) had served notice
that schools were struggling to operate
and that they could not endure
beyond January 22, 2020
without funding.
Starr News checks indicate
funds have still not been disbursed
to the schools almost three weeks
into the academic year.
Leadership of CHASS has notified
the Ghana Education Service
over the likelihood of closing down
the schools.
However, the Director-General
of Ghana Education Service has
pleaded with Executives of CHASS
to exercise restraint, saying efforts
were underway to disburse the
funds by Friday, January 31, 2020.
But Executives of CHASS have
directed its members to inform
their District, Municipal and Metropolitan
Directors of Education to
know the situation in their respective
schools and the number of
days they can sustain running the
schools so they impress upon the
Regional Directors for advice.
A total of 1.2 million students
are currently in senior high schools
across the country under the Free
Senior High School Policy implemented
since 2017. The government
says the Policy has increased
SHS enrollment by 69%.
However, the exponential increase
in enrolment has led to infrastructure
and logistical challenges
which the government says it is addressing.
An NGO, Voluntary Partnerships
for West Africa, recently
called on the government to facilitate
measures aimed at addressing
challenges of the free SHS policy
to ensure that the policy achieves its
intended objective.
This follows research conducted
in a total of 37 SHSs in the Eastern
and Ashanti regions by the NGO,
which revealed delays in release of
funds, inadequate infrastructure, increased
workload of teachers, delay
in food supplies and difficulty in
controlling students as major challenges
affecting the policy.

WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
06
DAILY HERITAGE DIGITAL WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2020
Editorial
We need to stem pranks on emergency services
AT the Black Star Square in Accra
on Tuesday, January 28, 2020,
President Nana Addo Dankwa
Akufo-Addo addressed a ceremony
to distribute 307 ambulances to the
275 constituencies in the country
under his Government’s flagship
programme, “One Constituency,
One Ambulance”.
The Minister for Health, Kwaku
Agyeman-Manu and the Chief
Executive Officer of the National
Ambulance Service (NAS),
Professor Ahmed Nuhu Zakariah,
spoke about the benefits of the
ambulance service in the country.
The DAILY HERITAGE
wishes to concentrate on the
President’s appeal to the citizenry
not to abuse the ambulance service.
President Akufo-Addo said
information available to him
indicates that some citizens have
been misusing the emergency
service number, a development he
says could in itself put the lives of
other members of the citizenry at
risk.
“I will appeal that this
improvement in the provision of
emergency services were not
abused. We are told that 90% of
calls made to the providers of
emergency services are usually
prank calls. This is not right as it
only endangers the life of
Ghanaians in need,” President
Akufo-Addo stated.
Ghanaians take certain serious
matters as without thinking of
hurting others interms of their
health, time, integrity, reputation
and the like.
Sometimes when trotro drivers
are soliciting passengers while
conveying others to various
destinations, including workplaces,
others would flag the drivers to stop
only to jokingly mention even a
destination not on the route or say
they are waiting for relatives or
friends to join them before they can
make the journey.
While talking about the pranks,
we should not forget drivers who
obstruct the movement of
ambulances.
The DAILY HERITAGE can
say that most Ghanaians do not care
about emergencies, so while we
would like to join the President’s
appeal or caution and call further
for constant education, we want to
add that if we do not already have
no law on pranks and obstruction
with regard to emergency services,
then Parliament should enact some
now to stem disasters relating to
emergency services.
Demolition of 3-bedroom apartment
Estate developer grilled
• READ FROM PAGE 2
On the issue of whether the property
was sold to the plaintiff at $200,000 as
suggested by plaintiff counsel, the defendant
claimed that it was instead sold for
$150, 000.
“A receipt of convenience was issued
to Ghana Home Loans for my friend to
be able to qualify for mortgage procurement
from Ghana Home Loans, because
during the application process, even
though he had a higher income, his total
indebtedness to other financial institutions
in the UK could not qualify him for the
mortgage, so I was compelled to come out
with the receipt of convenience by adding
or inflating the price from $150,000 to
$200, 000 dollars,” the defendants alleged
in court.
However, counsel for the plaintiff drew
the court’s attention to the surprise elements
the defendant was introducing in
his response to the questions, but after
being back-and-forth with the court, it
was suggested that such concerns should
be raised in his final address to court.
• Says I forgot actual receipt
•Alex Dautey, CEO of AD Construction Ltd
The defendant went on to state that he
“issued a receipt of $140 000 even though
as at that time, he (plaintiff) had paid me
(defendant) only $101,000. The plaintiff
paid $1.00 cash deposit and $100, 000 by
bank transfer into my account.”
I forgot
At this point, counsel for the plaintiff
suggested to the defendant that the plaintiff
did not take any receipt of convenience
from him the (defendant), and he
responded in the affirmative.
“He didn't take that receipt of convenience
for the $200, 000, because he (plaintiff)
is in London and I was in Accra to do
the closing process. I issued actual receipt
to plaintiff for the $101,000 but “I forget
to give it to my lawyer, I don't know if I
would be allowed to tender it.”
Offer letter
On the issue of Exhibit A, which
touches on the offer letter in respect of
the property, the defendant said it “was
the inflated letter I gave to the Ghana
Home Loans”, adding that “If you look at
exhibit A, it has not been signed by plaintiff,
because I didn't it on my own to facilitate
the approval of the mortgage for my
friend, the plaintiff.
Asked to tell the court who signed the
said offer letter, he said, “I signed as the
CEO of the defendant company. I'm surprised
we are dwelling on only this and
not the contract signed and I went together
with the receipt of convenience to
the bank without the consent of the plaintiff.
He told the court that the plaintiff was
“aware of this only after I secured the
mortgage and I sent the mortgage document
for him (plaintiff) to sign in London
and that is why this signature is not on the
contract documents.”
It was the case of counsel of plaintiff
that the offer letter was not supposed to
be signed by the plaintiff and that the defendant
manufactured certain documents
“for the purposes of this case.”
Cross-examination continues today,
Januar y 29, 2020.

WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
Politics
DAILY HERITAGE DIGITAL WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2020
NPP primaries:
Suame chiefs back Majority
leader for more terms
• Majority Leader and Member of Parliament for
Suame, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu
THE CHIEFS in Suame
Constituency in the
Ashanti Region have
declared their support
for the incumbent
Member of Parliament (MP) and
Majority Leader in Parliament, Mr
Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, ahead of
the upcoming parliamentary primaries
of the ruling New Patriotic
Party (NPP).
The chiefs, led by Kwaprahene
Baffour Adugyemfi Kumani, have
called on the delegates of the constituency
to allow Mr Bonsu to contest
unopposed in the Suame NPP
parliamentary primaries.
“Chiefs and elders, we’ve invited
you here for a brief discussion. For
over 20 years, we have sent our own
native Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu to Parliament
and he has done so
much for us. His respect for the
chiefs and elders and even the
young ones is admirable. Because
of his good behaviour and
hard work, we the chiefs are backing
him for another term. So we
are kindly appealing to all eligible
voters to support Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu,”
Kwaprahene Kumani
said.
According to Nana Kwaprahene,
the MP has done well for
the people and achieved a lot for
the constituency.
The chiefs are appealing to the
youth who are campaigning
against the MP to stop such activity
in the constituency and offer
their support to the MP to complete
the good projects he had initiated
in the constituency.
Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has been in
parliament for the past 24 years and
he is seeking another term.
SONY affirms ‘long term’ commitment
to African music, artistes
SONY MUSIC Entertainment, the
first global music company to
launch an African division, has affirmed
its “long term” commitment
to supporting African music and the
craft of African artistes.
The American corporation is allaying
the concerns of stakeholders
about what is said to be the exploitation
of the global trending appeal of
Afrobeats by labels leading to
artistes not benefitting financially
from their works or having their creative
abilities stifled.
“We’re here to make genuine relationships
with artistes that we genuinely
like so we can elevate their
sound long-term. Not just sign
them, have them put out a couple of
things, and see what happens. That
doesn’t make sense,” asserted Kayla
Jackson, Marketing Rep. of RCA
Records, a subsidiary of SONY
Music Entertainment, in an interview
with livefmghana.com.
“With RCA (Records), what we
do is, we talk to the artiste, we listen
to what they want to do creatively
and our job is to elevate that. Not to
change it but to listen to it, elevate it;
bring it to the next level – with creative
ideas, marketing, sound, collaborations
and all that. The reason
why we pick artistes is because we
like what they are doing already so
we’re not here to change anything.”
As a show of their commitment,
the first-ever SONY Music event in
West Africa was held in Accra,
Ghana on December 31, 2019 at
The Woods Lounge, Osu.
The event
Livefmghana.com is informed
it is the first stage of plans by the
world’s second largest music
company to set up a world-class
studio, and also sign music talents
in Ghana.
The event put together by
SONY Music in conjunction with
RCA Records, Amazon Music,
SONY Music West Africa,
Melanin Unscripted and Columbia
UK served as a platform to
“open up a dialogue between the
local and international community
about the globalization of
African music.”
Ghanaian singer and songwriter,
Amaa Rae, moderated the
‘Africa to the World: A Conversation
About Breaking African
Music Globally’ panel, which featured
Ghanaian-American music
and culture editor, Stephanie Smith-
Strickland, Ghanaian director David
Nicol-Sey, Lanre Masha, General
Manager, Music & Editorial,
TRACE West Africa, Danai
Mavunga, Artist Manager and PR
Specialist, Digital Marketing Specialist
Dimplez Ijeoma and Tunji Balogun,
Executive Vice President, A &
R, RCA Records.
With decades of experiences to
their names, the panellists discussed
the future of African music’s global
presence – conversations surrounding
the music industry within the
digital age, the next frontier of
African music and how labels can
integrate the unique African market
• From right: Director David Nicol-Sey, Music and culture editor, Stephanie
Smith-Strickland, Danai Mavunga, Artist Manager and PR Specialist, Singer
& writer, Amaa Rae, Lanre Masha, General Manager, Music & Editorial,
TRACE West Africa, Digital Marketing Specialist DimplezIjeoma and
TunjiBalogun, Executive vice president, A & R, RCA Records.
to genuinely support the growth of
the African music movement.
Davido spoke about the roles
RCA Records and Columbia UK
had played to ensure his rising-profile
on the global music stage during
a question and answer session with
MC Kojo Manuel.
Ghanaian streetwear label, ‘Free
The Youth’, created exclusive
SONY Music and friends merchandise
for the event, and also
customized shirts for attendees.
“This is access that people
don’t always get but what you
take from this is that ‘okay, there
is a structure you can learn
from.’ We need to build our own
community. We need to have our
own conversations for evolution
to take place. A lot of it is lack
of information and I think once
that gap is bridged, then comes
action and through action you
build community,” stated Nigerian-American
multi-hyphenate,
Amarachi Nwosu, curator of the
event and founder of media
agency, Melanin Unscripted,
about the event.

DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2020
I’ll make difficult
decisions
• Black Stars coach CK Akonnor
NEW GHANA coach Charles
K Akonnor believes he is ready
for the challenge of leading the
West Africans back to higher
heights.
The former Black Stars and
Wolfsburg captain was named
head coach of the senior national
team earlier this month, replacing
James Kwasi Appiah, whose contract
expired at the end of 2019.
"I've worked under a lot of
pressure at very strong local
teams and it's always gone well.
Once you are dedicated and passionate,
it can be done," Akonnor,
who had coached Hearts of
Oak, Asante Kotoko and Ashanti
Gold, said in his first interview
with the GFA media.
"I've coached very demanding
teams so I should be ready for
what's to come. I have to be
clever with the decisions I make.
I know a lot of people would
talk. I am a good listener but I
would make strong decisions
too."
Akonnor has been tasked to
end Ghana's wait for a first
Africa Cup of Nations title since
1982 as well as qualifying the
Black Stars for the 2022 World
Cup, having missed out on the
2018 mundial.
"I know that there is the situation
when some players have
been looked down on. It would
change," Akonnor added.
"Beyond the skill and talent,
they must show commitment. We
need a united front, proper teamwork
and that would take us a
long way. I've come a long way
and I would continue to be myself."
Akonnor's first assignment
will be to lead Ghana into a 2021
AFCON qualifying doubleheader
against Sudan in March.
•Black Stars coach CK Akonnor
Kwasi Appiah
misses Sudan job
FORMER GHANA coach
Kwesi Appiah has missed out on
becoming the head coach of
Sudan after the Sudan Football
Association make final shortlist.
The Sudan football governing
body has shortlisted Belgian
trainer Ronny Van Geneugden
and Frenchman Hubert Velud
for the vacant role.
In the next 48 hours, one of
the shortlisted coaches will be
• James Kwasi Appiah
named the new head coach of
Sudan replacing Zdravko Logarusic
whose contract wasn't renewed
after its expiration in
December 2019.
The 59-year-old was in advanced
negotiations with the
Sudan Football Association over
a possible takeover of the vacant
national team job.
GHANAsoccernet.com understands
the demands of the
former Black
Stars gaffer
was too high
for the Sudan
Football Association
who
have opted
for one of
the Belgian
and Frenchman.
The Football
Association
preferred
Appiah for
the job following
his
successful
spell at Al
Khartoum
Watani SC
from 2014
to 2017.
Hearts of Oak pocket GH¢361,449
of records proceeds
HEARTS OF Oak lost 50%
of the record gate proceeds
grossed from the Ghana
Premier League derby
against Asante Kotoko to
deductions.
The Phobians took home
GHC 361,449 after the accounting
had been done.
National Sports Authority
spokesperson Charles
Amofa confirmed tickets
sold for the Super Clash at
the Accra Sports Stadium on
Sunday raked in a record
GHc724,446 (US$ 130,000).
But that amount shrank
after several deductions including
VAT (Value Added
Tax).
Also, the National Sports
Authority took home
GHc80,000 and GHC
51,000 was paid to the
Ghana Football Association.
Earlier a gross figure of
GHc726, 380 had been reported
but that has been debunked.
• Hearts and Kotoko players
National Sports
Authority spokesperson
Charles Amofa
confirmed tickets sold
for the Super Clash at
the Accra Sports
Stadium on Sunday
raked in a record
GHc724,446 (US$
130,000).