March 26

DIGITAL NO. 100852 THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2020
DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
• Peter Bismark,
President of ILAPI Ghana
• Jean Mensa, EC boss
•Enoch Kwasi
Gyetuah,
Executive
Director of
GNACOPS
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CONTENT
ANNIVERSARIES
Good Friday — Fri, 10 Apr 2020
Easter Monday — Mon, 13 Apr 2020
Labour Day — Fri, 1 May 2020
DAILY HERITAGE THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2020
Published by: EIB
Network / Heritage
Communications Ltd.
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www.dailyheritage.com.gh
New voters’ register
EC suspends
registration
THE ELECTORAL Commission
(EC) has postponed
its intended
compilation of a new voter
register as a result of the
novel coronavirus pandemic.
Dr. Serebour Quaicoe, Director of
Electoral Services, told journalists after
an Inter-Party Advisory Committee
meeting yesterday that the outfit was
collaborating with health experts to decide
on a more favourable date.
“We had planned to do the registration
on the 18th April but because of
the pandemic, we can't do it on the
18th, so, we are observing what is happening
around Ghana and the global
...so, when it gets to a time that we
think the situation is fertile for us to
commence with the registration, then
we can do it," she explained.
The IPAC meeting was organised in
two sets. This was in compliance with
the social distancing directive from
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-
Addo as part of measures to curb the
spread of coronavirus in the country.
The compilation of a new voter register
for the 2020 elections was scheduled
to begin on April 18, this year. The
Commission had also expressed hope it
would complete the exercise by May 30,
2020.
The exercise, which has been assigned
a budget of GHS 390 million,
faced opposition from some political
parties and civil society organisations.
The Inter-Party Resistance Against
the New Voters Register, a coalition of
six political parties, kicked against the
plan, citing cost, time and credibility as
the basis for its opposition.
Regardless, Dr. Serebour Quaicoe
justified the plan.
She said: “We have made it very clear
• Jean Mensah, EC boss
that the current biometric system is not
good enough for future activities. We
are having a lot of challenges with it. In
addition to that, a lot of people have
found it difficult to have their fingerprints
picked up by the machine so we
intend to introduce the facial recognition
[option] in addition so that if your
: “We have made it very
clear that the current
biometric system is not
good enough for future
activities. We are
having a lot of
challenges with it. In
addition to that, a lot of
people have found it
difficult to have their
fingerprints picked up
by the machine so we
intend to introduce the
facial recognition
[option] in addition so
that if your fingerprint
fails, your image will be
used for verification.”
fingerprint fails, your image will be used
for verification.”
Ghana, as of the time of going to
press, had recorded 68 cases with three
deaths.

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DAILY HERITAGE THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2020
03
GH¢15b needed for
national lockdown
BY PHILIP ANTOH
philip.antoh@dailyheritage.com
THE PRESIDENT for
Institute of Liberty and
Policy Innovation
(ILAPI), Mr Peter Bismark,
has stated that
Ghana requires GH 15 billion for
28 days’ total lockdown to sustain
the economy and protect the lives of
its citizens.
He said those who are calling for
a total lockdown should note that
that was not the best option for
Ghana because should that happen,
a stimulus package of over GH 15
billion would be needed for a 28-day
lockdown.
“If it happens like that, it means
that registered businesses and firms
would have to shut down operations
with employees going home, and go
with salaries,” he said.
The president of ILAPI said the
government would still have to ensure
the continuation of salaries of
public sector employment and provision
of basic needs and other
services, including electricity, essential
services, water and food.
Mr Bismark said this in a release
from the institute yesterday.
He said the informal economy
would suffer from the lockdown because
of loss of daily sales and income.
The sector, he said, may not
directly benefit from the emergency
financial response but would reduce
individual income and purchasing
power.
• For one month, Institute of Liberty
and Policy Innovation reveals
According to him, since Ghana’s economy
thrives on small and medium-scale enterprises,
the government must spend more
to support local businesses with some tax
rebates, financial reliefs, refunds and social
assistance.
•Peter Bismark, President of ILAPI Ghana
Total lockdown
“As the market activities continue to
drop and many Ghanaians are calling for a
total lockdown, foward-looking fiscal and
monetary measures are necessary to save
the economy from impacts of the coronavirus
pandemic,” he stated
Mr Bismark said the exponential growth
of the number of cases is already causing a
progressive lockdown.
“With this development, businesses
would close and physical activities would
cease. Because of inexplicable barriers that
the coronavirus crisis brings, people may be
prevented from doing useful things for income
and wealth creation.”
He stated that in the process, businesses
must be compensated and this would call
for both critical fiscal and monetary measures.
“With a total lockdown, certain goods
and services that people would otherwise
buy and enjoy will be off limit. It does not
mean, however, that one would have
stopped eating; instead, you make your food
at home and due to this Ghanaians may
now spend more money on other things,”
the ILAPI boss stated.
He said switching from consumption to
saving might be impossible at this time because
the situation would encourage people
to spend rather than save.
Mr Bismark said making readily available
the package was important for private sector
planning of business sustainability and
job security in this COVID-19 pandemic.
He added that the critical areas to consider
include businesses,
jobs, internet connectivity,
transport, fuel, tax
compliance, raw materials,
manufacturing , rent,
health care, agriculture,
security, utilities and occupational
licenses.
Measures
The Vice-President
of ILAPI, Mr Evans
Badu Boampong, said
the government must
meet all the relevant
business associations,
including the manufacturing
firms, to deliberate
consciously on
production capacity and
job loss.
He said insurance
companies could not
remain same with our
insurance premiums
during lockdowns so the government again
must meet the Insurance Commission as
early as possible to make readily available
partial payment to their clients to support
them in times of the panic.
“They should also provide exclusive premiums
to their clients to support government
health interventions,” Mr Boampong
said.
He said salaries of workers should not
be subjected to full tax deductions, suggesting
that at least 50% tax refund should be
given workers while Ghana Water Company
should consider opening taps for those who
are even owing bills to ensure there is free
flow of water to aid hand washing.
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture,
through the Buffer Food Stock, Mr Boampong
said, should develop an outline system
to supply food to underprivileged homes
and also support companies in Ghana (both
local and foreign) to change their structure
of production to produce some essential
goods to avoid shortages during the lockdown,”
he stated.
Mr Boampong said Ghana Grid Company
Limited, Volta River Authority and
Electricity Company of Ghana must ensure
there was continuous supply of power since
most institutions would be working from
home and that tariffs should be reduced.
He said there are people who don't even
have a place to get locked inside, adding
Ghana has a housing deficit of over 1.5 million.
Therefore, the government must advance
plans to shelter some millions of
Ghanaians in hotels, motels, and guest
houses among others.
“As a policy analysis organisation, we
make these proposals based on a careful
study of other nations which have implemented
lockdowns due to COVID19. And
we believe that these measures should suffice,
though not completely, in helping manage
the situation of a lockdown,” Mr
Boampong said.

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DAILY HERITAGE DIGITAL MARCH 26, 2020
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IMF to evaluate Ghana’s $100m
request for COVID-19 fight
BY KOBINA WELSING
THE INTERNA-
TIONAL Monetary
Fund (IMF) is yet to
evaluate Ghana’s request
for Rapid
Credit Facility disbursement
to help fight the coronavirus.
Ghana made the 100-million
dollar request last week as part of
efforts by President Nana Addo
Dankwa Akufo-Addo to raise
money to fight the deadly coronavirus
disease.
The Finance Minister, Mr
Ofori-Atta, disclosed to Parliament
last week that Ghana had applied
to the World Bank to tap into a
$12-billion fast-track Covid-19 facility
and the IMF’s $10-billion facility
to address the deadly virus.
A statement by the IMF’s
African Department Director,
Abebe Aemro Selassie, on Tuesday
said “Last week, the IMF received
Ghana’s request for a disbursement
under the Rapid Credit Facility
to help the country address the
economic impact of the COVID-
19 pandemic.
“We are working hard to evaluate
the authorities’ request and
bring it forward for Executive
Board consideration as soon as
possible.”
Ghana has so far recorded 68
cases of COVID-19 with three
deaths.
The latest cases were recorded
from tests conducted on people
who arrived in Ghana on Sunday
and were mandatorily quarantined
by the government.
According to the Health Minister,
1030 people were mandatorily
quarantined after they arrived in
the country on Sunday and Monday.
Samples were taken from 611
people and out of that number185
•Some immigration officers at
Kotoka International Airport
of the samples were tested out of
which 26 tested positive for
COVID-19. More tests are still
being carried out according to the
Mr Agyeman Manu.
Globally, 423,469 people have
been infected with 18,909 deaths
and 109,153people having fully recovered.
China, Italy, USA, Spain, Germany
and the UK are the worst-hit
countries in the world with South
Africa and Egypt the hardest-hit
countries on the African continent.
All social gatherings have been
banned by the President with
Ghana’s borders also closed to
traffic. People arriving in the country
were locked for a 14-day
mandatory quarantine.
&Env.
Socialist Forum calls for
random mass
coronavirus testing
THE SOCIALIST
Forum of Ghana
(SFG) has called on
the government to
establish a regime
of random mass
testing and use school buildings,
hospitals and health facilities that
have not yet been commissioned
to serve as quarantine centres.
A statement from the SFG,
signed by Mr Blaise Tulo, the
Convener of the Group, and
copied to the Ghana News
Agency said the current situation
also required the total mobilization
of all sections of the Ghanaian
society to carry out relief
operations and intensify public
The Group also recommended an
immediate and unconditional lockdown
as the only effective means of
combatting the virus, given the fact
that other options like getting more
qualified health personnel and improving
the stock of hospital beds
were not currently available and
“any further delay would be detrimental
to the health of Ghana.”
education.
The Group also recommended
an immediate and unconditional
lockdown as the only effective
means of combatting the virus,
given the fact that other options
like getting more qualified health
personnel and improving the
stock of hospital beds were not
currently available and “any further
delay would be detrimental to
the health of Ghana.”
“The spread of the COVID-
19 should open our eyes to the reality
that health care cannot be
treated as a commodity, which can
be made available to only those
who can afford [it]. Healthcare
ought to be seen properly as a social
service, which ought to be accessible
to all citizens. The
socialization of health care is a
task, which cannot be ignored any
longer,” the statement said.
It said due to the pandemic,
the leadership of SFG on Monday,
March 23, 2020, suspended
all its activities, including cultural
events, public fora and film
shows.
The statement urged all members
to strictly follow the prescriptions
of the scientific
community on how to deal with
the pandemic.

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NEWS
DAILY HERITAGE DIGITAL MARCH 26, 2020
Security agencies join Local Govt Ministry
• To tidy up Agbogloshie market.
SECURITY AGEN-
CIES, in collaboration
with the Ministry of
Local Government and
Rural Development,
have embarked on a
clean-up exercise at the Agbogloshie
market in Accra in the
Greater Accra Region.
The clean-up exercise comes
after about 137 markets across
the region were disinfected.
The Deputy Minister for Local
Government and Rural Development,
Hon.O.B Amoah, told the
media that it was the dream of the
government to clean and maintain
sanity in our various market centres.
He said while the disinfection
exercise was going on, authorities
noticed how filthy the market
places were and decided to embark
on the clean-up exercise.
He noted that "this exercise
won’t end here as many measures
are put in place to keep our various
market centers clean to protect
the market women from any
outbreak".
Touching on the disinfection
exercise, he said the exercise
which was carried out by the government
through the Ministry of
Local Government and Rural Development
in collaboration with
security agencies became successful.
He said it would soon be extended
to all the regions "as it
forms part of the government's
measures to prevent the spread of
the COVID-19 in market centres.
•Soldiers and the general public joined in cleaning of the gutters instead
• E/R:
2 Commit suicide
BY KOJO ANSAH, K’DUA
TWO PERSONS have committed
suicide by hanging in
separate incidents in Akyem
Agyapomaa and Koforidua,
both in the Eastern Region.
Bodies of both persons have
been deposited at the morgue.
The first incident happened
on Tuesday, March 24, 2020, at
Akyem Agyapomaa, a community
near Akyem Asafo in the
Abuakwa South Municipality,
where a 40-year-old illegal
miner, Ben Akotsa, was found
hanging in his room.
Akotsa was dressed in a
black pullover and a pair of
pink shorts is allegedly said to
have hanged himself with a
blue nylon rope having stood
on a chair.
Preliminary investigation by
the police has revealed that
Akotsa was a driver in Accra
but moved to the family house
at Agyapomaa about two years
ago, where he engaged in illegal
mining but about a month
ago, he returned from work at
a galamsey site at Kyebi and
complained of pains in the
legs.
Subsequently, he developed
a big sore on the left leg and
was undergoing treatment at
Maryland Clinic at Akim
Asafo. His body has been deposited
at the Suhum Government
Hospital Morgue.
The second incident occurred
yesterday, March 25,
2020, at Kenkey Factory, a suburb
of Koforidua.
A man identified only as
Edem was found hanging in a
plantain farm.
A witness told Starr News
that, “this morning, while returning
home after I had gone
to look for a carpenter I was
expecting to come to my house
to work, I saw a white object in
a banana farm. I gazed at the
object well and noticed it was a
human being.
“I made some few steps
closer and saw that the person
had hanged himself, so I went
to tell my father and we both
rushed to the police station to
inform the police. So the Police
came to take the body. The
person is not known in this
area.”
The Public Relations Officer
of the Eastern Regional
Police Command, DSP
Ebenezer Tetteh, told Starr
News investigations in
)• Covid-19:
Soldier’s wife
passes on
And increases Ghana’s death toll to 3
THE THIRD person that has
died from the coronavirus disease,
according to Starrfm.com.gh
sources, is a wife of a Rear Admiral
in the Ghana Armed Forces.
She died at the isolation centre at
the 37 military hospital in Accra
Wednesday.
The latest death comes as
Ghana’s COVID-19 cases jumps
to 68 as at Wednesday, March 25,
according to the Ghana Health
Service (GHS).
According to the GHS, the
sudden spike in case incidence is
as a result of the mandatory quarantine
and compulsory testing for
all travellers entering Ghana, as
directed by the president.
Overall, 30 of the 68 cases
have been reported in the general
population with the remaining 38
cases being among persons currently
under mandatory quarantine.
As of 24 March, a total of
1030 people were under mandatory
quarantine and samples from
863 of them have been tested and
38 confirmed positive.
Globally, 423,469 people have
been infected with 18,909 deaths
and 109,153 people having fully
recovered.
China, Italy, USA, Spain, Germany
and the UK are the worsthit
countries in the world with
South Africa and Egypt the hardest-hit
countries on the African
continent.
All social gatherings have been
banned by the President with
Ghana’s borders also closed to
traffic. People arriving in the
country have locked for a 14-day
mandatory quarantine.
According to the
GHS, the sudden
spike in case incidence
is as a
result of the
mandatory quarantine
and compulsory
testing
for all travellers
entering Ghana,
as directed by
the president.

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06
DAILY HERITAGE THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2020
Editorial
The Almighty is not coronavirus God
YESTERDAY, the nation responded
to a national day of fasting and
prayer to ask God, our Creator, to
visit the people in the face of the
coronavirus disease, otherwise
known as Covid-19, to heal those
who have contracted it and raise a
hedge around the rest of the people
to protect them from catching the
disease.
The theme for the occasion was
taken from the biblical book of
2Chronicles 7:14, and there we hear
the Almighty saying: “If my people,
which are called by my name, shall
humble themselves, and pray, and
seek my face, and turn from their
wicked ways; then I will hear from
heaven, and will forgive their sin, and
will heal their land.” (KJV of the
Holy Bible).
Whoever birthed the idea of a national
day of fasting and prayer deserves
the commendation of those
who know God as their God not
only in times of crises but most importantly
when all is well.
The DAILY HERITAGE believes
that our God would answer
yesterday’s prayers because just like
the days of Sodom and Gomorrah,
He would do so for the sake of a
number of people, His children,
those who abide by the above-quoted
scripture, not those who are running
to Him now and go back to do things
that shock God Himself because
they are things that do not cross His
mind (Jeremiah 19:5).
The theme scripture is loaded with
pieces of admonition that speak volumes
to us. Are we humble to God
and everyone or we do so selectively?
How often do we pray? People who
pray often are quietly telling God that
“every moment we pray, we are saying
we can’t do it with our own
strength and that it is on Your word
we depend.” Do we, as individual
Ghanaians, seek the face of God in
what we do such that we can say “Father,
Thy will be done in this affair
of mine? Definitely not, otherwise
there will be no wickedness on our
land.
Yes, not all Ghanaians are wicked
but everyone knows that there are
many wicked acts that go unreported
for various reasons and even those
which are reported, most of the victims
do not get justice. Think about
public sector workers who inflate figures
to swindle the nation of her resources
into private pockets, all the
nonsense we indulge in in the name
of human rights, the unbridled vituperation
and lies poured out there
against political opponents etc. The
list is unending and all these are
wickedness and works of the flesh
which satisfy some humans but are
great abomination to God Almighty.
Check Galatians 5:19 – 26.
An American Congressman,
Randy Weber, representing Texas,
while praying at a national programme,
confessed the sins of the
American state and asked for forgiveness
for the nation from God
Almighty and he did so crying. When
are we going to confess our sins and
abandon them.
The Italian Prime Minister,
Giuseppe Conte, too, amid cries, has
asked God to come to the rescue of
the Italian people in the trying times
of the deadly Covid-19.
The DAILY HERITAGE
does not intend to pontificate but remind
all those who express occasional
faith in that God is not
mocked and He sometimes laughs at
those who think they are independent
of Him or smarter than Him and
so do their own things and get into
trouble. (Psalms 2:4).
All that the DAILY HER-
ITAGE is saying is that we should
henceforth seek the Almighty in all
that we do and not wait and get into
trouble before we do so.
The LORD has surely heard the
prayer of His children and He would
surely heal our land.
GNACOPS petitions government
BY PHILIP ANTOH
philip.antoh@dailyheritage.com.gh
THE GHANA National Council
of Private Schools (GNA-
COPS) has stated that the
closure of private schools in
the country has impacted negatively
on them as most of the schools are
sinking in debt.
According to the council, majority of
these schools took loan facilities to operate
and recoup and pay their debt but now that
the schools have been closed, the creditors
and banks loans will begin to hunt them.
In an interview the DAILY HER-
ITAGE yesterday, the Executive Driector
of GNACOPS, Mr Enoch Kwasi Gyetuah,
said the President Nana Addo Dankwa
Akufo-Addo’s directive to close down
schools as a measure to contain the spread
of Covid-19 has had a ripple effect on private
scools
“The Council, having directed private
schools to adhere to the school closure di-
• Over closure of private schools
•Enoch KwasiGyetuah, Executive
Director of GNACOPS
rective, would like to show our appreciation
to all private school operators and managers
for the bold decision taken to stem
the tide of this pandemic, as we re-assure
all private schools of the council’s full support,”
Mr Gyetuah stated.
He said the Research Directorate of the
council had reviewed the closure of
schools, which they support, and “have
found that it has impacted negatively on
the finances of private schools whose incomes
are dependent on fee payments by
parents and loans from the financial institutions.”
“As most parents were unable to settle
the full fees before the closure, private
schools now face challenges in meeting
their financial obligations to the over
400,000 employees in terms of salaries,
payment of Social Security and National
Insurance Trust (SSNIT) contributions,
Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) taxes and
loan repayments to banks,” Mr Gyetuah
said.
He said on Monday, March 23, 2020, the
council submitted a petition to the government
of Ghana, through the Office of the
President, calling for help to cushion private
schools from the effects of the closure
of schools and ensure their sustainability.
The Executive Director said private
school education accounts for over 30% of
school children in the country and therefore
had proposed to the government to
consider the following: suspend SSNIT and
GRA contributions till one month after
schools re-opening; provde loans at reasonable
rates and repayment periods to distressed
private schools to pay salaries of
their staff; and suspend all bank loan repayments
for distressed schools until a month
after schools re-open.
“It is our trust that our listening government
would respond favourably to our petition,
as these measures will go a long way
to enable private schools to continue supporting
the government’s transformational
agenda for our country’s education,” Mr
Gyetua stated.

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Politics
DAILY HERITAGE MARCH 26, 2020
Mornah fumes over EC’s
IPAC invite to Atik
• Bernard Mornah, PNC Chairman
THE NATIONAL
Chairman of the
People’s National
Convention (PNC)
Chairman, Bernard
Mornah, has accused
the Electoral Commission
(EC) of having a deal with the
suspended General Secretary of
the party, Atik Mohammed.
The EC invited 15 parties for
an IPAC meeting on the compilation
of new electoral register on
Wednesday.
Even though Mr. Mornah is
the regular representative of the
party at IPAC, the EC decided to
send the invitation letter to the
suspended secretary.
Mr Mornah, who stormed the
EC offices, during the meeting,
told the media, “I am the chairman
of the party. Assuming Atik
was not even sacked, would Atik
be representing when the chairman
is there?
“So they went and the police did
right by going to inform the Electoral
Commission that the national
chairman of the party is here and
has raised objection to the fact that
Atik is representing the party. And
the Electoral Commission said they
were coming. It’s now over 15 minutes
and they are coming to talk to
me. To talk to me about what?”
He stressed: “Expel the person
who has impersonated the party or
you are telling me that you will now
harbour the person. I’m saying that
since when has Atik appeared at
IPAC meeting before? All of a sudden
the Electoral Commission and
Atik are in cahoots,” he fumed
He said Atik’s view did not represent
that of the party.
“They should know that whatever
they do, it is at their individual
level, it has nothing to
do with the PNC.”
Meanwhile, Atik says the
reaction of his party’s chairman
to his invitation to the
IPAC meeting is a non-starter
since the chairman knows that
his suspension was illegal.
He also described the boycott
of the meeting by the
NDC as disruptive.
The NDC declined attendance
of the meeting over the
directive by President Nana
Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
on public gathering following
coronavirus outbreak.
The party wants the meeting
to be suspended indefinitely
in compliance with the
directive of the President.
‘Scala’ was a special moment
• King Promise reminisces
BY ERICA ARTHUR
THE ENTIRE world
of entertainment, as
well as other sectors
of the economy, is
on a screeching halt
with the mass threat
of the coronavirus.
This has sort of made available
tons of unused time for which reason
award-winning Ghanaian
singer, King Promise, says he is
using the time to reminisce about a
show he performed earlier this
month at the famous Scala live
event center in London
King Promise, who is currently
on self-quarantine, has halted most
of his events in Europe due to the
virus, says he is not only watching
the highlights of the remarkable
show, but he is also apparently taking
a walk down memory lane as
well.
In a phone interview with the
artist, he recalled that “I have done
several concerts and festivals in the
UK but never headlined. So after
the album dropped, I only felt it
was right to have my first major
headline in the UK since there’s
• King Promise
been a lot of support from there as
well.
“I absolutely did enjoy myself.
There’s nothing I would change
about the day. From the fans' interaction,
the band, and the DJ killing
it, and the vibes were all just perfect.”
He added that he was overwhelmed
when he saw the crowd
chanting his name and singing
along every song he performed.
“As usual, I had the butterflies
in my belly but as soon as I got on
stage, all of that changed. It was a
big moment for me and I had been
dreaming about the day. It was a
special moment for me.”
According to him, it was so satisfying
an event that, “The experience,
the vibes with the fans and
the fact that I actually really enjoyed
myself as much as the fans
made it a successful show. I already
knew we had almost sold out days
before the show but walking onto
the stage with all the lights on and
the auditorium full was a moment I
will cherish for life.
“If I am ever going to do a
show in the UK, I will still use the
same strategy and team, I’ll change
nothing. I will go hard on promotions,
prepare very well and the
only change will be a bigger
venue.”
King Promise currently featured
on Aisha’s single dubbed ‘Lowkey’.
About the Scala concert
Scala plays host to many eclectic
club nights and has featured live
music acts, including Jon Boden,
The Midnight, Smoke Fairies, Shed
Seven, The Libertines, Deftones,
Slaves, Outlandish, London Elektricity,
Coldplay, Tash Sultana, Foo
Fighters, The Killers, Gorillaz, Big
Talk, Moby, HIM, Wheatus, Adam
Ant, Sheryl Crow, Sara Bareilles,
Gavin DeGraw, Ray LaMontagne,
Trampled by Turtles, Doomtree,
Super Furry Animals, The Chemical
Brothers, Avril Lavigne, Enslaved,
Gorgoroth, Lacuna Coil,
Maroon 5, The Script, Melanie C,
KLOQ, Gabrielle Aplin, Bastille,
Wolf Alice, JAWS, Kaiser Chiefs,
Jedi Mind Tricks, P!nk, Louis Tomlinson
and The Iterations.
The “Tokyo” hitmaker was supported
on the night by Quamina
MP, Ziezie, Eugy official, Kojo
Funds, NSG, Kwamz and Flavour,
Br3nya, Mr. Eazi, Quamina
The show was hosted by Comedian
Eddy Kadi and Adesope
(ShopsyDoo) and had Micheal Dapaah
(Big Shaq and Priscilla (Love
Island) as guest attendanee among
1500 patrons..

DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2020
Harry Zakkour reveals hijacking
Charles Taylor, Osei Kuffour’s
transfer to Kotoko
FORMER HEARTS of Oak
Chairman, Harry Zakkour,
has revealed the strategies he
used in ‘stealing’ Emmanuel
Osei Kuffour and Charles
Taylor from the hands of
Herbert Mensah’s Asante Kotoko.
Zakkour is widely known in the country
for what we call ‘football mafia’ in the
glory days of Hearts of Oak.
The biggest ones came with the transfer
of Charles Taylor from Accra Great
Olympics and Emmanuel Osei Kuffour
from Ebusua Dwarfs to join the Phobians.
Twenty years after the famous transfer
of the duo, Zakkour has revealed in an
interview with the Accra based Joy FM
monitored by the DAILY HER-
ITAGE how he was able to pull off
that ‘coup’.
“Charles Taylor was in Great
Olympics and my friend was Ade Coker,
the Chairman of Olympics at the time,
but when I heard my good friend Herbet
had bought Taylor, I questioned Ade on
why he will stab me in the back. He then
told me that Kotoko had offered 80m
old cedis, which was very huge at that
time so there was nothing he could do
about it. Therefore, I decided to take a
new approach.”
Zakkour said upon getting the news
that Kotoko had paid 80m old cedis for
the transfer of Charles Taylor, he
thought he had to involve a higher authority.
“I went to report Ade to my senior
brother, Hon. E.T Mensah, who was the
Sports Minister and a staunch Phobian,
that Ade is on the verge of selling Taylor
to Asante Kotoko. After calling Ade to
come to his office, E.T. Mensah offered
to pay 100m old cedis to him and took
Taylor’s card, something Kotoko failed to
do after making the deposit.”
He added that they used the same
method but a different approach to sign
the most in-form player at that time, Emmanuel
Osei Kuffour.
“The same thing happened with Osei
Kuffour. Kotoko bought him but there
were some small issues regarding the
money so I, Nii Ayi Bontey and Alhaji
Hearts had to drive to Cape Coast to hijack
the deal from Kotoko.”
Emmanuel Osei Kuffour and Charles
Taylor played a key role in winning the
Phobians’ first-ever CAF Champions
League trophy in 2001.
Essien, Drogba make Mikel Obi's
greatest African teammates’ list
A LONG-TIME teammate
of Mikel Obi’s at the
Super Eagles, the duo
played together with the
national side for the best
part of the decade.
They were key figures
of the Nigerian set-up
during that tenure, helping
the West African transition
away from the dying embers
of the Golden Generation
before ushering in
the new era under Stephen
Keshi.
The pair featured together
at the 2014 World
Cup, as Nigeria reached
the Last 16, and were a
part of four Nations Cups
squads together—memorably
winning the Afcon in
2013.
Michael Essien, 5
Essien arrived at Chelsea in a
big-money transfer from
Olympique Lyonnais, and enjoyed
an excellent stay in West
London.
The Ghanaian powerhouse,
often playing alongside Mikel,
redefined the defensive-midfield
position as a whole and was also
a very efficient full-back when
needed.
His 17 goals and 168 appearances
speak for themselves, even
if injuries ruined the latter stages
of his career. He was a Champions
League winner alongside the
Nigerian in 2012.
Nwankwo Kanu, 4
The evergreen Nwankwo
Kanu overlapped with Mikel for
several years at international
level, with the latter making his
•L-R: Drogba, Mikel and Essien won trophies with Chelsea
debut in 2006 and the veteran
remaining on the scene until
2011.
Together, they were semi-finalists
at the Africa Cup of Nations
in both 2006 and 2010,
although both underperformed
at the 2008 event, where the
Super Eagles limped through the
group before falling to hosts
Ghana in the quarter-finals.
No other Nigerian players
have made more Champions
League appearances
than Kanu (60) or
Mikel (59).
Jay-Jay
Okocha, 3
While Okocha
was winding down
just as Mikel was
beginning his international
career, the
two Super Eagles
greats did overlap at
the 2006 Africa
Cup of Nations.
This was the
tournament where
Mikel truly established
himself as a
Nigeria player, scoring
after coming off
the bench against Zimbabwe before
earning a starting match for
the next match against Senegal.
The West African giants ultimately
fell in the semi-final,
where they were downed by
Drogba’s Ivory Coast, as
Okocha was introduced from
the bench to replace the ineffectual
youngster.
Didier Drogba, 2
Drogba has been voted
Chelsea’s best-ever player by the
fans, which in itself speaks volumes
of the impact he made at
the London outfit.
Capable of the spectacular at
any given moment, Drogba
scored 136 goals in 381 appearances
for the Blues and provided
many a captivating displays in
the famous blue shirt.
He is a bona fide Chelsea legend
and was the key figure in
2012 as Mikel's Pensioners became
the first London club to
win the Champions League.
Samuel Eto'o, 1
Samuel Eto’o arrived at
Stamford Bridge in the twilight
of his career but still showed
glimpses of his ability in his 12
months at the club, as he overlapped
with Mikel.
Having played for Jose Mourinho
at Inter Milan, he joined
the Portuguese manager at the
London-based side in 2013, and
managed a memorable hat-trick
in a 3-1 win over Manchester
United, one of his better performances
for the Blues.
Mikel made 24 appearances
over the 2013-14 season, although
Chelsea ended the year
without silverware.