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Digital JUNE 4, 2020.qxp_Layout 1 6/3/20 8:21 PM Page 1
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02
PUBLIC SERVICE
CAMPAIGN
Tax is for development; Pay
your tax always because tax
evasion is criminal
CONTENT
ANNIVERSARIES
Good Friday — Fri, 10 Apr 2020
Easter Monday — Mon, 13 Apr 2020
Labour Day — Fri, 1 May 2020
DAILY HERITAGE THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2020
Published by: EIB
Network / Heritage
Communications Ltd.
Managing Editor:
William Asiedu:
0208156974
Editor:
Kweku Gyasi Essel:
0244744973
ISSN: 0855-52307
VOL 7
Location: Meridian
House (Starr FM) Ring
Road. Box AD 676,
Adabraka, Accra,Ghana.
Telephone: +233-0302-
236051, 020-8156974
026-5653335
Adverts/Mktg:
Paul Ampong-Mensah
024-4360782
Fax: +233-0302-237156
Email:
news@dailyheritagegh.com.gh
heritagenewspaper@yahoo.co.uk
www.dailyheritage.com.gh
AICC sits on time bomb
• Engineer presses panic buttom
NEWS DESK REPORT
THE ACCRA International
Conference
Centre (AICC) is
gradually becoming
a death trap to its
occupants as portions
of the structure show signs
of defects.
The defects are posing a serious
threat to the edifice that hosts
major national and international
events. Currently, most of the
columns that support that huge
edifice have the concrete that covers
the iron rods peeling off.
The development has compromised
the structural integrity of
the building commissioned in
1991.
During a tour by members of
the Foreign Affairs Committee of
some installations of the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, it was realised
that many huge columns had their
iron rods affected by corrosion, a
problem blamed on lack of maintenance
and effects of weather elements.
A Structural Engineer with the
Ghana Institute of Engineering,
Mr Mark Addo, said most of the
columns affected had “30 per cent
of the concrete peeled off.
He warned that any severe external
pressure can bring the entire
building down.
“If there’s a severe buckle, it
can cause the building to collapse,”
he said.
The committee also toured the
new passport office which is
under renovation following the
decision to demolish existing one
to make way for construction of
the National Cathedral.
The final port of call for the
members was the Foreign Affairs
Training Institute.
•A portion of AICC showing defects
EIB Network launches Live
FM offshoot LiveXtra
LEADING URBAN youth station,
Live FM, is launching a
new offshoot under the name
LiveXtra.
The successful radio brand,
which appeals to Ghana and
Africa's growing millenial space,
will from mid-June be alternatively
accessible via the LiveXtra
mobile application on both Android
and iOS.
It will also be available via
web as well as local, regional and
international digital and satellite
platforms.
LiveXtra is part of a diversified
portfolio of a dozen
products managed by the
EIB Network. The properties
are spread across
radio, television, digital
and print.
LiveXtra, according to
EIB Network, will deliver
refreshing programming,
while making use of studio
spaces that excite and
speak to modern radio
aesthetics.
Speaking on the new
brand offering, Chief Executive
Officer of the
"This has potential written
all over it. LiveXtra is
the first, fully-integrated
online radio offering by a
media group in Ghana,
and we are glad that
we’ve got to once again
show the way."
EIB Network, Nathan
Kwabena Anokye Adisi,
said today's ever evolving
media landscape necessitated
the launch of LiveXtra,
adding “it is the end
product of years of careful
planning”.
"This has potential written
all over it. LiveXtra is
the first, fully-integrated
online radio offering by a
media group in Ghana, and
we are glad that we’ve got
to once again show the
way."
He added that LiveXtra
would play heavily in the youth
space, dominating the many sectors
of the market.
"We've built this for a market
we have had experience in for
years. The successes of the past
years will matter as we seek to
tap into the potential. Our people
will always remain our
biggest assets and we have a
dedicated team of talents ready
to ensure that LiveXtra competes
favourably."
LiveXtra, Your Music Play
Station, goes live this month..
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DAILY HERITAGE THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2020
Free non-violent
drug offenders
BY MUNTALLA INUSAH
muntalla.inusah@dailyheritage.com.gh
THE FACILITATORS of
the Justice for All Program,
POS Foundation,
are pushing for release of
non-violent drug users to
be granted amnesty as a
critical means to curtail spread of
Covid-19.
According to the foundation, although
it acknowledges the government’s
exercise of amnesty e in March
this year, when the President Nana
Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo released 808
prisoners across the country, persons
convicted for minor offences and misdemeanours
should be considered for release
to ease congestion in the prisons.
Executive Director of POS Foundation,
Jonathan Osei Owusu, argued that decongestion
of prisons would help in effectively
enforcing coronavirus protocols, adding
that “POS Foundation and its partners, together
with its donor agencies, were willing
to support the State to have non-violent
convicted drug users to go through a period
of rehabilitation and treatment within the
pardon process period. This is in accordance
with the new Narcotic Control Commission
Law 2020 and international best
practices as they pose no major threat to society
or themselves.”
He made this appeal at a training and
orientation program on Covid-19 for inmates
of the Nsawam Prison.
He said the POS Foundation and stakeholders
in the criminal justice sector further
called on the President to increase the number
by reviewing the amnesty criteria and
proposed the inclusion, among others, of
persons convicted for drug use (not trade or
traffickers) who are serving below 10 years
under the old PNDC Law 235.
Support for inmates to production 1
Million PPE
The Executive Director disclosed that,
“The foundation, together with its funding
agencies, (GIZ/German Cooporation and
Open Society Foundation/OSIWA) under
• Facilitators of Justice for
All program appeal to Prez
the Covid-19 Response Prisons
Outreach Project, is donating
Personal Protection
Equipment (PPE) to prisons
across the country and supporting
them with cotton materials
for the production of
about one million face masks
(by prison inmate tailors and
seamstresses) for the Prisons
and families of the prison officers
in support of the hard
work by the prison service towards
the prevention of
Covid-19 in prisons.
Donation to prisons
across Ghana
Mr Owusu said this during
the commencement of a mass
distribution exercise at the
Nsawam Medium Security
Prisons and added that other
prisons -- the Sunyani Central
Prisons, the Kumasi Central
Prisons, Tamale Central and
the Navrongo Local Prison,
the Koforidua and Akuse Prisons
-- would all benefit from
the exercise.
The items, which include
clothing, sanitizers, buckets,
soap, detergents and other
items, were worth GHc40,
000.
• Jonathan Osei Owusu, Executive
Director of POS Foundation
Emulate example
elsewhere
He said “an important sector
of the Ghanaian economy
that merits critical attention
until a cure is found or the
virus is eradicated from the
system is the criminal justice
sector, particularly Ghana's
prisons.
'The well-documented history
of the transmission of infectious
disease in prisons
rings alarm bells for the threat
of Covid-19 to prisoners and
society at large.”
Touching on practices elsewhere
to curtail the spread of
the pandemic in the prisons,
he said across countries,
“where the corona virus has
caused the greatest harm to
human lives so far, prisons
have been a substantial locus
for its spread and present a
focus for reform.
“In California, 381 people
He said the POS Foundation and stakeholders in the
criminal justice sector further called on the President
to increase the number by reviewing the amnesty criteria
and proposed the inclusion, among others, of
persons convicted for drug use (not trade or traffickers)
who are serving below 10 years under the old
PNDC Law 235.
released from the Santa Rita
jail, while Iran made history by
temporarily releasing 54, 000
prisoners to contain the
spread of Covid-19.
Afghanistan released 10, 000
prisoners made up mostly of
women, young people, the
critically ill and inmates over
the age of 55 on March 26,
2020. The Ethiopian President
granted pardon to 4, 011 prisoners,
all persons who had
committed minor offences in
an effort to prevent the spread
of Covid-19,” he stated.
Show mercy on aged
Meanwhile Deputy Superintendent
of Prisons (DSP)
and Public Relations Officer
for the Nsawam Medium Security
Prisons, Adamu Abdul
Latif, while backing the calls
for amnesty, added that the
aged with chronic ailments
should also be considered for
Amnesty.
He commended POS
Foundation and its associated
partners for the support.
“We express our profound
gratitude to POS Foundation
for their kind gesture to the
Ghana Prison Service in the
face of the Covid-19 pandemic.
We assure POS Foundation
that the items donated
would be channelled to the
purpose for which they were
donated as we are really in
need of the items. Prison is an
institution where people visit
day in day out, including officers.
We urge the general public
to continue supporting us.
“Those who have chronic
diseases suffer most and we
have people in custody who
are battling chronic diseases
such as hypertension and so if
some kind of mercy is shown,
I think it will help. Even if we
record a case, we can better
handle it,” he said.
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DAILY HERITAGE DIGITAL THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2020
WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
Hollard supports NEDCo,
others to fight Covid-19
INSURANCE GROUP,
Hollard Ghana, in support
of the fight against the
spread of Covid-19 has donated
hundreds of Personal
Protection Equipment
(PPE) to the Kamina Barracks
Hospital, Northern Electricity
Distribution Company Ltd
(NEDCo), Regional office of the
Ghana Education Service, staff
and management of the Tamale
Airport, and the Tamale-Bolgatanga
Transport Union, all in
the Northern Region, to ensure
their safety.
The presentation was made by
the Branch Manager, Regional
Markets Hollard Insurance
Ghana, Mr Sulley Mohammed Ali,
in the presence of the Hollard
Life Assurance Sales Manager, Mr.
Mutaru Abdul-Hamid.
The Medical Superintendent of
the Kamina Barracks Hospital, Dr
Aaron Anos, received the items
on behalf of his outfit.
In his speech, Mr. Ali said,
“Every frontline health worker
must be kept safe, particularly in a
pandemic such as Covid-19.
This donation aligns with our
purpose to treat everyone with
care and dignity and is part of our
company’s comprehensive initiative
to safeguard essential service
providers while creating awareness
about the viral disease.”
Appreciation
Receiving the items, Dr Anos
thanked Hollard for distributing
the nose masks to the institution’s
staff, which, he said, would go a
long way to protect them and
their patients.
“We are grateful to Hollard
Ghana for considering our safety
and donating these PPE to us. As
a health institution, the PPE remains
most sought-after during
this trying time. With these in
hand, we shall continue to do our
best to deliver the best of healthcare
services to the people of
Tamale,” he added.
Free Covid-19 Cover for all existing
and new customers
The PPE donation and awareness
campaign comes as Hollard
Ghana’s Life Insurance subsidiary,
Hollard Life Assurance, announced
a free Covid-19 cover
for all its existing and new customers
on individual and group
policies.Laudbusiness.com/Ghana
“We are grateful to
Hollard Ghana for
considering our
safety and donating
these PPE to us.
As a health institution,
the PPE remains
most
sought-after during
this trying time.
With these in hand,
we shall continue
to do our best to
deliver the best of
healthcare services
to the people of
Tamale,” he added.
&Env.
Mahama donates PPE to South
Tongu, Ketu South hospitals
BY FAISEL ABDUL-IDDRISU
FORMER PRESI-
DENT and flag-bearer
of the opposition National
Democratic
Congress (NDC) has
donated some Personal
Protective Equipment (PPE) to
the South Tongu District Hospital
in Sogakope and the Ketu South
Municipal hospital in Aflao in the
Volta Region, on Thursday, May
28, 2020 in support of the fight
against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Each of the two facilities received
2000 nose masks, 2000
pieces of hand gloves, 30 wellington
boots and some other 30 PPE
(goggles, overalls, sanitisers, and
scrubs) meant to protect the
frontline staff of the two facilities.
Presenting the items, a former
Minister of Health and leader of
the delegation, Mr Alex Segbefia,
• Some of the donated items
noted that the presentation was in
quick response to calls made by
the facilities to be provided with
PPE.
He said, “It is accurate to say
that what we bring today is actually
not a lot but in the case of an
emergency situation, we hope this
will go a long way to help the facilities
till such time that the government
supplies arrive.”
"We are happy to be donating
these things on behalf of H.E.
John Dramani Mahama and the
NDC's Covid-19 Technical Response
Team to support you in
this difficult fight. We want to
urge you to continue to give your
best at this very time that you're
needed most," he said.
While the South Tongu district
recorded its first case of the
Covid-19 pandemic on Wednesday,
May 27, the Ketu South Municipality
remains a hotspot for
the Volta Region's case count,
which currently stands at 60.
Thursday's delegation included
Alexander Roosevelt Hottordje
(MP for Central Tongu); Dzifa
Abla Gomashie (PC, Ketu South);
and a host of the Volta regional
executive of the party.
He said, “It is accurate
to say that what
we bring today is actually
not a lot but in
the case of an emergency
situation, we
hope this will go a
long way to help the
facilities till such time
that the government
supplies arrive.
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WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
NEWS
DAILY HERITAGE DIGITAL THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2020
Railway Company resumes
work after 82 workers
recover from Covid-19
BY KOJO ANSAH, K’DUA
AFCON CON-
STRUCTION
Company executing
the Tema-Akosombo-Mpakadan
railway project has
resumed work three months after
it stalled over coronavirus infections
among the workers.
A total of 82 workers of the
company in two camps at Kpong
in Lower Manya Krobo Municipality
and Apeguso in the Asuogyaman
District tested positive for the
virus.
However, all the affected workers
recovered last month.
In a brief ceremony to reopen
the company on Tuesday, June 2,
2020, the Eastern Regional Minister,
Eric Kwakye Darfour,
urged residents not to
stigmatize the workers but
rather provide them the
needed co-operation to
help facilitate completion
of the project.
Work on the 99-kilometre
Tema-Mpakadan
railway line started in 2017
and is expected to be
completed this month.
The US$230 million
railway project begins
from Tema and goes
through Afienya, North
Tongu District in the
Volta Region, and Manya
Krobo and terminates at
Mpakadan, a few kilometres
from Akosombo.
The railway line has
been designed for 120 km
per hour trains, which is faster
than the current 58km per hour
passenger trains in Ghana.
The Tema-Akosombo rail project
includes the construction of
rail tracks of standard gauge, railway
maintenance facilities for locomotive
and wagons, the building
of stations at specific locations
with communications and signal
equipment and capacity building
for personnel in all aspects of the
railway system.
Funding for design and construction
of the project was secured
by the government of
Ghana in 2016 from Export-Import
Bank of India (Exim Bank)
The facility is Buyers’ Credit
(BC) arrangement under the National
Export Insurance Account
(NEIA) to the Government of the
Republic of Ghana.
Govt finds strategic investor for
Komenda Sugar Factory –Trade Minister
•Alan Kyeremanten, Minister of Trade and Industry
THE MINISTRY of Trade and
Industry has signed an agreement
with Park Agrotech Ghana
Limited, a company incorporated
in Ghana and operating in
the agribusiness sector, to operate
the defunct Komenda Sugar
Factory.
“This follows the successful
completion of the bid evaluation
process by the transaction
advisor and a recommendation
made for the consideration by
the Ministry and Cabinet after
identification of a strategic investor
with the requisite technical
and financial capacity to
operate the factory efficiently
and profitably,” he stressed.
According to Alan Kyerematen,
the Minister of Trade
and Industry, the company will
be working in partnership with
STM Projects Limited, an Indiabased
company with an extensive
experience in the
management and operations of
sugar mills and plantations in
both India and other parts of
the world.
Under the Agreement, Park
Agrotech Ghana Limited will invest
USD 28 million over the
first three years in capital expenditure
and working capital, including
paying an annual
concession fee of USD 3.3 million
for a period of fifteen years,
the Minister further added.
Mr Kyerematen made this
disclosure in an answer to a
question asked him in Parliament
on Wednesday morning by
the Member for Chereponi,
Hon. Samuel A. Jabanyite, who
sought to know the current status
of the factory and efforts
being made to operationalise it.
He said the agreement will be
effective upon completion of
conditions precedent, which will
include the approval by Parliament,
for which approval documentation
will be brought to the
House in due course.
The Minister said it was
agreed during the final negotiations
that the implementation of
the project be delayed until the
finalisation of the National
Sugar Policy intended to provide
the strategic policy framework
for the implementation of the
project.
He said the approval of the
Sugar policy by Cabinet in October
2019 after a series of extensive
consultations in October
last year paved the way for the
concessionaire to be formally introduced
to the chiefs and elders
of the Komenda Traditional
Area in November 2019.
Mr Kyerematen expressed
the hope that the company, Park
Agrotech, would begin a comprehensive
programme of action
to bring the factory to life
as soon as restrictions on all foreign
travels due to the Covid-19
pandemic were lifted and all relevant
approvals secured.
June 3, 2015 flood disaster
OneGhana Movement, victims
sue GOIL, NPA, AMA others
•Flashback: Scenes after June 3, 2015 disaster
A PRESSURE group, OneGhana Movement,
and the victims of June 3, 2015 twin
flood and fire disaster have commenced a
class action suit against Ghana Oil
(GOIL), National Petroleum Authority
(NPA) and the Accra Metropolitan Authority
(AMA) for their complicity in the
disaster.
Victims, according to reports, are still
facing major hardships five years on since
the terrible incident occurred.
A statement issued by the group
said,:”As we press resources into service
to ensure justice for the victims and their
families, we humbly request media organizations
and other public-spirited entities to
join us in this fight for justice and a better
show of responsibility by our public service
institutions.”
It added, “While
the court case continues,
it is our expectation
that the pursuit
of justice will not
only result in fair
compensations to victims
and their families
and punishment to
culpable officials but
also even more importantly,
it will drive
the sense of accountability
and responsibility
on the part of
citizens, corporate
Ghana and public officials.
“In so doing, the citizens shall be emboldened
not to allow their rights and
privileges to be trampled upon, and public
servants and politicians alike shall realize
that they will be held accountable for their
actions.”
June 3 Disaster
Yesterday, June 3, marked the fifth anniversary
of Ghana’s worst disaster, the
June 3 twin disaster, which occurred in
Accra, 2015.
In the middle of a heavy flooding and
rainstorm on the night of Wednesday,
June 3 2015, an explosion at the GOIL
filling station at PTC, Kwame Nkrumah
Circle, in the capital Accra killed at least
150 people, a disaster that plunged the
whole nation into an official three-day national
mourning.
The streets in the vicinity of the accident
scene were littered with bodies while
some were found in drains, taking authorities
weeks to clear the debris from the disaster.
The morgues were congested with
bodies and hospital authorities were overwhelmed
with casualties from Ghana’s
worst ever disaster that happened on June
3.
What many Ghanaians termed another
Black Wednesday after the May 9, 2000
stadium disaster, has imprints of sadness,
and sorrow till date and likely to leave indelible
scars in the minds of Ghanaians.
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DAILY HERITAGE THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2020
Editorial
Can we tame our protestations?
ON MAY 21, 2020, we published an editorial
titled ‘This freedom of speech’. In that
editorial we said one of the tenets of
democracy is freedom of speech, free
speech or freedom of expression.
We continued that freedom of speech
simply means every citizen has the right to
express an opinion and asked if we had ever
stopped to ask ourselves if we could express
every piece of opinion?
Our objective was to call attention to
opinions that are inciting and as such could
inflame passions and lead to other people
supporting them and producing repercussions
that could cause troubles for us all.
Developments in days past suggest that
a section of Ghanaians, especially politicians
and certain people, groups and organisations,
think they should not be restrained
from voicing their views however inflammable
they are.
Once again, the DAILY HERITAGE
wishes to call attention to this issue of free
expression because it seems some people
are abusing it simply because they do not
understand it or are just being mischievous
with or about it. Their action may be because
the establishment or the authorities or
agencies that should prompt the citizenry
about the proper exercise of the right to
free speech have reneged on that mandate.
Also, Ghanaians have become a people
who gloss or laugh over certain statements
and dismiss them as thrash or mere jokes.
The move by the Electoral Commission
to compile a new voter register has attracted
some resistance or protestations, and much
as those against it have the right to their resistance,
they should express same in a legal
way such as going to court and taming their
words without defaming others and inflame
passions.
Criticism is allowed but not when it
comes as vituperation because it can go
overboard. For instance, a man who is seen
as a seasoned politician has said on a media
outlet that if Jean Mensah and her Electoral
Commission do not stop the move to compile
a new voter register, there will be another
‘June 4’.
What is the man implying? Is he calling
for a coup to truncate our democratic journey?
Such statements, to some of us, are inciting
and treasonable and so must be
avoided.
If we take opinions seriously, especially
those expressed in the public space by people
who matter in society, we would be
amazed about the peace and tranquillity we
would enjoy and the progress we would
make because we would devote precious
time to always plan for the way forward in
improving our lives.
If as a people, we do not gloss over certain
loose expressions, the institutions to
deal with such freedom of speech aberrations
such as the police, the CID and National
Security would be forced to act to
tame peace wreckers in our society.
We wish to remind all of us that certain
opinions are inciting and can one day lead
to crime or cause others to put up a certain
bad behaviour. This is because there is a
group of people in society who would remain
followers of other people they respect
as their leaders in certain ways and as such
would swallow whatever they bring out.
This is why those who have the privilege
of making public speech should mind their
words because of freedom of speech goes
with responsibility.
EC suspends pilot registration
over ‘technical challenges’
BY EMMANUEL OHENE GYAN
DAY TWO and
the final day of
the new voter’s
register piloting
in the Western
Region has been
called off due to technical challenges,
the Electoral Commission
has said.
The EC is compiling the new
register ahead of the December
general election over claims the existing
register lacks credibility.
The piloting, according to the
EC, is to afford them the chance
to identify challenges with their
systems and fix them before the
mass registration begins later this
month.
Western Regional Director for
the EC, Angelina Tagoe, could not
give further details as to why the
exercise had been cancelled.
Western Regional Secretary for
the NDC, Joseph Nelson, told
Empire News’ Emmanuel Ohene-
Gyan the cancellation
of the exercise
vindicated his
party’s position that
the EC was not
ready to undertake
a nationwide exercise
“If the Electoral
Commission cannot
organise a simple
pilot exercise in
a city like Sekondi,
how much more in
a village like Mumuni
Camp? The
EC has simply
failed and are not
ready to compile a
new register with
just six months to
general election,”
he said.
The Assistant
Regional Secretary
of the governing
New Patriotic
Party, Rex Johnfiah,
stated that the
party was disappointed in the
breakdown of the machines after
having a successful exercise
onTuesday, which saw over 70
people registering.
“We want the EC to extend the
exercise because what we observed
was that there were no backups,”
he said.
The piloting, according
to the EC,
is to afford them
the chance to
identify challenges
with their
systems and fix
them before the
mass registration
begins later this
month.
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Politics
DAILY HERITAGE THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2020
NDC participating in pilot registration
‘heartwarming’– Buaben Asamoa
THE COMMUNI-
CATIONS Director
of the New Patriotic
Party (NPP), Yaw
Buaben Asamoa,
says it is ‘heartwarming’
to see members of the opposition
National Democratic
Communication (NDC) participating
in the pilot exercise for the upcoming
mass registration of
voters.
The NDC, despite its opposition
to the new register, directed
its regional and constituency officials
to participate in the piloting
as requested by the Electoral
Commission.
The Deputy Volta Regional
Chairman of the party, George
Loh, is reported to have participated
in the exercise and secured a
dummy voter’s ID card.
Speaking to Francis Abban on
the Morning Starr on Wednesday,
Mr Buaben Asamoa, who is also
• Yaw BuabenAsamoah, addressing the media
MP for Adenta, said the development
suggested the
NDC was now ready to fully
participate in the new registration
exercise.
“If they have instructed
their people to participate at
the levels, that means they are
willing to participate fully in
the exercise. That is heartwarming,
nobody wants lopsided
elections in Ghana”.
He, however, said the
party risked creating the impression
that they were not
decisive with their position on
matters.
“What they have done is
pragmatic, but it doesn’t show
decisive leadership”.
The Ghana Federation of
Labour (GFL) has accused
the Jean Mensa-led Electoral
Commission (EC) of undermining
Ghana’s democracy by
setting out conditions they
say will make it impossible for the
vast majority of Ghanaians to register
to vote in the general election
in December.
In a press statement signed by
its President, Caleb Nartey and
General Secretary, Abraham
Koomson, the GFL said making
the Ghana Card or a Ghanaian
passport the only identification
documents that makes a person eligible
to be registered as a voter is
inappropriate.
“Whereas the ongoing National
Identification Authority registration
exercise is afflicted with numerous
challenges, making it
impossible for the majority of the
population to obtain the Ghana
Card, and the possession of
Ghana passports not being
mandatory for citizens, we consider
requirements of these documents
as proof of citizenship as
inappropriate”, the GFL said.
Bryan The Mensah
announces 4th EP,
• Bryan The Mensah
drops it this month
AYOUNG Ghanaian
artiste, Bryan The Mensah,
has announced via
twitter he will be dropping
a follow-up this
June to his EP ‘I Don’t
Feel like Going Outside’, which has hit
over 300,000 streams.
This EP will be his second this year and
his 4th in total, and he says, “After this, we
get the album. I’m finally done learning on
the job. Ever ready for this! Final form! I
made all the necessary mistakes I had to
learn from. 4th EP drops sooner than you
think!”
The contemporary young act takes his
yellows and greens very seriously when it
comes to his branding as he announces he
is preparing to give his fans a treat.
Bryan says he is also preparing to release
new merchandise alongside his new
EP, merchandise he wishes to keep secret
till its launch.
This EP will be his second
this year and his
4th in total, and he
says, “After this, we
get the album. I’m finally
done learning on
the job. Ever ready for
this! Final form! I
made all the necessary
mistakes I had to
learn from. 4th EP
drops sooner than you
think!”
Digital JUNE 4, 2020.qxp_Layout 1 6/3/20 8:22 PM Page 8
DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
THURSDAY , JUNE 4, 2020
It is easy to coach Hearts,
Kotoko
• Mohammed Gargo
EX-BLACK STARS
player Mohammed
Gargo has made a
tough claim that
coaching Hearts and
Kotoko is an "easy"
task for every good manager.
Many coaches have had their
contracts terminated at Kotoko
and Hearts due to both internal
and external pressures.
But Gargo, who played and
coached Real Tamale United,
says he believes there is more
pressure in managing the smaller
clubs than what pertains at
Hearts and Kotoko.
In an interview with Kumasibased
Akoma FM, Gargo expressed
his readiness to handle
any of the two most glamorous
clubs of the country if the
chance arose.
"It is easy to coach Ghana's
Mohammed Gargo
two biggest clubs -- Hearts and
Kotoko," he said.
"Many will talk about pressure
but it comes with the job as
a coach.
"What pressure is more than
that of Ashantigold and Real
Tamale United?
Believe me, if I have good
players in my team, you will
enjoy my work as a coach."
Gargo, who now coaches in
Namibia, was part of the triumphant
Italia 91 Black Starlet
team that won Gold against
Spain in the grand finale.
He rose through the ranks to
break his way through the Blacks
Stars squad of Senegal 92 under
German tactician Coach Otto
Pfister, making his debut in
Ghana's opening match against
Zambia in that tournament.
He was also part of the history
making Black Meteors, who
won Bronze at Barcelona 92
Olympics.
He is well remembered for his
thunderbolt strike against
Tunisia in the Burkina 98 Afcon,
a match the Black Stars won by
2-0.
The 44-year-old spent most
of his club football time in Italy,
playing for Torino, Udinese,
Venezia and on loan to Genoa.
In the twilight of his career,
the well-built Bissa man moved
to Qatar, where he played for Al
Wakrah Sports Club before returning
to play for Ghana's
Ashanti Gold in a short stint.
Gargo, who currently coaches
Tura Magic FC of Namibia, had
previously managed Ghanaian
sides New Edubiase FC and
Brong Ahafo United.
Missing out on Africa best award
and European football is my
greatest regret
• Mohammed Polo says
FORMER
Mohammed Polo
GHANA international
and
1978 Africa Cup
of Nations winner,
Mohammed
Polo, has revealed that his inability
to win Africa Footballer
of the Year and not
playing for any European
club is something he regrets.
Polo, popularly known in
football circles as the ‘Dribbling
magician’ and a superstar
during his playing days,
has said his failure to win the
African best and not playing
in Europe still hurts him.
“As a former player, the
only thing I regret is my inability
to play for any club in
Europe. It hurts me I
couldn’t prove to the Europeans
that there is a player of
that stature.
“The truth is that Ghanaians
didn’t sell me well because
I should have won the
African best award about two
or three times looking at my
performance those days. It’s
a worry I couldn’t win the
African best but God knows
best.
“I have been third, fourth
on the African best list but at
some point in time, they pull
strings. Favoritism and lobbying
is something that normally
happens when naming
African best. I didn’t win it
because I had no one to
lobby for me,” he told
Kofridua-based Bryt FM.
I quit playing for Black Stars
because of corrupt GFA
• Ex-Black Stars player reveals
FORMER BORUSSIA Dortmund
starlet Bashiru Gambo has made a
shocking revelation on how he took
a personal decision to quit playing
for the Black Stars.
The 41-year-old, who featured
for seven different German clubs
and was valued at €500,000 in 2005,
was capped only four times by the
West African powerhouse.
Gambo, a former King Faisal
youngster, has revealed former
Everton forward and Nigeria international
Yakubu Aiyegbeni hinted
him the Nigerian government had
paid the Ghanaian football regulatory
body a hefty sum of $700,000
to participate in the inauguration of
Abuja international stadium in
Nigeria in the year 2000.
During an interview with Don
Summer on Angel FM, the onetime
powerful offensive midfielder
claimed players who featured in that
tournament earned nothing and the
revelation got him to quit the national
team.
“Due to my performance at club
level, I got friends from Nigeria.
Yakubu Aiyegbeni was my closest
friend then so during the tournament
I decided to pass the night at
his place and it was through him
that I realized the FA was using us
for their personal gains,” he revealed.
“Whiles in the room, I had some
conversations with Yakubu. I told
him their governor had given the
FA $70,000 as participation fee. As
soon as I said that, he made it
known that the governor gave
Ghana $700,000 which means the
players were fooled,” Gambo
added.
“After that unscrupulous behaviour
on the part of the FA, when I
got to my club in Germany, I wrote
letters to Alhaji Jawula, Oheneba
Charles and E.T Mensah that they
shouldn’t hand me a call-up again.
So I personally quit the national
team because of lack of transparency,”
he concluded.
• Former Ghana international
Bashiru Gambo