Wednesday, 13th April, 2022a

Page 2

29m people face hunger as

drought ravages Eastern Africa

Internally-displaced people wait for

food at a refugee camp near Mogadishu

At least 29 million

people in eastern

Africa are currently

facing high levels of

food insecurity due

to prolonged drought as rains are

projected to fail for a fourth consecutive

season in the region, the

Inter-Governmental Authority on

Development has warned.

Analysis by IGAD’s Climate

Prediction and Applications

Centre (ICPAC) shows that the

first month of the March to May

(MAM) 2022 season was dry,

projecting that the entire period

will generally be dry, with high

temperatures and less than normal

rainfall.

The prolonged drought, added

to conflicts in the region and in

Russian leader Vladimir

Putin has said his invasion

of Ukraine will

achieve what he called

its "noble" aims.

Speaking alongside Belarusian

leader Aleksandr Lukashenko, Mr

Putin claimed that a clash with

Ukraine had become "inevitable".

Mr Putin said he had been left

with no choice but to launch the

invasion in a bid to protect the

Russian speaking Donbas region.

The UN says 10 million people

have fled their homes since the

invasion began.

But during a public appearance

marking the 61st anniversary

of Yuri Gagarin becoming

the first man in space, Mr Putin

insisted that his forces are aiding

oppressed people in separatist

regions of Ukraine.

"On the one hand, we are

helping and saving people, and on

the other, we are simply taking

measures to ensure the security

of Russia itself," the 69-year old

insisted.

"It's clear that we didn't

have a choice. It was the right

decision," he said, adding "the

goals are perfectly clear, they are

noble."

The Kremlin claims that

Ukraine has committed genocide

against Russian speakers in

eastern Ukraine, but there is no

evidence to suggest that is the

case.

eastern Europe, and the impact

of Covid-19, has led to acute levels

of food insecurity across the

entire IGAD region, the bloc said

in a statement on Monday.

“Already, 15.5 to 16 million of

our sisters and brothers are in

need of immediate food assistance,

due to the drought. This

is 6 to 6.5 million in Ethiopia, 3.5

million in Kenya and 6 million

in Somalia,” said Dr Workneh

Gebeyehu, IGAD’s Executive

Secretary.

Dr Guleid Artan, ICPAC’s

director, said, “the severe shortages

in water and pasture are

leading to smaller food production,

significant losses in

livestock and wildlife, and a rise

in resource-based conflict in the

DAILY ANALYST Wednesday, 13th April, 2022

region.”

“On the outlook, our early

warning systems and indicators

show the situation worsening in

the coming months.”

ICPAC also projects that

another 8 million people in South

Sudan might be pushed to acute

food insecurity due to prolonged

flooding and insecurity in the

region.

IGAD has appealed to international

partners and donors

to help the governments in the

region, all of which have already

declared drought a national

disaster, to deal with the developing

crisis and improve food

security in the region.

“The governments are doing

enough within their means, but

not enough to avert the disaster

and save those facing starvation.

That’s why we are appealed to our

international partners to step in,”

Dr Artan said.

Alessandra Casazza, Manager

of UNDP Resilience Hub for

Africa, asked developed countries

to honour their commitment

during last year’s COP-26 to

donate $100 billion to developing

countries to deal with such climate

emergencies as drought.

“Climate shocks keep coming

back. We must invest in adaptation

to build long term resilience

across the region,” Ms Casazza

said.

Ukraine war: Putin says Russian

invasion will achieve 'noble' aims

More than 10 million people

have been forced to flee their

homes since the invasion began

and the Russian economy has

been rocked by a package of

severe sanctions imposed by

Western nations.

However, the Russian president

said that Russia does not

"intend to be isolated", arguing

that it is "impossible to severely

isolate anyone in the modern

world - especially such a vast

country as Russia".

Speaking from the Vostochny

Cosmodrome, some 3,450 miles

(5550 km) east of Moscow, the

Russian leader also drew upon

the success of the Soviet space

programme, comparing Gagarin's

achievement during the Cold War

to Russia's current international

isolation.

"The sanctions were total, the

isolation was complete but the Soviet

Union was still first in space,"

Mr Putin said.

Mr Lukashenko also dismissed

the impact of sanctions, asking

Mr Putin "why an earth are we

getting so worried about these

sanctions?"

Last week, the UK government

predicted that Russia is heading

for its deepest recession since the

collapse of the Soviet Union.

The UK Foreign Office said

Russia's GDP is expected to contract

by between 8.5% and 15% this

year, as the impact of international

sanctions take hold.

Global News

Nigerian military intercepts

N60 million ransom money

to free kidnapped victims,

kills terrorists

Troops of 271 Nigeria

Air Force Detachment

in Birnin Gwari, and

troops of the Nigerian

Army FOB in Gwaska,

during a coordinated operation,

have intercepted a ‘huge’ amount

of ransom meant to secure the

freedom of some captives in the

custody of bandits in Kaduna

State.

The couriers of the ransom

payment, according to a report by

PR Nigeria, were suspected to be

security personnel.

Meanwhile, about dozens

of the kidnapped victims were

rescued including some women

and children.

The operations, simultaneously

undertaken by ground

troops of the Nigerian Army, as

At least 30 people have

been killed during

two days of attacks by

gunmen in the east

of the Democratic

Republic of Congo, the Red Cross

says

It happened in Ituri province,

which along with neighbouring

North Kivu, are under an official

state of siege in effort by the

government to stop the attacks

by dozens of armed groups.

The attacks are thought to

have been carried out by the

Allied Democratic Front (ADF),

one of the deadliest rebel groups

operating in the region.

They were brutal - some of

well as special forces of the Nigerian

Air Forces (NAF), resulted in

the elimination of some bandit-terrorists.

An intelligence operative

told the newspaper: “The sum of

N60,000,000 in cash, petroleum

products and sophisticated weapons,

were recovered during the

operations.

“Other items recovered by the

troops from the suspects include

vehicles, AK-47 rifles, magazines,

various kinds of ammunition and

mobile phones.

“Meanwhile, we will refer

the case of the arrested couriers

who mostly have identifications

with security agencies to the

Department of State Service (DSS)

and Defence Intelligence Agency

(DIA) for further investigation.”

At least 30 killed in

eastern DR Congo attacks

the victims had been found tied

up - others had had their throats

slit.

Homes were torched and

property looted.

In December, more than 1,000

Ugandan soldiers crossed into DR

Congo for what was meant to be a

joint military operation to defeat

the ADF.

But despite promises of progress,

the group has continued

to carry out frequent attacks on

vulnerable communities.

In North Kivu, another rebel

group called M23 has recently

relaunched a rebellion seizing

villages adding to the security

crisis.

DAILY ANALYST

Wednesday, 13th April, 2022 Page 3

$13 trillion war cash can

end poverty in Africa

The President General

of the Center

of Awareness Global

Peace Mission,

Professor Samuel

Ato Duncan, has argued that

the amount of money ($13.6

trillion) wasted globally on war

and conflicts could have been

channeled to tackle hunger

and extreme poverty in Africa.

Prof Ato Duncan made the

statement after announcing

a $2 million Global peace

campaign by his outfit. This

support is a five-year strategic

plan to promote world peace.

The initiative aims at ending

chaos and violence in the

world with traditional leaders,

youth groups, and thought

leaders as the focus groups of

citizens against wars.

Prof. Duncan further appealed

to the United Nations

(UN) and other international

institutions to help seek peace

in these two countries.

The respected academic

was speaking at the 4th public

lecture under the theme,

“Targeting Leadership Across

The Globe To Achieve Global

Peace" at the main auditorium

of the University of Cape Coast

yesterday.

According to him, seeking

peace in the world is part of his

God-given assignment and he

would do everything possible

to undertake activities that

promote peace in the world

Prof Samuel Ato Duncan

also said the fourth public lecture

and launch of the 5-year

action plan are to introduce

Inusah Fuseini

defends Chief Justice

Former Member of

Parliament for Tamale

Central and legal lawyer,

Inusah Fuseini, has

described attacks on the

Chief Justice for directing Judges

to call cases of senior lawyers

first as unfortunate.

According to him, that has

been the existing protocol ever

since he was called to the Bar

over 10 years ago.

The Chief Justice, Kwesi

Anin-Yeboah has issued a circular

asking judges to hear cases

of senior lawyers first, then they

can hear those of the junior

lawyers.

The circular indicated that

young lawyers need to learn

from their senior colleagues. To

that end, the Chief Justice said

“I would request all Trial Court

Judges to strictly adhere to this

age-old tradition and resort to

inviting applications from Seniors

first.”

Justice Anin-Yeboah has

The Director-General

of Ghana Education

Service (GES),

Prof. Akwasi Opoku

Amankwaa, is boiling

with anger at the so-called

teachers’ new uniform brouhaha

which has been in the

public domain.

His anger stems from what

he has described as wrong

allegations levelled against

the management of the GES to

the effect that it has introduced

uniforms for teachers

in public schools without the

knowledge and consent of key

stakeholders in the educational

sector.

According to him, those

who were blaming the GES in

connection with the purported

introduction of the new uniforms

for teachers were doing

that out of ignorance, saying

that "if indeed the uniforms

for teachers were introduced

by the GES it would be announced

or officially launched

to the public.

"I have seen these pictures

of some purported GES teachers

in a prescribed uniform for

work circulating. GES is not

a mushroom agency. It’s the

largest government agency in

Ghana. We employ more than

half of all government employcome

under fire following the

directives as some Ghanaians

described the move as partial.

Speaking on Accra based

Atinka FM yesterday, the former

Tamale Central Member

of Parliament, Inusah Fuseini

said, “That has been the normal

procedure ever since I entered

the bar so this is not something

new that he {The Chief Justice}

is trying to introduce.

“I believe Chief Justice

Anin-Yeboah was just trying to

remind and draw the attention

of the Judges to obey the procedure”

“So, I don’t know why some

are criticizing the Chief Justice

for reminding the Judges

something that’s already in the

system”- he said

He said the protocol helps

the junior lawyers to acquire

more knowledge from the senior

lawyers to boost their confidence

in dealing with cases.

to major stakeholders a new

route to “complement our

efforts in achieving global

peace”.

He also added that the

mission will create solutions

and remain one hundred percent

neutral in all its dealings

and activities.

Prof Samuel Ato Duncan

was born on 19th February

1966 to Mr. Albert Duncan and

Mrs. Georgina Duncan both

of blessed memory. His birth

was surrounded by certain

strange divine happenings.

According to his parents, Prof

Samuel Ato Duncan was born

with the mark of "The Cross"

on his forehead. These divine

happenings made his parents

believe that their son would

join the priesthood.

Prof Samuel Ato Duncan’s

aim is to ensure peace in the

world.

The Central Regional

Minister, Hon Justina Marigold

Assan who was the guest

speaker also pledge that the

Central Regional coordinating

council will support Prof

Samuel Ato Duncan to achieve

all his mission and vision of

peace in the world.

The Minister also appealed

to all natives in the region to

Frontpage Stories

GES boss fires back!

always preach peace to others

to promote brotherliness.

The representative of His

Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II,

Nana Mensah Bonsu II on his

part, praised Prof Samuel Ato

Duncan for heeding God's call.

He said leadership has

a significant impact on the

outcome of the political and

social-cultural issues and their

consequences on society.

He, therefore said that the

theme for this year's lecture

could not be overstated in

the light of the current crises

ees," Prof. Amankwaa stated.

He added that "If we want

to introduce uniforms for

teachers we won’t do that

through social media and over

the weekend. I guess it’s some

group of teachers who’ve decided

to have a uniform. Or it

could even be photoshop.

According to Prof. Amankwaa,

"We may have to look

for those in the pictures to

first find out if indeed they’re

teachers and if they’re, what’s

around the world which have

resulted in the loss of lives and

disrupted human lives as a

result of displacement, loss of

homes, and income.

The Central Regional Police

Commander, DCOP Isaac

Amenyo on his part said, he

will make sure that there is

enough peace in the central

region.

He also appealed to all

natives in the region to report

any form of crime to the police

to ensure peace and stability

in the country.

their motivation for the uniform?

He stressed that in this

era of unionised labour, GES

cannot introduce a uniform for

teachers without engaging the

teacher unions. Issues relating

to who pays, government

or individuals, the fabric, etc.,

would all have to be discussed.

He emphasised that any

national project of this kind

may have to be announced and

possibly launched officially.

Page 4


Easter: Road

Safety Authority

and police to

ensure sanity on

our roads

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the National

Road Safety Commission, Pearl Adusu Gyasi says the

Authority together with the Ghana Police Service

and other security agencies will beef up security

on the roads before, during and after the Easter

Holidays.

She observed that during these times, there are a lot of

vehicles on the road and when it happens, there are a lot of

accidents.

As part of measures to ensure sanity on our roads, she said

they are launching a programme for Easter under the auspices

of the Roads and Transport Minister and stakeholders, to

educate drivers and road users to be careful while driving.

Most Ghanaians have a ritual of going to Kwahu for picnics,

conventions and most importantly enjoyment with their

friends during Easter.

Speaking on Atinka TV‘s morning show, Ghana Nie with

Co-host Abena Dufie Asare Adjepong, Pearl Adusu Gyasi noted

that they were going to focus on the Accra- Kumasi- Nkawkaw

road since it is more busier during Easter.

She said the Authority will make the drivers aware that

there could be accidents on the roads so they should drive

safely.

Pearl Adusu Gyasi said together with the police and other

security agencies, they will stand at rest stops including Linda

Dor, Paradise and some vantage points to do sensitisation..

The Road Safety PRO said they will also check motor riders,

adding that those who are found flouting traffic rules will

face the law.

Pearl Adusu Gyasi said this year, they are focusing on the

‘public invisible eye’ to watch those who flout traffic rules,

saying even if officers are not around at a particular place, the

cameras will capture offenders.

“We have educated the public a lot, we have done a lot of

sensitisation but you realise without enforcement, the people

do anything they want. So, we are going to do with with the

Ghana Police Service,” she said.

Source: atinkaonline.com

A

national programme

to evoke the spirit of

volunteerism, civic

responsibility and

rekindle the spirit

of nationalism in Ghana’s

youth has been launched by the

Vice President, Dr Mahamudu

Bawumia.

Under the auspices of the

National Youth Authority (NYA),

the National Youth Volunteers

Programme is designed to ignite

the spirit of selflessness and

volunteerism amongst young

people in Ghana and encourage

youth participation in national

development through voluntary

activities.

The Programme will coordinate

volunteer activities in the

country and seeks to implement

thirteen Modules with the

objective of developing active

citizens, foster national cohesion

and create opportunities for

skills development among young

people.

Officials of the National

Youth Authority say the NYVP

is envisaged to empower over

100,000 young people across the

country in the next five years

with the period of engagement

expected to last between one

and twelve months. Young persons

between the ages of 18-35

years will have the opportunity

to volunteer in areas such as

Agriculture, Education, Health,

Infrastructure, Afforestation,

Community Self-Help Programme,

Science, Research and

Technology, among others.

Performing the launch at

the Prempeh Assembly Hall in

Kumasi on Monday, 11 April 2022

Vice President Bawumia said by

providing a coordinated framework

for streamlining volunteerism

activities, the NYVP will

provide an avenue for the young

Ghanaian person to contribute

their quota to national development

by fixing the problems

right from their communities to

the national level.

“This Programme will

therefore create a generation of

Ghanaian political and thought

leaders, traditional and religious

leaders, entrepreneurs, and people

of all professions and trades

who can envision the grand

agenda for Ghana and work hard

to address the structural challenges

that impede our journey

to our glorious destination.

Akatsi youth Call for

independent probe

The youth of Akatsi in

the Volta Region have

openly expressed

their mistrust of the

Volta Regional Police

Command, compelling them to

petition the Inspector General

of Police, Dr George Akuffo

Dampare.

This comes after a clash between

the youth and the police

on Sunday, which led to the

death of two people.

The youth massed up at the

police station to demand the

release of an impounded motorbike

after police allegedly run

over three persons on a motorbike

with their riot van.

The incident occurred near

the Akatsi Training College,

resulting in the death of one of

the riders.

The development resulted

in an altercation that led to the

police allegedly firing shots at

the youth.

A youth leader, Selorm Ameza,

said they will petition the

IGP and the Commission on Human

Rights and Administrative

Justice on recent police brutalities

on residents, especially the

youth.

According to him, they want

an independent body to see to

“The diversity of the modules

under the Programme will

ensure that no able and willing

youth, regardless of their gender,

level of education, social or

economic status, religion, or any

other, is denied the opportunity

to serve their country and to

develop their creative potential.

There are 13 modules; at least

one will be of interest to you.

“I am particularly excited

about the prospects of the

Science, Research, and Technology

module, which is slated for

later implementation. This will

permit gifted young Ghanaians

to leverage new technologies to

provide lasting solutions to the

myriad challenges in communities

across the country.”

To further prepare Ghanaian

youth for the future, government

is investing heavily in Education,

evidenced by the assurance

of universal access to inclusive

and equitable education through

the sustained implementation

of the Free Senior High School

Policy and the upscaling of Technical

and Vocational Education

Training under the TVET Strategic

Plan, Dr Bawumia stated.

Furthermore, Government

has rolled out a number of initiatives

to equip graduates with the

needed skills required for the job

market in the future, including

an ongoing stakeholder engagement

for skills revitalization in

several sectors of the economy

the investigations of the shooting

and killing of some youths in

the town.

“We don’t trust that the Ho

people are going to handle the

case very well because they are

their people. We are not sure of

the Akatsi people. We don’t trust

the Akatsi people as well… we

want an independent investigation.

We don’t want the Ho

police or Akatsi police to investigate.”

Aside from the IGP, they also

plan to petition the Commission

such as in the banking and tourism

sectors. In the Tourism, Arts

and Culture sector, the target

is to train and certify 10,000

persons on specific tourism and

hospitality skills by 2023.

“There is ongoing construction

and modernization of all

National Vocational training

Institutes (NVTIs) and Opportunity

Industrialization Centers

(OIC). So far, 17 Technical and

Vocational Institutes across the

country are being upgraded and

modernized.”

“The YouStart initiative

which will support young

entrepreneurs to gain access to

capital, training, technical skills,

and mentoring to launch and

operate their own businesses, is

also expected to take off soon,”

on Human Rights and Administrative

Justice, CHRAJ.

“We would petition them and

make sure they become an independent

body, putting pressure

on the police administration to

make sure we have justice in

this case.”

“We feel the police people

will keep on brutalizing the

youth in Akatsi if we don’t do

anything because this is the

third time this happening within

the spate of five months,” Mr.

Ameza added.

Bawumia launches National

Youth Volunteers Programme

he added.

Commending management

and staff of the National Youth

Authority, led by Pius Hadzide

and assisted by Nelson Owusu

Ansah and Akosua Manu, for the

“hard work that has resulted

in the roll out of this laudable

programme,” Vice President

Bawumia urged all stakeholders

to ensure its success.

“We have before us an opportunity

to change the narrative

of what the Ghanaian youth is

about and in doing so change the

narrative around our country

and our continent. We must not

let this opportunity to engage

our youth in useful, productive

volunteering that will have

long-lasting personal and national

impacts pass us by.”

DAILY ANALYST


Perspective

The history of Ghana

in world football

Football is one of the

most beloved sports

throughout the world.

This game carries fans

more than any other

game worldwide. There are an

estimated 3.5 billion soccer fans

around the globe, making soccer

the top sport globally. Cricket,

hockey and Tennis stand second,

third, and fourth respectively.

The beauty of this game is

that it leads to organic nourishment

of the mental and physical

capacity of the player. Mental

capacity is enhanced by coordination

among players, setting

strategies to defend or attack

and building team spirit. On the

other hand, physical capacity is

enhanced as this game involves

extensive, continuous running.

Let’s discuss different aspects

of this game including its

general history and from the

perspective of Ghana.

History of football in the

World

The history of football can

be traced back to 2,000 years.

Different countries in the world

claim the origin of this game.

These countries include Greece,

China, Rome, Japan, and Great

Britain.

Greece used to play the game

called Episkyros. This game involved

throwing a ball over the

heads of team members. It also

involved coordination among

players using a ball. Hence,

Greece claimed football originated

in their country.

Likewise, the Military in

Ancient China used to play

Tsu Chu's sport. This game was

designed to kick a leather ball

in the net with feet. And players

were not allowed to touch

the ball with their hands. So, it

was in some manner similar

to modern-day football. That is

why the Chinese claim football

originates from their country.

In the Roman Empire, the

game played was called harpastum.

This game involved opposing

an opponent and bringing

the ball to one’s own side of the

court. So, Romanians claim football

was started in their country.

Similarly, the Japanese used

to play a game called Kemari. In

this sport, the players used to

work as a team and keep the ball

in the air. So, this game also involved

team coordination with a

single ball on the ground. Hence,

the Japanese claim that football

originates in Japan.

History suggests that Great

Britain had originated the

game's rules regarding touching

the ball with hands, tripping

opponents and uniforms in this

sport. With time, more complexity

was introduced into the

game. For instance, a penalty

kick was introduced to compensate

the victim team. Similarly,

the system of yellow and red

cards was introduced. This led to

more and more discipline on the

ground and increasing inter-

est of the people in this game.

(stadium)

Football’s International

Federation

Fédération Internationale de

Football Association (FIFA) is an

international football association

founded on May 21, 1904, in

France. This association is designed

with the responsibility to

promote this sport globally. FIFA

is also responsible for managing

and maintaining tournaments

throughout the world. Further,

FIFA works to advocate sports

integrity and fair play globally.

The members of this association

include 211 national

associations and six confederations.

These members belong to

different countries of the world.

Federations operate throughout

different continents. FIFA

governs matters related to

regulations of the games, organization

of the international

competitions and tournaments

including the FIFA world cup,

encouraging coaching methodologies,

establishing enhanced

standards for the game, working

on sports medicine, and the

overall development of football

around the globe.

The efforts of FIFA can be

seen by analysing the fact that

this association conducts different

tournaments and competitions

including the Under-20

World Cup, the Women's World

Cup, the Under-17 World Cup, the

Futsal World Cup, and the Beach

Soccer World Cup. However, the

FIFA World Cup remains the top

tournament of all of them.

History of the World Cup

tournament

The FIFA World Cup tournament

is one of the most prestigious

sports tournaments

globally. The World Cup is conducted

every four years and 32

teams take part in the world cup.

Further, the host country for the

World Cup is selected by FIFA.

The first official FIFA World

Cup was conducted in 1930. This

match was played between Argentina

and Uruguay; Uruguay

won the match. After that, the

World Cup was conducted after

every four years. The Second

World War interrupted the consistency

of the game. However, it

was resumed in 1950 and played

after every four years. The next

FIFA World Cup is to be played

from November 21, 2022, to December

18, 2022.

In FIFA World Cup history,

79 nations have competed in the

tournament, and twenty-one

final tournaments have been

played. Only eight national

teams have been champions

that have won the Cup. Brazil

stands first in the queue with

five times wins. Other winning

nations include Germany and

Italy (each won four times). In

addition to this, France, Argentina,

and Uruguay have been a

winner (each won two times).

Similarly, Spain and England

have won the title once. (wiki)

History of the World Cup in

Ghana

Ghana made her debut in

2006 and she has played in three

World Cups tournaments; in

2006, 2010, and 2014. She missed

out in 2018. Ghana has now also

qualified for the 2022 World Cup

in Qatar.

Ghana's national team is

called the Black Stars. The governing

body of Team Ghana is

the Ghana Football Association.

The first time Ghana qualified

for the World Cup in 2006, she

had the youngest team in the

tournament. (Wikipedia)

In 2006, Ghana in Group E,

played matches against Italy,

the Czech Republic, and the

USA. The match played against

Italy was lost by 2-0. During the

next match, team Ghana played

against the Czech Republic and

won 2-0. Team Ghana now had

two goals in hand. The final

group stage match was played

against the United States of

America and Ghana won this

one by 2-1.

However, we lost our next

match with Brazil by 0-3. Ghana

was the only African country in

that year to make it to the round

of 16 and was eliminated after

the match with Brazil (Wikipedia).

In this World Cup, two

matches were won and two lost.

Ghana was ranked 13th out of

32 by FIFA in that tournament

which was impressive for Ghana

as debutants (Wikipedia).

In 2010, Ghana played

matches against Serbia, Australia

and Germany, in Group D,

and went on to face the United

States of America and Uruguay.

Ghana won the match against

Serbia by 1-0. The match against

Australia was equalized, and

the match against Germany

was lost by 1-0. Ghana however

progressed from the Group stage

on a goal difference technicality.

(Wikipedia)

Ghana beat the USA 2-1 in

the round of 16 to make it to the

quarter-finals. The year 2010 was

the country’s best performance

yet. Unfortunately, Ghana lost in

a penalty shootout to Uruguay

when Asamoah Gyan famously

missed that crucial penalty

shot. Had Ghana won that

match, she would have been

the first-ever African country to

make it to the semi-finals stage

of the FIFA World Cup competition

(Wikipedia). Ghana was

ranked 7th out of 32 teams that

played the championship.

Ghana’s During Ghana’s

stint in 2014, she did not make

it out of Group G to the round of

16 stages. Ghana played matches

with the United States, Germany,

and Portugal. The match

against the United States was

lost by 2-1, the match against

Germany was a draw with a

2-2 scoreline, and the match

against Portugal was lost by 2-1.

Ghana finished at the bottom of

the group with a single point.

Ghana has not been a winner

in any of the World Cup finals.

However, let's hope for the best

in 2022. (Wikipedia)

So, who is going to win the

FIFA world cup 2022?

For the coming FIFA World

Cup, 29 countries have been

qualified so far to compete.

The decision for the remaining

three spots is to be taken in

June. However, after the grouping

of the teams, Brazil seems to

be in a winning position considering

their strengths and other

dynamics of the games.

Still, some people suggest

that France is a favourite and

some suggest England should

win this World Cup. We nonetheless

hope for team Ghana to

be Champions through strong

team coordination, understanding

of game dynamics, and

applying appropriate tactics to

win

Ȧll teams for the world cup

have been divided into eight

groups. Each of the groups has

four teams. Ghana is included

in group H alongside Portugal,

Uruguay, and South Korea.

This Ghana National football

team has real potential. (Indian

Express)

In conclusion, the sport

called football is one of the

most loved sports throughout

the world. The fans of football

are estimated to be 3.5 billion

around the globe. And the areas

of regional popularity include

Africa, Asia, America, and Europe.

Cricket, field hockey and

Tennis stand second, third, and

fourth in terms of estimated

fans.

The history of football is

traced back 2,000 years ago.

Greece, China, Rome, Japan,

and Great Britain claim to have

originated this game. Although,

games similar to football have

been played in these countries.

However, the rules of the game

like not to touch the ball with

hands, and the card system was

introduced in later years by

Great Britain.

In today's world, FIFA

manages, operates and works

for soccer development. This

association was founded back

in 1904. FIFA has been conducting

the world cup since 1930. In

addition to the World Cup, the

association has been involved in

different tournaments and cups

like the Women's and Under-17

World Cup etc.

FIFA conducts the Football

World Cup every four years.

Uruguay won the first world cup

in 1930. Team Ghana qualified

for the World Cup in the years

2006, 2010, 2014, and 2022. As of

this writing, Ghana has not won

a World Cup, yet. However, team

spirit is higher, and team Ghana

has increasing expectations to

win the world cup 2022! (football

history)

I hope you enjoyed the read.

Hit me up and let’s keep the

conversation going! I read all

the feedback you send. Also, feel

free to throw at me topics you’d

like to read or hear my thoughts

on. You can always head to my

Calendly to schedule a quick

chat by going to calendly.com/

maxwellampong. Or connect

with me your own way through

my Linktree: https://linktr.ee/

themax.

These are all facts. And this

has been an opinion piece.

Have a blessed week!

Page 6


For the past five years,

Grace Osei Tutu, a

ten-year-old victim of

defilement, has never

been able to experience

her monthly menstruation

leading to frequent collapses

and other health conditions; but

thanks to the Vodafone Healthline

Support Initiative, she can look

forward to a healthier life.

Narrating her story on the

third episode of the Vodafone

Healthline Season 10, she

indicated that a co-tenant in their

Santasi-Kumasi compound house,

raped her on multiple occasions

and warned her to keep mute or

be killed, and as naïve as she was

five years ago, she held on to it

until the aftermath effects have

begun to manifest.

Her predicaments started

The Navrongo-

Bolgatanga Catholic

Diocesan Development

Organisation

(NABOCADO) has

admonished farmers in Northern

Ghana to adopt sustainable

agricultural practices to improve

food security and mitigate the

dire impact of climate change.

According to NABOCADO,

farmers must consider reverting

to traditional and innovative

ways of farming in the face of

climate change consequences on

their productivity.

In a bid to mitigate the

effects of climate change

on farmer productivity,

NABOCADO with funding from

MISEREOR– Germany, under the

strengthening of small holder

farmers resilience towards a

changing climate project is

supporting farmers’ resilience to

climate change.

Speaking at a stakeholder

engagement in Pusu-Namongo,

NABOCADO Directorate of

Livelihood and Advocacy,

Dominic Avea, said, the project

is being implemented in six

districts in Upper East and North

East regions, and will enhance

farmers’ resilience to the effects

of climate change.

“We are looking at improving

crop yield through sustainable

agricultural practices by

facilitating farmers to adopt

practices such as compost,

bonding, crop rotation and others

to increase their yields. Another

approach is the use of local

innovations as an alternative

to agro-chemicals. We are

promoting the use of organic

products thus innovations

that are looking at control of

when she got pregnant and

the man in question took her

to a doctor in a nearby facility

to perform an abortion on her

without her knowledge, because

even though the doctor initially

mentioned to her that she was

pregnant, the man managed

to convince her that it was a

complication in the stomach, not

pregnancy and so the doctor will

operate her to correct it.

After the masterminded

operation to terminate the

pregnancy was carried out by the

rapist and the doctor, Grace has

not been able to experience her

menstrual cycle for even just a

day for a whopping five years.

That is not all, due to this

condition; she often falls sick

and collapses with little stress;

sometimes even at church, her

mother indicated.

The mother indicated that

she first took her to A1 Hospital,

where the doctors examined

her and confirmed that she has

an infection, and so she was

transferred to Komfo Anokye

Teaching Hospital for surgery

(KATH). However, the hefty cost

of the surgery made it difficult for

them to carry out the treatment.

Thank goodness for Vodafone

Healthline! Grace is now a normal

woman who experiences her

menstruation and is free from the

frequent collapses and illnesses.

She was full of praise for the

Vodafone Healthline Team for

coming to her aid.

Dr. Richard Dei-Asamoa,

the Specialist Psychiatrist,

touching on depression and

suicide, explained that there

are two types of depression –

Reaction depression and clinical

depression. He advised that family

and friends should be concerned

about stress and sadness that

extends beyond normal limits

in the situation of reaction

depression, which happens after a

sad event.

This, he said, is because when

attention and help are not offered

to the person, it can escalate

to clinical depression and lead

Adopt sustainable farming practices to tackle

climate change – NABOCADO to Northern farmers

insects, pest, and diseases in

livestock and also improve agroprocessing.”

“We also support

communities to develop climate

adaptation plans to improve

their resilience to the effects

of climate change and how

assemblies can incorporate these

plans into the agenda to improve

the resilience. We are also

encouraging farmers to adopt

and construct the clean cooking

energy which uses improved

energy cooking stove (E-sims) in

their homes”.

Mr. Avea also reiterated the

project’s target of harnessing

small holder farmers to credit

and improved incomes to expand

their operation within the agric

value chain.

“We are also looking at how

to increase the income of small

holder women farmers through

entrepreneurship training using

the savings and internal learning

Vodafone Healthline rescues

concept as a vehicle. We also

facilitate them to access credit

facilities through savings to

expand their businesses”.

Recounting the benefits

of traditional and innovative

farming, a farmer, Fuseine

Bugbon, said, the project if

properly executed, will harness

farmers’ potential to improve

food security and reduce climate

change impact.

“I over the years use the

traditional methods of farming

thus composting, bonding, crop

rotation and locally innovative

products to control pest, insects

and livestock diseases. I don’t

use chemicals like fertilizer,

pesticides or weedicide on my

farms. And I get good yield to feed

my family and sell to generate

income to even expand my farm.

So, I encourage my colleaguefarmers

to go back to our

ancestors’ way of farming”.

to suicide on some occasions.

Smoking, alcoholism and the use

of other hard drugs can also lead

to depression and suicide when

help is not offered timely.

Myth buster segment

The Healthline in-house

doctors – Dr. Aba Folson, the

Cardiologist, and Dr. Kwekuma

Yalley, General Practitioner –

delving into the topic: ‘Hangover

is cured by drinking more’,

explained that drinking too much

alcohol brings some effects on the

body such as headache, vomiting,

abdominal upset, among others,

which is often referred to as a

hangover.

Dr. Yalley stated that drinking

more in this situation of postintoxication

symptoms will

rather aggravate the condition

and cannot be seen as a means to

address the situation.

“Maybe one feels that when he

drinks more in such a situation,

he gets better; but the fact is

that the person becomes drunk

again, hence, less conscious of his/

her condition and not because

the hangover disappears. With

drinking more rather, it will cause

more distraction to the body,” he

said.

He advised people to know

The entire Tuba

community in the Ga

South Municipality has

been thrown into a state

of mourning following

the reported drowning of three

boys including two siblings.

The boys identified as Isaac

Amon, 8, and siblings Elisha Kakra

Adu-Noah, 9, and Samuel Tawiah

Adjei-Mensah, 6, are said to have

left home on Saturday, April 9,

2022, to play around but later

decided to wash down in a pit

created by rainwater from a ridge.

According to a Daily Graphic

report, the area where the boys

decided to wash down had its top

soil removed from the activities of

illegal sand and gravel winning.

The particular pit the boys

sought to dip in is said to have

been created by a mudslide

making its base muddy.

Due to the condition of the

pit, the boys found it difficult to

swim out of the stagnant water

after jumping into the pit causing

them to drown.

their limits and try to stay within

limits to avoid the health and

economic issues that come with

them.

On her part, Dr. Folson

emphasised that sleeping well,

drinking enough water and

staying within limits are the best

ways to address the hangover. She

added that addiction is a causative

factor to excessive drinking, and

so friends and family are advised

to help relatives with addictive

tendencies.

Dr. Yalley, during this week in

medicine segment, indicated that

mental health is as important as

physical health. He advised that

anytime one feels the state of

mental cognition is not regular,

they should seek medical health

from a psychiatrist.

In the Jewels in the Kitchen

segment, Frema Asiedu outlined

the benefits of garlic, stating that

it helps the heart and controls

blood pressure levels, flu and

cold. It is also anti-inflammatory,

anti-oxidant and antimicrobial

(meaning it helps deal with

bacteria) and boosts the immune

system.

She, therefore, urged the

consumption of one raw garlic a

day.

Three boys aged 6,

8 and 9 drown in

abandoned pit at Tuba

Their bodies which have since

been retrieved has been deposited

at a morgue for autopsy and

preservation.

The Ga South Municipal

Assembly is reported to have

stopped illegal sand winning

activities in the area some two

years ago.

However, the vast land which

had been taken over by the illegal

miners has been left with death

traps that poses a threat during

the rainy season.

Meanwhile, a delegation led

by the Ga South Municipal Chief

Executive (MCE), Joseph Nyarni

Stephen, and the Member of

Parliament (MP) for Bortianor-

Ngleshie Amanfro, Sylvester

Tetteh, has visited Mountain View,

Tuba following the incident.

The delegation as part of

its visit assessed the situation

created by activities of illegal sand

and stone winning and also well

visited the bereaved families to

commiserate with them over the

loss of their children.

DAILY ANALYST


The Ministry of

Communications and

Digitalisation has kickstarted

the training of

1,000 girls from various

districts in the Bono East Region.

In all, 5000 girls from five

regions, namely Bono, Ahafo,

Savannah and Northern Region,

will be introduced to and trained

in basic ICT skills and coding this

year.

“I wish to provide all

girls, who desire digital skills

anywhere in this country, the

same opportunity that these

girls have received. We have a

interactive arts, mobile apps, and

animation stories, using various

programming languages.

As part of strategies to both

ensure that Ghana achieves

the Sustainable Development

Goal (SDG) 5, and Ghana’s

ICT4AD Policy on bridging

the gender digital divide, the

Ministry of Communications

and Digitalisation, through

its agencies – GIFEC, NCA and

the Kofi Annan ICT Centre of

Excellence, has expanded the

scope of the GIICT event.

After their training, which

also introduces them to

scratch and basic structures

of programming, the girls

participate in a competition.

This competition is expected

to test the knowledge and ICT

skills acquired during the training

period, including website design,

development of games, coding and

simple ICT applications.

Interestingly, over 60 percent

of the girls trained, have no prior

knowledge or experience in the

Frivolous spending, lectures can’t

stop Cedi fall – Moi Thompson to Gov’t

A

former Director

General of the

National Development

Planning Commission

(NDPC) under the

NDC Administration, Dr. Nii Moi

Thompson, has waded in the

debate on the cedi depreciation

arguing that the government is on

a wrong path.

According to him, the

government has been engaged in

what he described as “flawed and

politicized analysis or through

public lectures.”

“It is clear that the cedi’s woes

cannot be addressed successfully

with flawed and politicized

analyses, or through public

lectures full of sound and fury

that signify nothing.

“Addressing those woes will,

instead, require sober reflection,

a clear vision of the cedi’s and

the economy’s future, sound

policies, and disciplined action,

all of which will certainly

transcend government,” the

former NDPC boss disclosed in an

article highlighting on the local

currency.

He continued “In the

immediate term, as the crisis

rages on, the government must

begin as a matter of urgency

by curbing frivolous spending,

especially spending that is likely

to weaken the cedi further.

“This includes the importation

or purchase of luxury vehicles;

a reduction in foreign travels by

public officials (if they could do it

at the height of Covid, they can do

it now); an end to the president’s

extravagant lifestyle and those

of his appointees generally; an

end to endless foreign “medical

reviews” for public officials,

including MPs; and any other

spending that puts needless

pressure on the cedi.”

very ambitious goal and there

is so much work to be done in

giving our young people the

right skills. For this reason, I

am working closely with the

Ministry of Education to ensure

that we mainstream practical

ICT education in the curriculum

of all schools”, said Minister

for Communications and

Digitalisation, Mrs. Ursula Owusu-

Ekuful.

The training in coding will

give the girls the opportunity to

explore the world of technology,

through the creation of

websites, computer games,

Background

Vice President Mahamudu

Bawumia has attributed the

drastic depreciation of the

local currency on challenges in

approving the 2022 budget and

Russia-Ukraine war.

According to him, the

situation brought about low

investor confidence in Ghana’s

economy among others.

“The financial markets’

assessments of the 2022 budget,

unfortunately, concluded that

our projected 40% increase in

revenue which underpinned the

2022 budget was not likely to

materialize and therefore, our

deficit will increase,” he disclosed

during Danquah Institute and the

NPP’s TESCON organized event

on the state of the economy on

Thursday, April 7, 2022.

He continued “The chaotic

battle in Parliament over the

budget and the passage of the

budget did not also help matters.

This created uncertainty and

signal to the market that

government may not be able to get

most of its programmes passed

in a tightly balanced Parliament.

This further reinforced the lack

of confidence by investors in the

Communication Ministry

begins training of 5,000 Girls

under Girls-in-ICT program

budget.”

Dr. Duffuor on the economy

However, the former Finance

Minister Dr. Kwabena Duffuor

has stated Vice President

Mahamudu Bawumia and the NPP

government cannot match the

economic records of the NDC.

According to him, Ghana’s

economic gains under his

stewardship as Finance Minister

are unmatched adding that

the NDC’s successes had global

recognition.

“We made it possible and we

will do it again because we know

how to do it,” he disclosed during

the launch of Phase One of a

grassroots party empowerment

and self-financing project dubbed

the “Ahot)” Project for the NDC

party at the Ashaiman in the

Greater Accra Region.

“I hear some people are

talking somewhere on the

economy today, whatever they do

or say what we achieved under

Professor Mills they cannot do

it because they just don’t know

how to do it. For almost two years

Ghana was adjudged the best

managed economy globally under

professor Mills.”

use of computers.

The Girls in ICT

programme, was introduced

in 2012 by the International

Telecommunications Union to

empower and encourage girls and

young women to acquire digital

skills and consider studies and

careers in the growing field of

information and communication

technologies.

Ghana, has adopted this

initiative and observed it on a

regional basis. It has already

been celebrated in Greater Accra,

Ashanti, Northern, Volta, Western,

Western North, North East,

Central and Oti Regions.

The program involves the

Training of Trainers who in turn

train the girls. Training of 1,000

girls from districts within the

selected region.

Mentorship session that

provides a platform for women

working in the ICT field, to share

their personal life stories and

Tackle economic hardship

to avoid higher crime rates

– Security Analyst to Gov’t

A

Security Analyst,

Muftawu Mumuni has

stated that the current

economic hardship in

Ghana if not tackled

will increase the crime rate in the

country.

The Bureau of Public Safety

has disclosed in its recent report

that violent crimes in the country

have gone up by 40.8%.

According to the report, deaths

in the report also went up by 53.7%

compare to 2020 with Accra and

the Ashanti region topped the

chart on the level of crime in the

country.

But, speaking to Lily

Mohammed on Starr Today

Monday, the Security Analyst

stated that the findings in 2021

edition of annual ‘Ghana Public

Safety and Crime Report’ are not

surprising.

“It is not entirely surprising,

in terms of incident or increase in

the rate of crime in the country.

When you look at the various

factors that contribute to that it

should not give us any surprises.

professional experiences, with the

young girls. This encourages and

guides the girls in their future

career choices.

Open day experience, where

the best 100 girls are brought to

Accra for a week to tour Mobile

Network Operators (MNO)’s, ICT

firms and interact with women in

the workspace. This has not been

held since the outbreak of the

pandemic, but will be continued

this year.

Prizes such as laptops,

modems, and many more are

awarded to girls who excel in the

competition and, ICT labs are also

established in the schools of the

girls who excelled.

The Ministry has also trained

200 teachers in Bono East and

Bono, as part of these celebrations

for the sustainability of this

program in their various schools.

300 teachers will be trained in the

Ahafo, Savannah and Northern

Regions this year.

Crime is product of many factors,

it’s an economic challenge. It’s a

product of dysfunctional social

structures or family structures.

“The hard economic reality

we are facing today increases the

tendencies for high core crimes

and opportunistic crimes. So

there is dark in the system and

it’s because there is fatigue and

frustration and once jobless,

unemployed people are more

likely to take those path.

The Security Analyst also

indicated that crime can also

be seasonal depending on the

occasion but can be checked with

vigorous security measures.

“There is a lot of pressure on

people to make more money, and

here we are in very hard economic

times and high economic times

bring about higher economic

crime rate.

“Looking at the issues of

unresponsive or inadequate youth

interventions those collectively

impact on the rate of crime,” Mr.

Mumuni added.

Page 8

Health

Private health facilities

threaten partial withdrawal

of service over NHIS debt

The General Secretary

of the Private Health

Facilities Association

of Ghana, Frank-Torblu

Richard has called for

the decentralization of the National

Health Insurance Scheme

(NHIS).

He told Alfred Ocansey in

an interview on 3FM Sunrise

Morning Show on Tuesday that

there have been challenges

with payment of capitation to

private health facilities for their

services to the scheme by the

government due to the centralized

system.

Frank-Torbu again expressed

displeasure with the pricing regime

for medicines and services

under the NHIS.

“We buy our medicines at

market price but we are obliged

to sell them at the set price by

the government. Government is

to facilitate the procurement of

drugs for us but that hasn't been

the case,” he said.

Unlike government medical

facilities that procure directly

from the central or regional

medical stores, Private Health

Care Providers buy from the

open market or even pay cash

when they buy from the central

store.

The Private Health Facilities

Association of Ghana warned

of a partial withdrawal of their

services. To this end, they are going

to stop selling generic drugs

which are on the NHIS drugs list.

“In order for us to be in

business, instead of stocking the

generic medicines which are

on the NHIS list, we will rather

stock the branded ones and sell

them at the market price to the

patients, and nothing prohibits

us from that. Government has

become insensitive to the plight

of Private Health Care Facilities“,

Frank-Torbu reiterated.

“Government should post

some of the trained medical

officers to us. Even if we have to

pay part of their salaries, we are

ready to meet government half-

We need

Ultrasound scan

– Tamale Central Health Centre appeals

Mrs Genevieve

Jimpetey, incharge

of the

Tamale Central

Health Centre,

has appealed to benevolent

individuals and institutions

to provide the hospital with

ultrasound scan machine.

She also appealed for

laboratory equipment to enable

the facility to enhance maternal

care services.

She said ultrasound scan

was one of the most accurate

methods used to assess

breech pregnancies, and key

equipment in diagnosing

ectopic pregnancies and other

dangerous pathologies, hence

the need to equip the facility to

make it functional and effective.

She made the appeal in an

interview with the Ghana News

Agency in Tamale on Thursday.

Mrs Jimpetey said the

facility, which was highly

patronised by pregnant

women and nursing mothers,

transferred most of the

complicated pregnancy cases to

the Tamale Teaching Hospital

due to lack of ultrasound scan

and laboratory services.

She indicated that the

establishment of ultrasound

scan and the laboratory service

at the facility would enhance

the quality of diagnostic service

to pregnant women and reduce

issues of complication during

delivery.


way,” says Frank-Torbu.

“Most of the hospitals will

have to reduce our operations to

clinics because the quality and

quantity of the health workers

needed to run our facilities are

not available since we are losing

them to the search for greener

pastures,” he added.

WHO welcomes

the

establishment

of a new Heads

of State and

Government Group to accelerate

progress towards the SDG

target for noncommunicable

diseases a one-third reduction

in “premature” deaths from

diseases like diabetes, cancer,

heart and lung disease and the

promotion of mental health and

well-being.

The decision was taken at

the inaugural International

Strategic Dialogue on

Noncommunicable Diseases

(NCDs) and the Sustainable

Development Goals, held today

in Accra, Ghana, where a new

Global Compact on NCDs was

launched. The dialogue was cohosted

by WHO, together with

the Governments of Ghana and

Norway.

Heads of State highlighted

the urgency of the NCD

pandemic, which kills 7 out of 10

people globally from risk factors

like tobacco, alcohol, unhealthy

diet, physical inactivity, and air

pollution.

NCDs are largely preventable

and treatable, nearly 7 million

lives could be saved for just US$

0.84 per person per year from

now until 2030. This investment

would realize more than US$ 230

billion in economic and societal

benefits and avert nearly 10

million heart attacks and strokes

globally by 2030.

The Heads of States and

Governments Group announced

that it will gather countries

championing the NCD agenda

and will convene annually at

the UN General Assembly. The

first meeting is expected to take

place in September 2022.

The NCD Compact will

commitment:

• saving, by 2030, the

lives of 50 million people from

dying prematurely of NCDs by

implementing the most costeffective

measures to prevent

and control NCDs;

• protecting 1.7 billion

people living with NCDs by

ensuring that they have access

to the medicines and care they

need during humanitarian

emergencies;

WHO, Ghana and Norway agree to

accelerate actions to save lives

• integrating NCDs

within primary health care and

universal health coverage;

• comprehensive NCD

surveillance and monitoring; and

• meaningfully engaging

1.7 billion people living with

NCDs and mental health

conditions in policy-making and

programming.

The economic, as well as the

health, benefits of investing in

NCDs was a clear theme at the

Dialogue. Norway has been a

frontrunner in investment in

the fight against NCDs, investing

internationally, becoming the

first donor country to include

NCDs in its international

development strategy.

Mr Nana Addo Dankwa

Afuko-Addo, President of Ghana,

outlined the successes of Ghana

in implementing tobacco

demand-reduction measures

and introducing guidelines

for NCD management, but also

highlighted the challenges

for lower-income countries in

accelerating action.

Statements from the

meeting:

Mr Nana Addo Dankwa Afuko-

Addo, President of Ghana:

“Tacking the phenomenon

of NCDs requires leadership

to provide visibility to NCD

issues. I ask my Heads of State

colleagues to join hands with

me as we establish a Presidential

Group (non-binding), and as we

find solutions to NCDs with a

roadmap of universal health

coverage and the Sustainable

Development Goals. In our time,

this will be our legacy”.

Dr Tedros Adhanom

Ghebreyesus, Director-

General of the World Health

Organization:

“Apart from the lives they

take, NCDs take a heavy toll on

economies, cutting down people

in their most productive years.

Overcoming this challenge

requires technical, financial, and

above all, political commitment.

I thank the Governments

of Norway and Ghana for

establishing the first Global

Heads of State and Government

Group on NCDs, and launching

the Global NCD Compact 2020-

2030.”

Mr Jonas Gahr Støre, Prime

Minister of Norway:

"Investing in stronger health

systems, service delivery and

the prevention of NCDs will

make vulnerable populations

more resilient to COVID-19

and future pandemics. This

is also vital for promoting

universal health coverage.

NCD prevention, and access to

treatment and medicine must

be a core component in the

efforts to enhance pandemic

preparedness and response, and

in building back better in the

post-pandemic recovery."

Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO

Regional Director for Africa:

“Noncommunicable diseases

account for nearly a third of

deaths in Africa, where they

not only pose a grave threat

to health and well-being, but

also blunt socioeconomic

development. The commitment

reached today marks a crucial

step in speeding up the progress

against these diseases and

their risk factors as well as the

suffering and deaths they cause.”

DAILY ANALYST


Opinion

What most people do

not know about Easter

Many people

know or have

heard of the

story that

over 2000

years ago, there lived on earth

an individual called Jesus

Christ who was crucified on

the cross at Golgotha by the

Jews. His followers who are

called Christians instituted

certain events and rites in

commemoration of his birth,

death, resurrection, and ascension

to heaven.

Even as his devotees have

no consensus on the veracity

of the phases of his life

(especially his birth on a

wintry Christmas Day whilst

shepherds watched their

flocks grazing in the night),

generally, they all agree on

his death except the backslider.

Their disagreement and

even agreement are on the

historical or theological Jesus

Christ.

If they should know and

look deeper they would have

seen that Christmas and

Easter are not fashioned

along with the personality of

Jesus Christ but the exceptional

annual cosmic event

in which the Christ Spirit descends

into the Earth Planet

and ascends to the home of

the Father.

The Bible has been originally

written (prior to the

translation) by highly spiritual

people in a manner

such that the unenlightened

person runs the risk of taking

its shadow for its substance.

To start with, Christ never

belonged to the human race

but is the highest developed

being among the class of

Archangels who are above the

Angels, just as the Angels are

above the human race.

He is the second aspect of

the God of our solar system

and can NEVER BE BORN by

any human being. Jesus, as

holy as he is, belongs to the

human race. His parents,

Joseph and Mary were not

ordinary but very developed

spiritual people. They made

a great sacrifice to provide

the physical condition for the

birth of Jesus.

At a certain height of spiritual

development, celibacy

becomes the norm and very

developed people had no need

to go through the natural

process of conception and

birth. They can materialize

another physical body and

continue to live. But for the

sake of humanity, the Immaculate

Conception took

place and Jesus was born.

He had a singular mission

to make his body available for

the Christ Spirit to use and

have entered the Earth Planet

in order to save the planet

and humanity.

Hitherto, the low desires

and wickedness of humanity

have enveloped the spiritual

atmosphere of the planet like

a dark cloud.

The low desires are exemplified

by adultery, fornication,

uncleanness, lasciviousness,

idolatry, witchcraft,

hatred, wrath, strife, envying,

murders, drunkenness, and

reveling. The natural order

is to gather the wrongdoers

to the equator and together

with the portion of the planet

that they have crystallized,

be thrown off by centrifugal

force to become a satellite

orbiting the parent planet.

This situation prevails

until the backward spirits

in those bodies (people) live

aright to return to the parent

planet or fail to do so and

be sent back to Chaos, the

primordial source. The earth

was to suffer such second

destruction hence the call in

heaven, ‘Whom shall I send,

and who will go for us? Then

said I, Here am I; send me

(Isaiah 6:8).

Our Lord Jesus was prepared

for his mission by the

Essenes in the Wilderness

of the Dead Sea just like

John the Baptist who served

as his forerunner. At the

Baptism, the spirit of Jesus

relinquished his body for the

Christ Spirit to take over. This

is not a possession in which

an opportunistic entity

diabolically seizes control of

the body of a victim without

permission. Our Lord Jesus

knew his mission in life and

willingly fulfilled it for the

sake of humanity.

By so doing, he assumed

the compound name, Jesus

Christ. The Christ Spirit functioned

in the body of Jesus

for 3 years and on Golgotha,

when the spear pierced His

side, and the blood flowed, He

had entry into the Earth Planet.

From there, Christ cleared

the dark spiritual atmosphere

surrounding the planet to

give humanity a fresh start.

He became the indwelling

spirit of the planet whose

spiritual body has enveloped

the globe, holding it in space

and orbit.

Part of Him (like ether) is

in everything that humanity

takes; food, drink, breathing,

etc. It is written in John 6:53,

‘Then Jesus said unto them,

Verily, verily, I say unto you,

Except ye eat the flesh of the

Son of man, and drink his

blood, ye have no life in you.’

He continues to give humanity

a new impetus to love,

forgive, offer selfless service,

and be kind to others.

As already said, the Christ

Spirit is from the home of

the Father, and the spiritual

people who know this fact,

arranged the calendar of the

world including religious

rites to correspond to the big

cosmic events in the lives of

the Seven Spirits before the

Throne including the Earth

Planet. In actual fact, the

crucifixion and resurrection

mark the annual ascent of

the Christ Spirit from the

Earth back to the home of the

Father.

His journey to earth actually

begins on September

21 and touches the planet by

December 25. He stays for 3

days and begins to ascend

which is completed by the

first Friday after/during a

full moon. This is the cosmic

crossover which is denoted by

the Jewish festival of Nisan

in March/April to mark the

beginning of the year in the

Gregorian calendar. There are

two crossovers each year; one

leading to Christmas and the

other leading to Easter.

The wise or spiritual peo-

ple can behold the star of the

Christ when it is descending

especially in December.

They know that the physical

manifestation of Christ is the

Son and the Father is behind

the Sun just as the spirit is

unseen in the body of a human

being. They denote the

crossover by the movement

of the sun. By March (after

the Spring Equinox) the sun

crosses the equator, towards

the northern hemisphere and

by September, crosses again

to the southern hemisphere.

The physical sun sustains the

life activities of humanity,

and without it, nothing can

live.

Winter will have doused

the life out of people in the

northern part of the planet

whilst severe weather

conditions will have burnt

out life in the southern part.

How much more without the

Spiritual Sun?

Easter marks the liberation

of the Christ Spirit from

the limiting environment of

the earth, after He descended

in December to reenergize

it in order to give humanity

more impetus to pursue

higher desires of love, joy,

peace, longsuffering, gentleness,

goodness, faith, meekness,

and temperance.

This annual sacrifice has

been going on for many years

at a great cost to the Christ

Spirit. It is the responsibility

of humanity to develop spiritually,

to build the spiritual

body that is required to keep

the planet spinning in space.

Our good deeds will eventually

free the Christ Spirit from

this annual sacrifice. As said

in Roman 8:22-23, ‘For we

know that the whole creation

groaneth and travaileth

in pain together until now.

And not only they but ourselves

also, which have the

firstfruits of the Spirit, even

we ourselves groan within

ourselves, waiting for the

adoption, to wit, the redemption

of our body.’

For those who may want

to know, Jesus resurrected

with a spiritualized physical

body having overcome

the four elements, known as

INRI which are the Jewish

alphabets (I am, Nour, Ruach,

Iabeshah) for water, fire, air,

and earth. For whatever reason,

it is translated in English

as ‘Jesus, King of the Jews’. At

such an advanced spiritual

stage, our Lord Jesus has the

authority to materialize flesh

and also dematerialized it.

This type of body is splendid

and defies all physical

scientific laws. It can go

through anything, air, fire,

water, solids, darkness, and so

on. Importantly, death has no

power over it. Our Lord Jesus

is still alive and functioning

in the spiritual worlds,

guiding humanity, especially

those who are more faithbased

than mentally-inclined,

to do good and live a chaste

and loving life.

The earth will one day be

transformed into its spiritual

body where gravity, water, air,

physical food, parties, marriages,

stock exchanges, cars

and buildings, and even death

will no longer exist. It is

those who live by (not those

who profess) the teachings

and principles of Jesus Christ,

of selfless service, purity, love,

and sacrifice who can be with

the Lord on His final return

to establish the Kingdom of

Heaven. They by their service

to humanity will be privileged

to be born again in the

‘soma psuchicon’, the spiritual

body which will be used by

God’s people in the future.

Page 10

Traders and some

buyers in the Central

Business District

(CBD) of Accra have

expressed concerns

over price hikes ahead of this

year's Easter festivities.

Business


Easter: Traders lament price hikes

The concerns follow the

recent increase in general prices

of goods and services, which

experts have attributed to the

depreciation of the cedi against

other major currencies and the

global increase in fuel prices.

At the Tema Station, Madam

Freda Kponyo, a rice trader in an

interview with the Ghana News

Agency (GNA) said sales had

been low since the outbreak of

COVID-19 and getting worse.

She said the hike in prices of

goods had made the market less

busy.

“A big occasion like Easter is

approaching and you don't even

see people buying here. I can't

project what will happen, but

it is obvious we are not making

sales. A tin (margarine) of rice

which was about GHS 2.50 last

year, is GHS 4 and "Olonka '' is

now GHS 24” she said.

Mr Angelo Augustine, a

customer, on Easter shopping,

told the GNA; “It is not easy; I

entered the market with GHc500

and more than half of the money

is gone. I just bought a few

things, and the money is about

to finish.”

The situation was no

different at the Okaishie Market

where it was observed that

trading activities seemed to be

peaking on the fringes of the

market, where prices of goods

were said to be “manageable.”

Mrs Vivian Gyasi, a dealer

of imported rice and cooking

oil, said on the shoulders of the

market, the prices were reduced

a bit for the goods to move faster.

She lamented the absence of

a price regulatory mechanism,

which she said was a

contributory factory to incessant

price increase of commodities

where a 25-litre of cooking oil,

which was GHc240 last year was

now GHc440.

Mrs Gyasi said retailers were

in constant competition with

some wholesalers, who had

decided to increase the prices of

commodities and “so when the

suppliers realise you are doing

well and goods are moving fast,

they won't let you make more

profit than them.”

“So, the government should

check the factories and regulate

the prices because those who

buy from the factory also

increase the prices before it gets

to the retailers. sometimes they

increase it more than it should

be.”

Mr Emmanuel Akolgo, a

dealer in live birds said the

hike in commodity prices had

affected the cost of feed adding

that: “the farmers can't even

feed the fowls well, so we the

sellers must feed them well to

get a good price for them.”

“We are hungry, and we

can't eat what we sell. Last year

we sold the brown birds called

"layers" at GH c30, it is now GHc

40 – GH c45. For the white ones,

they are the "parent stock". We

sell them at GHc130. It used to be

GHc100,” he said.

Government to tighten nozzle

on unbudgeted spending

The Ministry of Finance

is collaborating

with the Public

Procurement Authority

(PPA) to link the

Ghana Integrated Financial

Management Information

System (GIFMIS) to the public

sector procurement processes.

This is to be done using the

Ghana Electronic Procurement

System (GHANEPS), an electronic

procurement platform, designed

to automate procurement within

the public sector.

“This would ensure

commitment control such that

without budget, no one, no entity

will be able to commit to any

form of procurement without

budget,” said Mr. Hayford Amoh,

a Senior Technical Advisor, and a

Director of Internal Audit at the

Ministry of Finance.

Representing the Finance

Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta

at the recent launch of the

Public Financial Management

Compliance League Table

(PFMCLT), he observed that

the major fiscal challenge

facing public institutions

was commitment control

where agencies could commit

government without the

appropriate budgetary allocation.

He said the Ministry would

ensure value for money on all

government projects especially

those conducted under sole

source procurement.

“The Ministry wants to go all

out to resource internal auditors

to ensure the prevention of

corruption or any form of

expenditure malfeasance rather

than detecting them through the

audit of the Auditor General,” he

said.

In a separate interview

with the Ghana News Agency,

(GNA) Mr Amoh indicated that

the deadline for complete

integration has been set from the

end of first quarter to the end of

second quarter thus June, this

year.

Upon completion, he said,

public institutions would also

be compelled to use only the

e-procurement platform for

procurement activities since

budgeting and payments were

done through the GIFMIS.

According to the Public

Procurement Authority (PPA),

76 per cent of 430 entities rolled

onto the electronic procurement

system do not the use the system

that was launched in 2019.

The e-procurement system

was implemented under the

e-transform project of the

Ministry of Communication with

funding from the World Bank.

Coca-Cola Ghana contributes GH¢1.4m

to COVID-19 Private Sector Fund

The Coca-Cola Bottling

Company of Ghana

Limited, a subsidiary

of the Equatorial Coca-

Cola Bottling Group,

has made a total contribution

of GH¢1.4 million to the Ghana

COVID-19 Private Sector fund.

Following the outbreak of

the pandemic, the company

embarked on a consumer

support campaign to remit

funds from the sale of its

products to the COVID-19 Private

Sector fund to support the fight

against COVID-19.

The campaign, Open Like

Never Before, which ran from

September 1, 2020, to December

31, 2021, remitted 10p to the Fund

on each sale of its 1.5L Coca-Cola,

Fanta or Sprite. After an initial

contribution of GHS 113,430 to

the Fund in November 2020,

subsequent contributions of GHS

258,526, GHS 373,999 and GHS

285,660 were made in February

2021, June 2021 and November

2021, respectively.

At a brief ceremony to

present its final contribution of

GHS 370,480 to mark the end of

the campaign, Human Resource

Director of the Equatorial Coca-

Cola Bottling Company – West

Africa Business Unit, Mr. Robert

Akazaawie, expressly thanked

consumers for supporting

such a well-meaning cause and

went further to congratulate

the administrators of the fund

for leading such an impactful

initiative. “As you are rightly

aware, the campaign, which

was originally scheduled to

terminate in June 2021, was

extended to December 2021 upon

realizing the need to do more

considering how critical the

pandemic had become at the

time. Our consumer donation

campaign may be over, but our

commitment to supporting

initiatives that put health and

wellbeing at the fore remains

eternal.”, Mr. Akazaawie added.

Receiving the cheque on

behalf of the Fund, Mr. Kobina

Ata-Bedu, a Trustee Member

of the Technical Committee,

thanked Coca-Cola for the

immense support over the

period and encouraged

Ghanaians to keep supporting

the efforts of the Private Sector

Fund.


Company of Ghana Limited,

aside from contributions made

to the COVID-19 Private Sector

Fund, has also made significant

donations of PPE, beverages

and food items to vulnerable

communities and frontline

workers as part of its COVID-19

social intervention program.

About TCCBCG


Company of Ghana Limited,

part of the Equatorial Coca-Cola

Bottling Group, is the authorized

bottler of Coca-Cola beverages in

Ghana.

TCCBCGL is located at

Spintex, where we produce the

widest range of some of the

world’s famous non-alcoholic

brands such as Coca-Cola, Fanta,

Sprite, Schweppes, Sparletta,

Predator and Vimto.


Company of Ghana Limited

has strongly invested in its

production capacity to make

products readily available to

consumers, while vigorously

enhancing our route-to-market.

Not only have we demonstrated

leadership in production

capacity and diverse product

portfolio, but also displayed

a matchless commitment

to supporting communities

through Education, Health &

well-being, Economic women

empowerment, Youth in

entrepreneurship, Effective postconsumer

waste management,

and Increasing access to potable

water.

We are excited about the

future, and so will continue to

make meaningful economic and

social contributions to the lives

of the millions of Ghanaians we

serve every day.

DAILY ANALYST


Sports

Sepp Blatter and Michel

Platini to go on trial in June

to face corruption charges

The mother of the

Everton fan who was

the victim of Cristiano

Ronaldo's 'phone slap'

following Manchester

United's game against the

Toffees on Saturday has blasted

the club, stating that their handling

of the situation has "made

things even worse".

The Portuguese remains at

the centre of a furore after seeming

to hit a mobile device out of

a supporter's hand in the wake

of the Red Devils' 1-0 defeat at

the weekend, and though he has

since sought to make overtures,

the damage has already been

done.

Now, Sarah Kelly, the parent

of the boy in question, has

roundly criticised both United

and Ronaldo's conduct, and says

that they have rebuffed any

attempts at reconciliation as per

her son's wishes.

What has been said?

"United have handled it

terribly and it's just made

things even worse to be honest,"

Kelly told the Liverpool Echo.

"The way I see it is, if someone

assaulted him in the street and

then asked us to go around for

dinner, we wouldn’t.

"Just because he’s Cristiano

Ronaldo, why would we do it?

It’s like we owe him a favour, but

I’m sorry, we don’t. We’ve kindly

declined the offer to go to United

CR7 'phone slap'

victim's mum:

Man Utd made

things worse

because Jake doesn’t want to go

there and he doesn’t want to see

Ronaldo. He’s made that pretty

clear.

"They're not my words,

they’re my son’s words. At the

end of the day, this is what it’s

about. It’s affected him more

than it’s affected me, so I have

put everything to him to make

his own mind up on - he doesn’t

want to go to United, he doesn’t

want to go to see Ronaldo. All

that I’m saying right now is that

it’s in the hands of the police."

The bigger picture

Dual investigations by both

the FA and Merseyside Police

remain underway into Ronaldo's

conduct, raising the propsect

that the forward could face

charges.

It is the latest low point at

United this season, though the

club have been embroiled more

in on-field failings than off-field

trouble, with defeat to Everton

effectively ending their distant

hopes of a Champions League

finish in the Premier League.

Since arriving to much fanfare

at the start of the season,

Ronaldo's homecoming has

turned into something of a sour

affair at United, with questions

raised over whether he will

remain for the second year of his

contract or look to force an exit

from Old Trafford.

Former Fifa president

Sepp Blatter and former

Uefa president Michel

Platini will go on trial in

Switzerland in June to

face corruption charges.

Swiss prosecutors say Blatter

unlawfully arranged a transfer

of 2m Swiss francs (£1.6m) to

Platini in 2011.

Blatter and Platini – who

were indicted in November –

have both previously denied any

wrongdoing.

If found guilty, they could

receive prison sentences or fines.

Amaju Pinnick, president

of the Nigeria

Football Federation

(NFF) and FIFA

Executive Council

member, has been appointed to

a new position within the world

The case was opened in

September 2015 after Fifa,

football’s world governing body,

was dogged by accusations of

widespread corruption.

Fifa’s ethics committee

launched an investigation which

saw both men banned from the

game and forced to leave their

positions.

The Swiss case centres on a

request for payment for advisory

work Platini did for the then-Fifa

president Blatter, 86, between

1998 and 2002.

Prosecutors said Platini, 66,

football governing body's working

group.

The NFF president was

informed in a letter dated April

11th and signed by the Confederation

of African Football

(CAF) General Secretary, Véron

demanded the payment “over

eight years after the termination

of his advisory activity”.

“With Blatter’s involvement,

Fifa made a payment to Platini

in said amount at the beginning

of 2011,” prosecutors previously

said

Ḃlatter and Platini

are charged with fraud,

embezzlement, “unfaithful

business management” and

forgery of documents.

The trial will start on 8 June.

Mosengo-Omba, that he has been

nominated by CAF President Dr.

Joseph Motsepe to be a member

of the "newly established

Working Group on Normalisation

Committees."

The CAF General Secretary

wrote further: “This joint

working group, to be led by FIFA,

will analyse the applicable legal

framework and the governance

structure, mandate and mission

of Normalisation Committees,

and make suggestions to the FIFA

Council accordingly.

“We are confident that your

nomination to this working

group will positively contribute

to the pertinent, and often essential,

role played by Normalisation

Committees in support of federations

and towards the fulfillment

of good governance practices.”

Pinnick has faced criticism

following Nigeria's failure to

qualify for the 2022 FIFA World

Cup in Qatar. The Super Eagles

were eliminated after losing in

the playoffs to long-time rivals

Ghana.

Pinnick, 51, announced earlier

this month that he will not seek a

third term when his current term

as president expires.

Pinnick, who took over as

NFF president in 2014 and was

re-elected for a second term in

2018.

Wednesday, 13th April, 2022a

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?