Essien wins BBC African award

Ghana midfield icon, Michael Essien has been voted the 2006 British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) African Footballer of the Year.

The hard tackling and intelligent midfielder polled 66% of the 12, 000 votes ahead of Mohamed Aboutrika of Egyptian giants, Nadi Al Ahly and his Chelsea team mate Didier Drogba, an Ivorian.
Aboutrika and Drogba polled 30 and four percent of the total votes cast respectively.

Essien's win, according to information monitored by the GNA Sports was based on his outstanding performance in the 2006 Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) World Cup held in Germany.

Known as the "Bison" for his strength and powerful style of play, Essien was instrumental in the success of Ghana at the Mundial, ensuring the team's progress to the second round of the 32-nation tournament.

The midfielder has also played a pivotal role for Chelsea in the English premiership and the UEFA Champions League and is regarded as one of the club's best midfielders and indeed, one of the best for the position in the world.

Essien, who is also vying for the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) Africa Footballer of the Year goes into the contest with slight advantage over his opponents, Drogba and Samuel Eto'O Fils of Barcelona and Cameroon due to the award.
Source:BBC

I Will Consult Kufuor - Mills

The flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, has stated that he will never hesitate, if he wins the 2008 elections to become the President, to consult President J. A. Kufuor on important national issues.According to him, President Kufuor, who would be a former President after 2008, would by then have had experience and knowledge about national issues which would help his government and the nation as a whole.

Prof. Mills, who was interacting with journalists at an end-of-year soiree for media practitioners at the weekend, said by virtue of being the President of the country for eight years, President Kufuor would have firsthand information on nationals issues which his government might need.He stated that that was what he meant when he said some time ago that he would consult former President Rawlings if he won the 2000 elections during a function at Swedru.

However, people misconstrued and misinterpreted it.He noted that since no single person was the repository of knowledge and information, it was always important for one to do a lot of consultation.Asked who would be his running mate in the 2008 election, Prof. Mills, who had Mr Martin Amidu and Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni as his running mates in 2000 and 2004 respectively, said he would leave such decision for the various groups, including representatives of the membership, to take because currently the party had about a dozen people each of whom qualified to be his running mate.Prof.

Mills gave the assurance that his campaign would strictly be on issues which bordered on the welfare of the people �because Ghanaians are suffering and want a person who will ensure that there is work to do, food on their table and their kids have affordable and quality education�.

The President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Mr Ransford Tetteh, congratulated Prof Mills on his election as the flag bearer of the NDC and assured him that the media would offer all candidates equal opportunity to get their message to the electorate.The Chairman of the NDC, Dr Kwabena Adjei, said the party and the media were not at cross purposes but were doing their work for the betterment of the nation.

Therefore, they should see each other as partners.In attendance was Mr Eddie Annan, who sang tunes of old to the admiration of the people present. There were also representatives of Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah and Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu.Story by Donald Ato Dapatem
Source:GHP

NDC Denies Report of Another Congress

Ghana’s main opposition national democratic congress party (NDC) is reportedly planning to hold a second delegate congress to elect a new flag bearer for the 2008 general elections.This follows speculation that former vice president and the party’s current presidential candidate John Atta-Mills is not well. But the party says Atta-Mills is well and that it is not considering holding another congress to elect a new flag bearer.

Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah is the deputy general secretary of the NDC. He described the reports as preposterous.“Throughout my political life I’ve heard and read preposterous stories but this for me is the most bizarre and ridiculous of all the stories that I have ever heard… We’ve had a successful congress, Professor Mill won by a landslide and is the presidential candidate of the NDC and it stays that way for 2008 elections and it’s as simple as that.

There has never been intimations or discussions anywhere. So for me, it’s a figment of some ones morbid imagination,” he said.Afriyie-Ankrah said though the former vice president had been ill at one point, he is now as fit as a fiddle.“Yes it is true that Atta-Mills was not well at a certain time and he went to South Africa for treatment. Does it mean that when somebody is not well for a certain period of time that the person will never be well again?

Haven’t we all been sick one time or the other in our lives? Do we all know when the Lord will call us? So for me, it is really preposterous,” Afriyie-Ankrah noted.Afriyie-Ankrah continued,” This whole issue about he is not swift therefore he is not well, now it’s part of the negative mentality that we have…Two days after the party’s congress he (Atta-Mills) called me to meet him for a discussion.

I had difficulty getting out of bed and when I met him he was looking very fit and very healthy and I said my goodness, this is somebody who they claim is very sick?Afriyie-Ankrah said the party is confident of coming to power in the next general elections.“We are very confident but not complacent that we stand a very good chance of coming back to power because when you look at the track record of the NPP (ruling New Patriotic Party), they’ve made a lot of promises that they’ve not been able to keep.

But when you look at the personality, the stature and standing of Professor Mills, I call him the political saint because he has been in political office for over thirty years and there is no hint of a scandal around him,” he said.Afriyie-Ankrah said the party would build on the incorruptible reputation of the former vice president to come to power.

“This is somebody who is incorruptible, this is somebody who has integrity and this is somebody who has shown that indeed he is an honest and selfless and matured person and who has a vision and love for this country, and I believe that is a very good platform for us to move forward and win the elections and develop this country,” Afriyie-Ankrah said.
Source:VOA

Sustain current democratic dispensation as a way of life for all times - Kufuor

President John Agyekum Kufuor on Wednesday appealed to Ghanaians to accept the challenge of sustaining the country's current democratic dispensation as a way of life for all times. It should, in addition, become the basis of national development, he said at the opening of the 58th annual New Year School, at the Great Hall of the University of Ghana, Legon.

The school is being held under the theme: "Ghana at 50, Achievements, Challenges and the Future." It would provide the platform for the participants and the nation to examine key national concerns since independence, the choices that were made and the consequences with a view to providing directions for the future.

About 600 people including District Chief Executives, Members of Parliament (MPs), organized labour and civil society organizations are attending. President Kufuor said the return to constitutional rule in 1992 signaled a new beginning for change and renewal to address the challenges of the country's stagnated socio-economy.

Since then, determined efforts had been made to improve the governance system, arrest the economic decline and create opportunities for the people to pursue productive endeavours to realize their full potential. He said confidence has now been restored in the economy and the nation and that Ghana was one of the few countries rated by the United Nations to likely achieve the Millennium Development Goals within the specified time of 2015.

President Kufuor spoke of the many difficulties and uncertainties that have afflicted the political system during a greater part of the last five decades and stated that despite the difficulties, the goal of nation building has remained on course. He stated that there had been impressive achievements within the last half-century that the nation must be justifiably proud of, citing the massive expansion of infrastructure in terms of good road networks, telecommunication, ports and harbours as well as urban and rural electrification. "

Social services like hospitals, potable water, educational institutions of all levels also experienced rapid and phenomenal expansion." He however, said economic growth that was assumed would come automatically in the wake of Ghana's independence to support the desired rapid development proved to be a mirage.

This, he said, was partly due to the not-too-mature and informed socio-economic management in governance for the first few decades after independence and the complex Cold War influences of the time. President Kufuor declared the Jubilee year, a year of national renewal and said "The stage is set for the accelerated take-off of Ghana as a united and prosperous nation." Professor Daniel Adzei Bekoe, Chairman of the Council of State, praised the School for the opportunity it has been providing for intellectual development.

The New Year School has been organized consistently without interruption for the past 57 years, despite the turbulent political changes. Professor C.N.B. Tagoe, the Vice Chancellor, asked the participants to share the knowledge and skills acquired with the communities when they go back.GNA

Reconcile current and former Presidents - Presbyterian Moderator

The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG), the Right Reverend Dr Yaw Frimpong-Manso, has stressed the need for cordial relation between the President and the former Head of State.

He recalled an initiative by the Christian Council of Ghana some time ago to resolve the impasse between the two, but said the attempt was not welcomed. "Despite the insults we received from a cross section of the citizenry, in our desperate attempt to join the two together, it is imperative for the Church to put pressure to ensure that their relationship become healthy," he said.

In a sermon at the induction of the Akuapem Presbytery Chairman of the Church at Akropong on Sunday, the Moderator stated that reconciliation between them would augur well for the development of the country. He noted that, as Ghana was about to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the country's independence, the nation needed unity and reconciliation more than ever before and "the best people to show the way to unity and reconciliation is the former and sitting President".

Preaching on the theme "Christ the universal King," he urged leaders to be mindful of the fact that no authority except that of God was everlasting and called on them to put their trust in Christ, "who reigns forever". He mentioned the rise and fall of kingdoms and the execution of former Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein as events that gave credence to the fact that no ruler or kingdom was absolute.The execution of Saddam Hussein must make leaders conscious of their actions to humanity when they were in power.

Rt. Rev. Frimpong-Manso described the execution as a sad one and noted that "earthly justice required that those who committed crime against humanity should be dealt with on earthly terms". He called on Ghanaians to desist from the "pull him down syndrome" that had become a canker in the society, which impeded development and progress.The Moderator called for a better approach in the New Year as the nation prepared for the 50th independence anniversary to make way for progress.

The Moderator advised the Presbytery Chairman to discharge his duties as a servant of Christ, the universal King and to desist from all forms of iniquity that could bring reproach. He reminded him that corruption, indiscipline, nepotism, political acrimony and inconsistency of faith among others, were some of the challenges and urged him to put his trust in Christ.

The Presbytery Chairman, Rev. Dr Joseph Obiri Mante, who is a Senior Lecturer at the Trinity Theological Seminary, would hold office for five years. He noted that the accomplishments of the Presbytery required better performance during his term to move it forward and called for the prayers and support. The Presbytery Chairman, said development of the presbytery could not be achieved without the transformation of the lives of the less privileged.

He thanked the General Assembly and the Presbytery Council for the confidence reposed in him by nominating and electing him into that office.
Source:GNA

Gold workers threaten strike on new pay system

Workers of AngloGold Ashanti at the Obuasi mine in Ghana are threatening to stage a demonstration on 2 January to protest a new pay system introduced by the parent company in South Africa.

According to the workers at Obuasi in central Ghana, the new pay system, known as EDICOS, is cumbersome to operate and has led to some anomalies in their salaries.The Chairman of the workers union, Kwarko Mensah, said the EDICOS system is creating a lot of problems for the workers and the union in particular.

He said the union leaders have been criticised for not protecting the workers` interests with regard to the problems associated with the pay system.Mensah said though the Obuasi management team is aware of the problem, they cannot do much about it.

A management source told reporters that the problem is receiving the best of attention and expressed the hope that the workers would see the need not to embark on the demonstration.

Saddam Execution.....Full Cell Phone Footage

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