DIDIER DROGBA: African Player of the Year 2006---Photo Account

NPP calls for unity as Ghana celebrates it 50th anniversary

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Friday called on compatriots to join hands in building a more prosperous and peaceful Ghana as the nation celebrated its 50th anniversary.

A statement issued signed by the General Secretary of the party also congratulated President John Agyekum Kufuor for “keeping the torch of freedom and justice burning higher and higher”. The statement paid an extraordinary tribute to Ghana’s first president, Dr. kwame Nkrumah, who with the help of other patriots fought for the country’s independence.

The statement, while saluting the people of Ghana on the 50 years of the nation’s sovereignty, congratulated both the previous and present government for steering Ghana to the present moment. “We also salute the countless others who worked as farmers, soldiers, teachers, traders, politicians, journalists, clergymen, and trades unionist whose toil and sacrifice paid the high price for nationhood”, it said.

The statement also recognised Madam Theodosia Okoh, the lady who designed the nationbal flag, Mr Amon Kotey who designed the national Coat of Arms, the late Phillip Gbeho who composed the national anthem and the late Dr. Ephraim Amu who composed the national patriotic song “Yen Ara Asase Ni” for giving the country symbols of national pride and inspiration.GNA

DIDIER DROGBA: African Player of the Year 2006

Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba was named 2006 African Footballer of the Year, edging out Ghana's Micheal essien and Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o to deny the Barcelona marksman a record fourth successive award.
Drogba, 28, took the honour for the first time after captaining his country to the African Nations Cup final where they were beaten on penalties by hosts Egypt. Ivory Coast also reached the finals of the World Cup for the first time last year while Drogba won the English Premier League with his club side.
Chelsea team mate Essien finished third for the second consecutive year in the poll of Africa's 53 national team coaches.
Last year, Eto'o pipped Drogba by two votes in the closest race in the award's 36-year history.
Drogba turned the tables on Eto'o this time, securing 79 votes against his rival's 74. Ghana midfielder Essien polled 36 votes as coaches gave three points to their first choice, two to their second pick and one point to their third.
Drogba's success came four days after he scored twice to help Chelsea beat Arsenal 2-1 in the League Cup final, taking his tally for the English season to 28 goals.
The Abidjan-born striker spent much of his youth growing up in France where he played for Le Mans, Guingamp and Olympique Marseille before moving to Chelsea in 2004. Drogba is only the third English-based footballer to win the award after Nwankwo Kanu, then of Arsenal, in 1999 and Senegal's El Hadji Diouf, who was with Liverpool when he took the title in 2002.
Eto'o helped Barcelona to a Champions League-Spanish Primera Liga double last season and finished top scorer at the African Nations Cup finals.
Essien, whose appearance attracted thousands to the city stadium in Accra, had an outstanding campaign as debutants Ghana reached the last 16 of the World Cup in Germany.
In other awards on Thursday, Olympique Marseille defender Taye Taiwo (Nigeria) was named best young African footballer while Ghana were chosen as international team of the year. Egypt's Al Ahli took the club prize and their Portuguese boss Manuel Jose was coach of the year.
Winners of Glo-CAF Awards 20062006 African Player of the Year Award Drogba Didier – Cote d’Ivoire/ChelseaInter-Club Player of the year 2006 Abou Treka Mohamed (Ahly,Egypt)
National Team of the year 2006 Ghana
Club of the year 2006 Al Ahly (Egypt)
Young player of the year 2006 Taiwo Taye (Nigeria, Olympique de Marseille)
Women Footballer of the year 2006 Cynthia Uwak (Nigeria)Coach of the year 2006 Manuel José (El Ahly, Egypt)
Source:GHP

More pix from the 59th anniversary of Christiansburg Crossroads shooting.

59th Anniversary Christiansburg Crossroads Shooting Incident marked-----PHOTO ACCOUNT

Wreaths were laid at the Osu Cenotaph on Tuesday to commemorate the 59th anniversary of Christiansburg Crossroads Shooting incident in which three Ex-Servicemen of the Royal West African Frontier Force were gunned down by the Colonial Police on February 28 1948.

Below are some pictures from the event:

Environmental performance, poor over last 50 years

Mr Emmanuel Salu, Deputy Director, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday said although Ghana was able to achieve a lot over the last 50 years, its performance on environmental issues had not been the best.

"Our natural resources such as the rivers and forests have not been properly managed, leading to deforestation and pollution of our water bodies, and worst still, is the problem of sanitation and littering in major towns and cities," he said.

Mr Salu was speaking at the inauguration of a 6-member national planning committee in Accra by Youth For Christ Heritage (Yufrist), an NGO and the EPA, with a mandate of drawing up an environmental consciousness programme in line with Ghana's 50th anniversary. The programme is on the theme; "Pepping up the desire for environmental consciousness, corporate partnership, a key strategy".

Mr Salu said although Ghana's population at independence was only four million and the 2007 figure stood at around 23 million, it did not give Ghanaians the justification to abuse the environment the way they were doing."Protecting the environment is a shared responsibility and agencies, NGO's and all well meaning Ghanaians should get involved in protecting the environment," he said

Our greatest handicap is our changing lifestyle in line with urbanisation. But with a little effort on the part of every individual about the environment, the nation would go a long way in achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDGs), which has one its pillars on the environment.

Mr Jehoiada G.K. Amuzu, Executive Director and Secretary to the planning committee urged all business entities to do their businesses in a manner that would take into consideration the interest of the larger society in ensuring a sound environment that would promote good health for all.He urged the business entities to support district, municipal and metropolitan assemblies in the maintenance of environmental sanitation of the towns and cities

CJA: Peoples' jubilee procession to go ahead

The Committee for Joint Action declared on Wednesday that the Peoples' Jubilee Process it has planned for Independence Day would come on.In a statement signed for CJA by Ms Emelia Arthur, the group said:

"For the avoidance of doubt ... we wish to make it abundantly clear that the Peoples' Jubilee Process scheduled for 6th March 2007 is going ahead."The CJA referred to statements by the Tertiary Students Confederacy (TESCON) of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), a group calling itself the Campaign for Patriotism (CAP) and the police on the proposed march and said they were meant to stop them.

"All these statements are clearly designed to prevent the lawful exercise of our right to participate peacefully in the 50th anniversary as free citizens in a manner of our choosing rather than in a manner imposed by the state machine."The CJA said it wanted to provide "a popular platform for the masses as an alternative to the essentially elitist Ghana@50 programme". "We hope to underline the political significance of Ghana's independence as an important victory in the worldwide struggle of the ordinary people against elitism.

"We wish to celebrate Kwame Nkrumah, the pre-eminent strategist and tactician of the struggles against classical colonialism." CJA said threats by TESCON and CAP to stage counter demonstrations and the Police to confront the CJA marchers demonstrated "clearly their utter contempt for the constitution and the citizenry".
Source:GNA