GCB to rollout MasterCard in Ghana

The Ghana Commercial Bank, GCB, has acquired a certification to issue MasterCard in Ghana. It has thus become the first bank in Ghana to acquire a principal certification for the global brand. GCB with its 135 networked branches and 10 agencies will sponsor affiliates and work with merchants as well as customers to roll out the various types of MasterCard including debits, credit and pre-paid. A delegation from MasterCard International is currently in the country to finalize preparations to enable the bank introduce the card. The Head of Marketing and Card Business at GCB, Alhaji Hussein Ibn Salifu has told JOY News that the bank will launch the MasterCard before the end of the year, explaining that with the introduction of MasterCard, customers of GCB will have access to their accounts in any part of the world. GCB's association with MasterCard dates back to the years when it introduced the first prepaid card, Mondex, another product of MasterCard. The bank officials say their electronic payment system will be integrated into the domestic platform being sponsored by the Bank of Ghana.

Mazuii applauds opposition ....

Professor Ali Alamin Mazrui, a world acclaimed African scholar, on Thursday attributed the relative political stability in Ghana to the moderation of the opposition saying, "restraint by the opposition in Ghana is a virtue.""The behaviour of the opposition goes a long way to determine the political status of a country and Ghana's opposition must be given the credit for their restraint, which has kept the country relatively stable for decades," he said.Prof. Mazrui, made the remark at the seventh in the Golden Jubilee Lecture series, jointly organised by the Ghana at 50 Secretariat and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Cooperation and NEPAD. The topic for the lecture was "The Brain Drain and the dual Diaspora: Post-enslavement and post-coloniality."Prof. Mazrui noted that political instability among other things was a major "push out factor" that contributed to brain-drain in Africa.He said the phenomenon resulted in professionals moving out of the continent to the West due to "pull in factors" such as better economic, educational, political and social conditions among other things. Prof. Mazrui recalled that in the post-independence era, in Ghana, domestic policies of the then Conventional People's Party government sparked off the phenomenon of post-colonial Diaspora.He said Dr. Kwame Nkrumah's Preventive Detention Act was one of the major cause of Ghanaian intellectuals, who felt unsafe and unwanted in their own country to leave Ghana."Not just in Ghana but in the whole of Africa at the time, politicians made it look like African intellectuals were destabilizing elements rather than development partners-I was personally refused an appointment to lecture in my own country and I was told it was for political reasons," he said.Prof. Mazrui said the over throw of Dr. Nkrumah set the tone for a chain of coups in Ghana and its resultant political instability that plagued the country until recently.He said Ghana had over the past few years shown signs of moving completely from a coup-prone country to a coup-proof country, characterised by sound political developments. Prof. Mazrui said even though Ghana and some other African countries were relatively stable, the brain drain situation was rising because the "pull in factors" in the West continued to out-weigh "pull in factors" in Africa."A recent online research indicated that through brain drain, one-third of Africa's education budget has become a supplement to the US education budget because most of the people who leave Africa to the states are people who are highly trained with African resources," he said.Prof. Mazrui charged African leaders to formulate policies to tackle the brain gain issue, and noted that Africa could not do anything about the "pull in factors" that existed in the West.He urged African leaders to as a matter of policy begin to stem the domestic "push out factors," which also included poverty, lack of opportunities for career development, education and better social services among other things.Prof Mazuri said attempts to solve the brain gain problem should focus on bringing the expertise of African intellectuals in the Diaspora to bear on the continent's development without necessarily relocating them physically unto the continent."He said there was difference between post-enslavement and post-colonial Diaspora, explaining that in the United States for instance, the post-enslavement Diasporians were the Africa-Americans, born and raised in America, but the post-colonial Diaspora, who he referred to as the American-Africans, comprised of those who migrated to the states as a result of the "push out" factors.Prof Mazuri said both groups were resourceful and could be used for the development of the continent when the right policies and conditions were put in place."Remittances from members of African families in the Diaspora alone is higher than foreign direct investment from the west to Africa. But we are talking about financial and intellectual input from the Diaspora," he said.Prof. Mazrui also asked Africa states to find ways of converting brain drain to "brain transfer," where African intellectuals could move to other parts of the continent instead of moving outside the continent all together.Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, Prof. J. H. Kwabena Nketiah, graced the lecture ministers of State, members of the Council of State members, members of parliament and members of the diplomatic corps.
Source:GNA

Starlets coach optimistic of next stage berth

Sellas Tetteh, head coach of Ghana's U-17 team, Black Starlets is optimistic about the team's progress to the next stage despite Thursday's loss to Germany.The Starlets were beaten 3-2 by their German counterparts in the second match of their Group F clash at the Cheonan Sports Complex, South Korea.Associations (FIFA) as he expressed disappointment at the result but praised his players for the wonderful performance in the second half of the game.The Starlets scored two quick goals in the second half after a disastrous first half, which saw them conceding three goals within a spate of 27 minutes."Of course we are disappointed. In the second half, we showed the form we were aiming for in the first half."The Liberty Professionals coach was the least enthused about the tactical abilities of his team in the first half, saying "We definitely need to talk about that change for the future."Coach Tetteh has however said he is setting his sights on victory in the ultimate group game against South American side, Colombia who raced to the top spot after a 3-0 thrashing of Trinidad and Tobago later on Thursday."If we get a second win, we will definitely reach the round of 16," assured the soft-spoken trainer who is hoping to be third time lucky after twice failing in various capacities as head coach and deputy.

Burly striker Sadick Adams expressed similar sentiments with his trainer and promised to make amends in the last game. "We have learned a lot from this match and really need to win our last game," said Adams who grabbed the Starlets second goal in the 52nd minute.The Starlets, two-time winners of the biennial championship play Colombia on Sunday in their last group game.
Source:GNA

Wayo Attacks NPP Aspirants

MR. CHARLES Kofi Wayo, the Leader of United Renaissance Party (URP), has reiterated the loaded and impregnated question posed by one of the presidential candidates of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr. Boakye Agyarko to his opponents that what are they to do better that have not been done during their tenure of office as cabinet Ministers before seeking the mandate of Ghanaians to lead the country.He said the inability of the aspirants to present their proposals to the President and followed it up at the Parliament for its discourse, implies that they are not qualified to lead the nation.“What can they do better that they could not do as Ministers? Let them tell the whole world any proposals that they have written to the President, which was not honoured. They should tell the whole world the number of times that they have defended their proposals at parliament,” he said.Speaking to The Chronicle in an interview on a wide range of issues including energy crisis, his vision for the nation Ghana, recent fund raising of the NDC through its Founder, Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings among others, Mr. Wayo, a maverick politician said, “The people jostling to lead the NPP are not qualified to rule this nation. They lack common sense and capability.”According to him, all the aspirants do not care about the plight of the nation and are only interested in becoming the President. “Currently we have people conducting traffic lights when the lights are off instead of the Police. None of these Ministers have complained about this. They are only interested in becoming a President on the ignorance of Ghanaians.”Mr. Wayo, who missed no chance at all in lashing at President Kufuor-lead administration anytime he gets the opportunity, said, the resignation of eight cabinet Ministers to pursue their presidential ambitions indicated that they think they can do better than the President.“They resigned because they believed that the country was not well managed by the President. They believe that President Kufuor is incompetent and incapable of helping the nation but to consistently depend on IMF and international donors. The URP would never depend upon foreign donors,’ he said.Touching on the recent fund raising of the NDC Founderr, which has generated hue and cry within the public to the extent that others are seeking for the source of the fund, the self-confessed energy expert told this paper that the move to investigate the funding of the matter was in a bad taste.He said if the NPP is urging the NDC to disclose their account, the NPP should do likewise because they have also been raising funds for their political activities without even telling the whole world the amount they have got.“If that is the case, they should also disclose their sources of income. The ministers aspiring to lead the NPP should disclose to us where they are getting their ¢250m from to pay for their presidential nomination fees. They are public figures.”“The NPP should tell us their sources of income because they have being doing the same thing. Have they told us the amount of money given to them by their former MP for Nkoranza, Mr. Eric Amoateng? There is no point in looking into the funding of the NDC,” he said.According to him, he is tempted to believe that the cocaine business that has now emerged in the country was a promise made to the cocaine dealers by the NPP party. Mr. Wayo asked, “I wanted to know whether the NPP has promised cocaine dealers and that is why much cocaine cases are now coming to Ghana,’ he asked.The leader of the URP, who stated that his primary concern was the plight of the citizens but not to pose his nose into the activities of cocaine cases in the country, said presidential aspirants of the NPP are taking Ghanaians for a ride because Ghanaians are not demanding accountability from them.“If people are civilize enough and demand accountability from them, most of them would not vie for that post. They cannot provide basic amenities for the people.”On his talk on the energy crisis, Kofi Wayo asked Ghanaians and civil societies to rise up against the government for plunging the country into total darkness.He said the government must stop treating Ghanaians in that manner and added that some bigwigs within the NPP are only bringing the whites to rob the nation.He asserted that those coming to manage the barge would not be able to live up to expectation except they are being brought by their cronies in the NPP to make more money.He also what is preventing the nation from firing some ‘incompetent’ staff from the Volta River Authority.Quizzed on the chances of his URP, Mr. Wayo, said having toured the country, he realized that people have now bought his policies and ideas and are prepared to vote for him in 2008.“The reception that I receive across the country was unbelievable. I believe that there is awakening and all my preaching are beginning to take root,” he said.
Source:Chronicle

Ghana Hits Another oil

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation has announced its second oil discovery offshore the Republic of Ghana. The Hyedua-1 well is located on the Deepwater Tano license in approximately 5,020 feet of water, 3.3 miles southwest and down dip from the Mahogany-1 discovery well, which Anadarko announced in June 2007. The Hyedua-1 well was drilled to a total depth of approximately 13,130 feet and encountered approximately 130 feet of net pay in a Cretaceous sandstone reservoir."The results of the Hyedua-1 well and our 2007 drilling program in the deep waters offshore Ghana are very encouraging," said Bob Daniels, Anadarko's Senior Vice President, Worldwide Exploration."The two discoveries indicate the presence of a large structure that extends across the West Cape Three Points Block and onto the Deepwater Tano license with a combined gross hydrocarbon column of nearly 1,200 feet. Based on the commercial potential of the area, the partnership continues to work in close cooperation with the Republic of Ghana and is making arrangements to bring another rig to the region to begin a rapid appraisal program in the fourth quarter."Anadarko is the technical operator of the Hyedua-1 well with an 18-percent interest. Tullow Ghana Limited, an affiliate of Tullow Oil plc, is the operator of the block with a 49.95-percent interest.Other partners include Kosmos Energy Ghana HC with an 18-percent interest, and Sabre Oil and Gas Limited with a 4.05-percent interest. The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation will be carried through the exploration and development phases with a 10-percent interest.The Hyedua-1 and Mahogany-1 wells were drilled using the "Belford Dolphin" deepwater drillship, which is under long-term contract to Anadarko. After the Hyedua-1 well is sidetracked to obtain additional core data, the drillship will move to the Gulf of Mexico to test additional prospects in Anadarko's 2007 exploration program.Source: oilvoice.com

Osu Homowo was Peacefull

Police presence in Osu in Accra, which is divided over achieftaincy dispute, ensured that the people had a peaceful Homowo celebration.Nii Nortey Owuo III, Osu Manste, amidst drumming and dancing, sprinkled"Kpokpoi", the traditional food made of corn flour and palm fruit soup, throughsome streets of Osu.Osu Mantse Nii Nortey Owuo 111 introducing himself to the gathering at the Osu palace before descending the stairways to perform the sprinkling of kpekpoi indicating the beginning of the Homowo celebrations the by people of Osu .

Ghana 1 Senegal 1

Senegal on Tuesday failed to punish a highly defensive Black Stars, and in spite of a near total dominance, the Terranga Lions could manage only a one-all draw in their international friendly at the Den Stadium, Millwall, England.Striker Asamoah Gyan had put the Black Stars ahead in the 44th minute in a half that saw both sides attempting onslaughts at the opposing net.It took a 73rd, almost unchallenged but well exploited opportunity by Senegal captain El Hadj Diouf to level matters for the Lions.In a match that saw the Senegalese earn as many as 10 corner kicks as against none for the Black Stars, such was the dominance of the Lions, whose vow to beat the Stars, expressed in pre-match outbursts by Diouf and colleagues met a stiff resistance in Stars goalkeeper Richard Kingson.On countless occasions, Kingson pulled off daring saves to deny the Lions near goals, and when the second half saw a slowed Michael Essien in the Stars midfield, the traffic was all towards the Stars end.Indeed the Stars major force in the first half, Laryea Kingston, was totally anonymous in the second half as Diouf and his men tore at ease at the Stars defence.The Stars barely threatened their opponents in the second half, and it came as little surprise when Diouf latched onto a floated ball that landed between and Richard Kingson just ahead of the six-yard box, affording him ample time to dribble the goalkeeper before planting the ball firmly into the net.The Stars next play Morocco on September 8, also in a friendly build up to the Cup of Nations.Line-up: Richard Kingson; Francis Dickoh; Hans Adu Sarpei/Michael Helegbe, (77); John Paintsil; Shilla Illiasu, Anthony Annan/Ahmed Barusso(90), Laryea Kingston, Michael Essien/Bernard Kumorji(77), Sulley Muntari/Junior Agogo(83), Asamoah Gyan and Haminu Dramani/Andre Ayew(90).