President Kufuor returns from AU Summit

President John Agyekum Kufuor returned home this afternoon from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where he was elected the AU Chairman at the Eight Ordinary Summit of African Leaders.

Nana Akufo Addo, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrew Awuni, Presidential Spokesperson and other senior government officials accompanied him.On arrival at the Kotoka International Airport, President Kufuor was welcomed by hundreds of people who waved miniature flags of Ghana amidst drumming and traditional dancing.

During a press briefing Nana Akufo Addo said the decision to elect President Kufuor as the AU Chairman was unanimous and based on four main reasons.He said President Kufuor's exceptional performance as ECOWAS Chairman coupled with his rule in Ghana, which was characterized by such governance qualities as respect for the rule of law, democracy, accountability among others formed key reasons for his election.

The Foreign Minister said Ghana under Kufuor's governance had also contributed in many ways towards peace on the continent, adding that it was also generally felt that it was appropriate to honour Ghana on the occasion of her 50th anniversary.He said the occasion was quite reflective of the fact that Ghana was politically charting the right path.At a meeting with a delegation of Ga chiefs, President Kufuor expressed joy at the welcome he received on arrival.

He described his election as an acknowledgement of Ghana's role in the fight for independence in Africa and the formation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU).He said it was also an honour to the entire nation and a reflection of the political progress that Ghana had made so far. President Kufuor's election marked the first of such continental role for a Ghanaian leader since President Kwame Nkrumah was elected Chairman of the OAU in 1965.

At the airport to meet the President was the Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, Ministers of State, members of the diplomatic corps, a delegation of Ga chiefs, the Chief of Defence Staff, Lt. Gen. J B Danquah and the Inspector General of Police Mr Patrick Acheampong.
Source:GNA

Prof Mills congratulates President Kufuor

Professor John Evans John Atta Mills, Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Election 2008 on Monday congratulated President John Agyekum Kufuor on his election as African Union (AU) Chairman at the Eighth Ordinary Session of the continental body currently underway in Addis Ababa.

President Kufuor was elected by a unanimous decision of the 53-member body to succeed Congolese President Dennis Sassou Nguesso among half-a-dozen contenders including Sudan, Kenya, Somalia and host country Ethiopia.Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview, Prof Mills expressed the hope that President Kufuor would work towards the realisation of the objectives of the AU Charter

."I have no doubts President Kufuor is well aware of the challenges that come with this responsible and trusted position and I hope he will do his best in meeting the hopes and aspirations of our people and to advance the course of the Continent," he said. Prof Mills wished President Kufuor well and expressed the hope that he would execute the onerous task with the support of all.

Mills reacts to Kufuor statements

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Administration left a lasting legacy for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to build on, Professor John Evans Atta Mills, NDC Presidential candidate for Election 2008 said on Monday.Prof. Mills was reacting to statements attributed to President John Agyekum Kufuor at the People's Assembly held recently at Sunyani.

He said the peaceful transfer of power from NDC to NPP was something that should be extolled and for which President Kufuor should be grateful.Prof Mills said the mere fact that the NPP Government found money to pay Public and Civil Servants at the end of the month in which it assumed power belied the often made assertion that the NPP Government inherited empty coffers.Prof Mills cited extracts from the NPP Government's 2001 Budget Statement in which the loans that the NDC Government contracted in 2000 were made available to the NPP Government to use saying, the NPP's 2004 Campaign Document: "So Far, so Very Good" showed the projects that the NPP Government executed with the NDC contracted loans.

He said the NDC made huge investments in road construction; in the extension of electricity to all district capitals; in upgrading and establishment of polytechnics in all the 10 regions and two new public universities; in the construction of modern hospitals at Cape Coast, Ho and Sunyani as well as the construction of Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) estates all over the country.

Former Vice President Mills cited the establishment of District Assemblies' Common Fund (DACF); Ghana Education Trust Fund and the Energy Fund among other funds, as concrete evidence of the huge legacy NDC left for the NPP Administration.

He called on President Kufuor to find a way of investigating and reprimanding his appointees, who were perceived to be corrupt, and to stop saying that people should rather provide him with evidence of corruption against them.
Source:GNA

Ga Mantse Funeral---Photo Account

Commercial activities halt as Ga Traditional Area mourns Overlord

Commercial activities came to a standstill in the Accra Metropolis on Saturday as the Ga Traditional Area was mourning their Overlord, Boni Nii Amugi II, who died two years ago. A survey conducted by the Ghana News Agency at Dansoman, Kaneshie, Teshie, Osu, Adabraka and the Central Business District of Accra revealed that almost all shops, markets and drinking spots had been closed, while the normal human and vehicular traffic was absent.



Kwame Abotsi, a driver at the Accra-Tema Station bus terminal said the funeral had affected his business. “I have not made any money today and this is not normal on a Saturday,” he said. Most passengers at the terminal said it took a long time before the “trotro” commuter buses got full to transport them to their destinations. One Emmanuel Fletcher, a retired Civil Servant, said the quietness in Accra on Saturday was not only enjoyable but showed the great respect the people had for Nii Amugi, whose reign was very peaceful.





Some shop owners in the Central Business District, who were interviewed by the GNA in front of their closed shops, said although they were counting their financial losses, it was also good they did not engage in any commercial activity to give an opportunity for criminals to come and loot their goods. Naa Aduquaye, a drinking bar operator at Osu, said she hoped business would pick up in the night so that she could make some money for the day.GNA

Black Stars World Cup Account - Financial Disaster

The Black Stars' sensational World Cup campaign, from the qualification series to the final showdown in Germany, has left in its trail a huge financial disaster.

Beyond the glamour and the fame engendered during the tournament was a huge loss of nearly ¢40 billion purported to have been committed into efforts qualifying for the tournament and participation in Germany 2006.

At a GFA Executive Committee meeting in Accra recently, it was revealed that Ghana's qualification and participation cost the goverment in excess of ¢63 billion.
Graphic Sports investigations have, however, revealed that out of the $4.5 million that FIFA paid to the GFA, $2.5 million had been paid to the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, with the FA itself settling for an amount of $1.6 million.

The remaining $400,000 allegedly went into the payment of bonuses for the players and officials.
FIFA's own regulations governing the World Cup stipulate that the financial largesse it makes available to participating nations as appearance fees should be paid back to the authorities that commit funds for ensuring qualification and participation, to enable them plough back their funds.

Thus, in Africa where Football Associations are impoverished, the governments which often take the responsibility of sponsoring national teams for their World Cup campaigns largely become the ultimate beneficiaries of FIFA�s world cup appearance fees.Ghana's qualification and appearance at the second round earned the FA a total of 5.5million euros about ($6 million).But out of the amount FIFA made deductions to cover expenses for the upkeep of the contingent whilst in Germany and fines which, sources revealed, came up to a frightening $12,000.

Apart from several yellow cards attracted by the Stars during the tournament, the red card attracted by Asamoah Gyan in the match against the Czech Republic, and the expulsion of Coach Ratomir Dujkovic in the Stars-Brazil game during recess, were said to have contributed immensely to the huge fines.The GFA, according to official sources, entered into an agreement with the Ministry of Education and Sports to pay back all government pre-finances from what it would earn from FIFA.And true to that the FA paid the $2.5million to the Sports Ministry after what sources described as an intense haggle.

Meanwhile, sources at the Executive Committee of the F A claim that after nearly six months after the World Cup, the Executive Committee is yet to be furnished with the financial details of the campaign, resulting in some discordant voices being heard at their last meeting over the disbursment of the funds that accrued from the World Cup without the committee's approval.

The Committee is also said to be demanding full income and expenditure accounts of all monies contributed by corporate institutions, those earned from pre and post- World Cup international friendly matches of the Black Stars and total expenditure on bonuses during the World Cup.But the Emergency Committee of the FA, according to authentic sources assured that an audited account would soon be presented as soon as the auditors completed their work.
Source:Graphic

It's good to be back home - Busumuru Annan

"It's good to be back at home" was Busumuru Dr Kofi Atta Annan's opening statement when he mounted the podium to deliver the first of the Golden Jubilee Lecture Series on: "Championing African Excellence".



It was his first speaking engagement since retiring after 40 years of service at the United Nations (UN), 10 of which he was the Secretary-General. "I intended to retire to a quiet and peaceful civilian life but when your President calls you to duty you can only say it's an honour Sir to be at your service", Busumuru Annan declared amidst a loud laughter from the audience, which included President John Agyekum Kufuor and his wife Theresa; Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, Mr Begyina Sakyi-Huges, Speaker of Parliament; Members of the Council of State; Ministers of State, Members of Parliament (MPs), Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Traditional and Religious Leaders and people from all walks of life.




Busumuru Annan declared that he was proud to return home and to address Ghanaians not in his capacity as a world leader but as a private Ghanaian citizen, who left Ghana to join the UN at the time when Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah was still President of Ghana and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) was Kumasi College of Science and Technology (KCST). When he turned his attention to his lecture notes, he was straight to the point, punchy, fluent and brief.




Even though at the start the audience got the impression that the lecture was going to be long, Busumuru Annan delivered a brilliant and loaded lecture, which attracted a standing ovation at the end, in less than 30 minutes.

Mr Alban Sumani Bagbin, the Minority Leader in Parliament, said the lecture was a masterpiece delivered in the most excellent English that one could ever imagine.

"Although at the start of the lecture one got the impression that it was going to be long, it ended up being very brief but loaded and I hope everybody there understood everything he said." Mr Bagbin, however, complained about what he described as “selective invitation” the Government threw to members of the opposition to Ghana@50 programmes, and said Ghana@50 was not NPP@50 and that all political parties in Parliament needed to be invited to be part of the initiation, planning and implementation of programmes to give the celebrations a national character instead of one party character.

Mr George Opesika Aggudey, Convention People’s Party (CPP) Flag Bearer for Election 2004, described Busumuru Annan as a symbol of national unity, saying that all leaders of political parties needed to rally around him and his brilliant ideas to move the country forward. "Ghana is bigger than any political party and (Busumuru)Kofi Annan has just told us that in the simplest of languages - we need to put our differences aside and feed on his ideas for development," he said.

Dr Edward Mahama, Leader of the People’s National Convention (PNC), said Busumuru Annan was a calm and humble gentleman but firm in his convictions "and I believe that we can see another Kwame Nkrumah in (Busumuru) Kofi Annan - this should give us the hope that the spirit of Kwame Nkrumah lives on in sons of the nation like Kofi Annan and others".