PRESIDENT MAHAMA PROMISES PROSPERITY , DECENCY AND DIGNITY.

President John Dramani Mahama on Sunday appealed to all Ghanaians to put their hands on deck to enable government to offer development projects that would bring about prosperity, decency and dignity. He said: "Those who are not ready to help should not disrupt our development agenda either." President Mahama made this appeal when he cut the sod for commencement of work on the 1.2 million Ghana cedis Ringway Assemblies of God Gospel Centre Cathedral. In attendance were Mrs Georgina Theodora Wood, Chief Justice and her husband Mr Edwin Wood, Retired Economist, Reverend Dr Paul Frimpong Manso, General Superintendent of Assemblies of God, Ghana, and some government officials among other dignitaries. The Church, which was started in 1985 in a classroom has developed over the years to become one of the big branches of the assemblies of God Church in the capital and that the current project on completion would accommodate about 1,200 people. President Mahama who equated the building to governance said just like the construction of a building project that needed various degrees of support, governance also needed optimists and hardworking people rather than pessimists. He, therefore, called on those who had nothing in terms of positive contributions towards nation-building not to disrupt the Governments efforts by churning out unfounded allegations and falsehood that could be destructive. President Mahama said the objective of his administration was to bring about prosperity to every Ghanaian to enable them to live decent and dignified lives irrespective of where they were located. President Mahama said God had changed the dropping of manna to his people by rather equipping them with skills and knowledge that would advance the socio-economic development of the country. "God does not drop manna for his people any longer, but with technological advancement, he has equipped a lot more to use their skills and knowledge to work for their own development and I will like to encourage all of you to work towards the building of this nation," he added. Reverend Dr Frimpong Manso, General Superintendent of the Church denounced the proliferation of all-night church services, which he added, were lowering productivity as most of the patrons tend to be weak after spending the whole night in church. He suggested Christians should plan and prioritise their activities in order that they do not conflict with their official working environment. The General Superintendent appealed to metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies to collaborate with the church in the socio-economic development in their areas of jurisdiction.

GHANAIAN CELEBRITIES WHO THINK FLYING IN FIRST CLASS OR PRIVATE MAKES THEM...

I am sure if Richard Branson or Beyonce shared a photo anytime they flew first class or private, we would not have enough space online to hold the images. They probably do not take such photos of themselves and share because flying first class or private is so ordinary to them—-just like you don’t take a photo of your bed each night you have to sleep on it… But some of our Ghanaian celebrities seem to think they’ve got to let us know they’ve also been on first class or private before—-because it is so important to us and it is status building for them…How that adds anything to their status, do not ask me… We do not blame them because just like me, most of the fans have not touched an aeroplane before… But if those JUST flying it won’t give us a space to breath, I wonder what those who own these planes will do—if they were Ghanaians.

ELIKEM'S GIRL POKELLO DEBUTS HER CLOTHING LINE.

Big Brother The Chase ‘It girl’, Pokello appears to have tapped into the creative juices of her boyfriend from the hit reality TV series, Elikem Kumordzie to create her own line of clothing known as Queen of Swagger.

The Zimbabwean fashionista revealed her first collection at the Expressions of Accra fashion extravaganza at the La Palm Hotel on Saturday night.

Her creations, which reflects a lot of her personal style, were made from GTP fabrics as well as indigenous fabrics from her native, Zimbabwe. Models also rocked shoes from Pokello’s famous high-end boutique, Addicted to Shoes

LIONS DEVOUR KOTOKO.

Heart of Lions handed Kotoko their second defeat of the season with a sensational 2-0 win when both clashed at the Kpando Park in the week nine Premier League meeting on Sunday.

Lions, celebrating a decade in the elite division proved superior the entire duration as they easily stifled Kotoko who still stay atop the log despite the loss.

Isaac Osae got Lions ahead in 16 minutes, connecting beautifully a flick on from Edmund Owusu Ansah deep in the middle with goalkeeper Isaac Amoako lost.

Once the game was restarted, Lions were unlucky to have missed an opportunity to double the advantage after Owusu Ansah's free header missed target narrowly.

Action quickly swung and Kotoko attacked. After invading the final third, the host were pushed to poorly defend a long lob and while at it, Issah Yakubu had an opportunity to pull parity, but his poor effort left their host off the hook.

Kotoko was to be punished soon after Abieku Ainooson made a meal of marking Osea, who had the better of a run to strike feebly at goal. As Amoako dived to meet the danger, Idan Conney pounced to consolidate Lions lead.

With Owusu Ansah's quality written all over the two goals, the former Kotoko captain pieced together his midfield well, drawing rings around the visitor's middle force built around Jordan Opoku, Michael Akuffu and Yayaya Mohammed.

Kotoko attempted to step on their display from recess and Lions' goalkeeper Mozart Adjetey timed well to deny Mohammed from finding the back of the net from a close rang and a half volley delivery moments on.

Sam Yeboah proved trouble for Kotoko's back line with cutting in moves that kept Amoako very busy. In one of the various moves, the goalkeeper needed to stay smart at timing and movement to deny the winners another goal.

Abdul Aziz could have pulled a goal back for Kotoko after comfortably beating an offside trap and advancing goalkeeper Adjetey in the process, only to agonisingly watch his final touch miss the back of the net narrowly.

Loins run back into the picture and at the thick of affairs was Owusu Ansah who picked out Yeboah deep into the final third.

The latter darted to hem one in for Osea who unleash a clever one that got Amoako rising to charge down the effort that went above the post by inches with 11 minutes to play.

HOME SWEET HOME.

FRED PAPPOE HAILS QUALITY IN GHANA PREMIER LEAGUE.

Chairman Ghana's local Black Stars management committee, Fred Pappoe has hailed the quality of the ongoing Ghana Premier League.

The competition which has travelled eight rounds so far sees champions Asante Kotoko leading the pile with 21 points.

Ghana is preparing to host the WAFU Zone B tournament next month in a competition which is solely designed for home based players.

The tournament will see eight teams from the sub-region participating.

Ghana, Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Gabon are the countries taking part in the championships which starts from 21 November and ends on 28 November.

Coach of the CHAN team Maxwell Konadu is currently monitoring players who play in the League in order to select players for the tournament. Fred Pappoe says the league has shown some positives.

“I must say that I am really impressed, not surprisingly so but I am pleasantly impressed with the League” Pappoe said

“I have had the opportunity of watching about five or six live matches and a few others on Television and almost all the teams are putting up a good show” he added

“The players are giving off their best and I believe that it’s a very good advert for our game.

“I just hope sincerely that they continue like that and I am quite sure they will.

“The kind of packages that are coming in with Supersports on board where the players are been showcased to the rest of Africa and beyond.

JE SARPONG RESIGNS FROM ADUANA.

JE Sarpong has become the second coaching casualty after he officially resigned from Aduana Stars on Thursday.

The veteran coach hinted on Thursday morning he would resign following fans criticism and verbal abuse.

The former Liberty Professionals man has finally thrown in the towel after tendering in his resignation a while ago.

He told reporters he was awaiting the return of club patron Dormaahene Oseadeyo Agyemang Badu II from abroad to inform him about his decision.

But he has pressed the exit button even before the chief lands in Ghana. 

GOVERNMENT VOWS TO STOP VAMPIRES FROM SUCKING THE NATION.

Following reports that more than 280 private and public companies have been evading the payment of taxes, government has set up mechanisms to stop the "vampires" from sucking the nation dry.

Over a period of seven years, tax evasion by the defaulters has amounted to $367 million.

A presidential task force headed by the Chief of Staff, Prosper Douglas Kweku Bani uncovered the alleged massive tax fraud which was perpetrated in bonded warehouses in Accra between 2005 and 2012.

Speaking to Okay FM on the matter, Dr. Clement Apaak, a presidential staffer stated that government has given the affected companies up to the end of November 2013 to settle the debt owed to the state. He reveals harsher actions would taken against companies who fail to clear their indebtedness after the deadline.

Dr. Apaak explains that the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service had started investigations to identify all the customs officers who were involved in aiding the companies to defraud the state.

He stated that the yet to be identified customs officials connived with the companies and allowed them to clear their goods from the bonded warehouses without paying the required amounts to the state.

Some of the major companies cited in the report of the task force are United Steel Company Limited, $86,059,463; the Hippo Group of Companies, $48,440,486; Trusty Foods Limited, $20,890,556, and Movelle Company Limited, $20,489,556.

Others are Dry Food Processing Company Limited, $8,214,537; Caitec Delta Limited, $7,439,870; Euro Food Ghana Limited, $2,285,603; B5 Plus Limited, $15,519,729, and CCTC Ghana Limited, $10,394,130. 

ONLY IN AFRICA.

YVONNE NELSON AND JACKIE APPIAH SPOTTED AT GIAMA AWARDS IN TEXAS.

The 2013 Golden Icons Academy Movie Awards took place on Saturday 19th October 2013 in Houston, Texas.

Ghanaian movie stars Yvonne Nelson and Jackie Appiah both in black dresses, were spotted looking stunning at the awards night.                                                        

From Nollywood were, Richard Mofe Damijio, Uche Jombo, Alex Ekubo, Fred Amata, Emem Isong, Chioma Chukwuka-Akpotha and Uru Eke. 

The glamorous event was hosted by Nollywood “fine boy” Ramsey.Keep reading for more pictures from the event and full list of winners.

WHERE WAS MALTA , FANTA AND COKE ?

Pastor Akpors was caught by his church members in a bar drinking a bottle of chilled Star Beer. Member: Haabaa! Pastor Akpors, you should be drinking malt, Fanta or coke, not Star, that is a beer. You’re not doing what you preach. Pastor Akpors: Shatttap jooo. Where was Malt, Fanta and Coke when STAR led the three wise men to Jesus?

IT HAS BEEN A DISAPPOINTING SEASON FOR MARSEILLE.

The midfielder concedes it is time the Stade Velodrome outfit gave up on the Uefa Champions League this term after going three games without a point.

Ghana international Andre Ayew is livid over Olympique Marseille’s poor campaign in the Uefa Champions League.

The Stade Velodrome outfit went down 1-2 at home against Napoli on Tuesday leaving them without a point and at the bottom of Group F which includes English and German sides Arsenal and Dortmund respectively.

The midfielder scored the consolation for OM after being set up by substitute and younger brother Jordan.

“It is disappointing,” Ayew said after the game. “What can we say more than what has already been said? It's not helpful.”

The son of Ghana football legend Abedi Ayew Pele said it is about time the French Ligue 1 outfit focused on the domestic top flight and forget about the Champions League.

“We are facing a difficult period. We should probably avoid listening to what is said elsewhere, get into our bubble to digest this defeat and to prepare more seriously against Reims,” Ayew added after scoring his fourth of the term in all competitions.

COUPLE FINED FOR HAVING SEX ON FLIGHT.

A former vintner and a salon technician were each fined $250 for allegedly engaging in oral sex in front of other passengers on a commercial Allegiant Air flight from Medford, Oregon, to Las Vegas. Christopher Martin, of Las Vegas, and Medford resident Jessica Stroble, each pleaded guilty in absentia in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas to a federal misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct on Thursday, reports Oregon's Mail Tribune. The alleged act took place on June 21. According to an FBI affidavit, passengers on the Allegiant Air flight saw Martin exposing his genitals and twice joining Stroble in oral sex and other acts despite warnings from flight attendants. The affidavit states Martin and Stroble, 44 and 33 years old respectively at the time of the incident, were allegedly asked to stop by an attendant and did so during the drink and snack service, but later repeated the sex acts before landing. One of the passengers complained to an attendant that "this is not the sex education I wanted to give my teenage sons," according to the criminal complaint. The pair were arrested by Las Vegas police officers after the flight. According to the complaint, they were initially charged with a federal misdemeanor crime of lewd, indecent and obscene acts on an airplane, which carried a maximum sentence of up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine. The Mail Tribune reports that U.S. magistrate judge George Foley Jr. ordered the fines after accepting pleas from attorneys representing Martin and Stroble, who weren't required to attend the hearing. "I have made many mistakes in my life, none greater than this one," said Martin, former vintner of Oregon's highly regarded Troon Vineyard, in a written statement sent to the Mail Tribune. "I have lost my job, my reputation and damaged the legacy I had worked 10 years to nurture and grow. I will learn from this and move on to the next chapter in my life."

NUNOO MENSAH IS A SECURITY THREAT... BUT CAN YOU ASK AN INCOMPETENT LEADER TO ADVISE HIM - DUNCAN.

Central Regional Secretary of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwamena Duncan has described President John Dramani Mahama’s National Security Advisor as a ‘security threat’. Speaking at the commissioning of a nine-unit classroom block he has built for O’reilly Senior High School in Accra Saturday, the National Security Advisor, Brigadier General Joseph Nunoo Mensah (rtd), said the many strikes on the labour front showed high levels of indiscipline in the country. According to him, persons who cannot sacrifice for the development of the country should “take your passports and get out of this country, and don’t destroy the country for us. If you can’t sacrifice like what some of us have done, then get out. If the Kitchen is too hot for you, get out.” As the National Security Advisor, Kwamena Duncan feels his comments could have easily dragged the country into chaos instead of uniting; hence he is a security threat. Contributing to panel discussions on Peace FM’s ‘Kokrokoo’, the NPP stalwart said the former military officer should have been more tactful in his utterances considering the mood of those agitating.

Kwamena Duncan “He himself is a security threat because he should have sized up the mood of the country before he spoke. He should have also studied the mood of those agitating because as it is written in proverbs, a soft answer turns away wrath but a grievous response, invokes anger. As the national security advisor, his actions should be tactful and full of diplomacy; to secure and know how to deal with people; to make sure you bring everybody on board and so if you lack all these qualities, I wonder…” Touching on the crusade by some including his own party members for President Mahama to dismiss his National Security Advisor, the NPP NEC member virtually scoffed at the calls saying the president was incapable of dismissing his advisor because he is not any better as far as competence was concerned.

GHANA TO DEPLOY 90 POLICE OFFICERS FOR PEACEKEEPING IN SOMALIA.

The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) will soon receive a boost with the deployment of ninety Ghanaian police officers to strengthen the Peace Support Operations mandated by the African Union. At the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) the officers are currently undergoing the intense pre-deployment training which is expected to round up with a closing ceremony on October 25, 2013. The training is financed by the German Federal Foreign Office (AA) and implemented with the support of German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ). Germany has supported the KAIPTC since 2009 in training over 1200 police officers for deployment to AMISOM, UNAMID and other ECOWAS missions. At least 12 facilitators drawn from six countries are on hand to deliver classroom-based course modules and field-based activities such as Vehicle Handling, Mine Awareness and Basic Life Support. One of the facilitators of the programme, Chief Supt. Oeyvind Nilsen of the Norwegian Police Service, explained that his unique contribution to the training process is based on his experience in Norway as well as missions in East Timor, Liberia, and Rwanda. Similarly another facilitator, Supt. Patrick Johnson, the head of Peacekeeping Missions in Sierra Leone, added that his experience in the post-conflict rebuilding process of his home country has been drawn for the ongoing training. “Sierra Leone has gone through war, and very traumatic conflict and there was need for us to reform, restructure, and rebuild our police service. I have practical experience of this process from a country coming from war,” he said. The course participants have said that the training has served to prepare them psychologically and physically for the task ahead. ASP Bridget Dzakpasu, a Deputy District Commander who has served in the Ghana Police Force for 25 years, says that the pictorial presentations during the training has provided very useful and practical tools to prepare her for the imminent deployment to Somalia. She is one of the fourteen female participants in the current programme. With the exact deployment date yet to be determined, KAIPTC’s Police Training Course Director, Supt. Fanny Aboagye, says that the ongoing training provides a critical contribution to AMISON by reducing time wastage. “It could take up to 2 weeks to a month to settle into the mission before you can start work. But with the pre-deployment training, they mostly get to the mission and they are able to start immediately. This is where the KAIPTC comes in because we fill in the gap between the selection of the officers and their deployment,” she said. The KAIPTC has recently conducted similar trainings for 60 Nigerian police officers in preparation for redeployment to the African Union/United Nations Hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID). In the coming months, the centre will provide further trainings for Police officers from Burkina Faso as well as middle Management Courses for officers in Mali.

       ASANTE KOTOKO DEFEAT BEREKUM CHELSEA 2-1.

Asante Kotoko got back to winning ways with a hard-fought victory over Berekum Chelsea at the Baba Yara Stadium on Wednesday. The Porcupine Warriors prevailed by a 2-1 win as they endured a difficult end to the match with the visitors pinning them to their own half for the equaliser. Goals from Abdul Yusif Aziz and Yahaya Mohammed gave Kotoko a comfortable lead until Fredrick Turkson pulled one back for Chelsea. In the final minutes, Kotoko were forced to retreat as the tide turned against them. Their defence had to do extra work to prevent Chelsea from finding the much needed goal. And the final whistle by referee Daniel Laryea was welcome relief for Kotoko and their supporters as they still enjoy the summit going into the weekend's round of matches. The win helps Didi Dramani's side to put behind them their loss over the weekend to Bechem United.