African born international music star, Akon has called on African Americans to move to Africa as their safety can no longer be guaranteed following the acquittal of George Zimmerman who shot and killed a black boy.
The Senegalese born musician made the remarks after George Zimmerman was found not guilty by a Florida jury on Saturday night.
The jury found Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter in a shooting 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in February last year.
George Zimmerman alleged that he shot the Trayvon in self defence after a confrontation with the 17-year-old who was walking home from a store that night.
The incident captured attention across the world with thousands of people protesting due to what many saw a racially motivated shooting.
Shortly after the verdict was delivered, Akon, born Aliaune Damala Akon Thiam posted a photo of George Zimmerman in court on Instagram and stated that African Americans will be treated better in African than in the US.
He said: “Every African American in the United States need to move their money, family, knowledge back to Africa were [where] u will be treated like the royalty you are. You don’t deserve this treatment. This is not your country!!”
Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman
His remarks sparked several reactions from his followers.Myjoyonline.com’s checks on his status showed that while some fans liked the comments, others felt his reaction was in bad taste.
A fan quizzed: “And what about when OJ was not charged for Nicole’s murder? Was that a “race” victory? No!! Don’t let race play into anything. Don’t look at race!!! It’s 2013, we all need to stop seeing color!”
Another fan also commented: “That [is] just f******g stupid @Akon African Americans have lived in America for so many years n I highly doubt this trial had anything to do with race. You [are] just like every other African American bringing in the f******g race hate into it.
“I don’t understand why African Americans are so mad about slavery the Jews had it worse in WWII and it was more recent than slavery n I never hear them saying “it’s because he’s Jewish” so stfu n stick to making music.”
The Chairman of the Electoral Commission, Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan on Monday told the Supreme Court hearing the election petition challenging the outcome of the 2012 presidential election that he was not familiar with what Portable Document Format (PDF) is.
His answer followed his disagreement with Mr. Philip Addison, lead counsel for the petitioners that an extract of a voters register produced by the latter was the same as what the EC used to conduct the elections.
PDF is an electronic file format invented by Adobe Systems which allows the reliable reproduction of published material and is capable, among others, of containing clickable links and buttons, form fields, video and audio.
Addison was leading evidence on alleged double registration in the voters register used for the election and pointed out that a number of some duplications were captured in the register as handed the New Patriotic Party for the election.
But Afari-Gyan insisted the extract could not have come from the official register because the arrangements were different from what the petitioners had produced as extracts.
Mr. Addison however pointed out that unless the Electoral Commission gave the NPP a register different from what it gave other parties, the extract was from the very one the EC issued which he said was in a pdf format and therefore could not be altered.
“My Lords this is not the register we used for the election,” Dr Afari-Gyan pointed out when Mr. Addison sought to tender the extract.
Addison: This is the register given to the New Patriotic Party.
Afari-Gyan: This is not the register we used for the election
Addison: Is this not the register given to the New Patriotic Party?
Afari-Gyan: I cannot confirm that.
Addison: By what process do you confirm that this is the register given to the New Patriotic Party?
Afari-Gyan: We, we gave exactly the same register to everybody. The same register to everybody.
Addison: You did not give hard copies, you gave a soft copy.
Afari-Gyan: Well the soft copy will be the same, to everybody.
Addison: And the soft copy is in pdf form which cannot be altered. Do you know as a fact that it was in pdf form and it cannot be altered?
Afari-Gyan: We gave you a register, I don’t know what the form it was in.
Addison: I’m suggesting to you that it was in pdf form and it cannot be altered.
Afari-Gyan: Your suggestion may be correct, may be wrong, I cannot confirm that.
After a back-and-forth between counsel and witness on whether the register given the NPP was the same as was used for the election and Dr. Afari-Gyan’s insistence that he needed to verify with his office what format of the register was given the NPP, the bench stepped in with Justice Rose Owusu asking Dr. Afari Gyan whether he knew what a pdf format is, to which the EC chairman said ‘no’.
Mr. Addison has been leading evidence on Monday on petitioners’claims that there were duplicate polling station codes which could not have represented results from the special voting exercise as well as claims of instances of double voter registrations for the 2012 elections.
The Association of Ghana Industries wants government to set up an Industrial Park in every region.
The association believes this should enhance the operations of local manufacturers to effectively address the country’s economic challenges.
The President, Nana Owusu Afari was speaking when executives of the association met President Mahama.
“these parks should have all the utilities so that if investors want to set up plants, they have these parks already there”, he said.
The association also mentioned that too much imports was the cause of the cedi’s depreciation and shortage of foreign currency.
The association also called for a ‘bias’ of power generation in favour of industry.
In response, President Mahama said some interventions are being instituted to improve the energy situation. He also confirmed the disbursement of the second tranche of the Chinese Development Bank loan.
He asked the Association to support a ‘difficult period’ of Ghana’ economy as government rolls out new taxes such as a fiscal stabilization levy and some import levies.
He described the fiscal measures as ‘sunset clause’ meant to stabilize the economy for a fixed period.
Government would remove these taxes after the economy stabilizes, he assured.
A former deputy Chief of Staff, Mr. Alex Segbefia has said the ongoing election petition case before the Supreme Court is negetively affecting the economy of the country.
According to Mr. Segbefia, the challenges facing the economy can partly be blamed on the election petition. ‘’Our business cycle is affected by the political cycle; investment is dealt with on confidence.’’
He said investors will only bring their monies to Ghana when they can be sure of political stability in the country. ‘’We have a situation where anybody who is holding his money to invest, to re-invest or increase investment is holding on to his/her money to watch and see what will happen [in the Supreme Court case].’’
“The court case has had an economic effect on businesses, how people relate and what is happening in our economy without a doubt…,’’ he noted.
The former deputy chief of staff said this on Citi FM’s news and analysis program, The Big Issue when he made submissions to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) press conference on the current management of the economy by the ruling NDC.
The NPP on Tuesday, June 9 held a press conference to accuse the governing NDC of mismanaging the economy.
Parliament was on Friday nearly drawn into a verbal altercation between the Majority and Minority of the House when the Member of Parliament (MP) for Atwima Mponua, Mr Isaac Asiamah, stated that the Legislature was “broke”.
The MP said that the committees of the House were not functioning effectively because of the lack of funding for their activities, saying that those committees would not be able to carry out their supervisory roles if the situation persisted.
The revelation drew the displeasure of some members on the Majority side, who immediately demanded that the member withdraw that statement because it was not a reflection of the situation on the ground.
Mr Harunah Iddrisu, Minister for Trade and Industry and MP for Tamale South, said the assertion was not true because all the committees of the House were working well, demanding a withdrawal of the statement by the member.
The Speaker of Parliament, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho said though the House had challenges, it was certainly not broke.
He said that all financial releases due Parliament had been received except for that of June, which was being currently processed.
The Speaker charged Mr Asiamah to withdraw the statement and directed that the issue be discussed in a closed sitting of the House.
Mr Asiamah reluctantly withdrew the statement and replaced the “broke” with “financially challenged”, explaining that those releases made to the House were not reflecting on the work of the committees.
Security personnel in the Upper West Region have arrested eight persons involved in the illegal small scale mining business, at Danyaw Kuraa in the Wa East District.
They were arrested by the Regional Security Committee (REGSEC) led by the Regional Minister, Dr. Ephraim Avea Nsor in an unannounced visit to the area.
Police say all the suspects, aged between 14 and 36 years, hail from neigbouring Burkina Faso.
The miners are said to have moved to that part of the country as a result of the determination of the Inter-ministerial Taskforce rid the country of illegal (Galamsey) miners.
The taskforce is said to have made significant inroads by flushing the illegal miners from the Western and Ashanti Regions.
Upper West Police Regional Commander, ACP Ampofo Duku told JOYNEWS Rafiq Salaam, the suspects were using “very sophisticated chemicals” in their illegal operation.
“They were not using any machine but the technology they were using is very superior” to what their Ghanaian counterparts know.
ACP Duku said they were amazed upon realizing that the miners had virtually taken over the entire community.
They had “mounted sheds and had almost everything there, rearing fouls; we were quite dumbfounded,” the Commander revealed.
The Regional Minister Dr. Avea Nsor declared his determination not to allow the region to be used by those who have been flushed from “Obuasi and Tarkwa”.
“…we are going to flush them out like water out of a fast flowing pipe,” he warned.
The Police have arrested two persons in connection with another fire outbreak at the Tema Community One market Friday.
They are Aaron Adomako and and Florence Adomako; both siblings.
The team of security men made up of police, Fire Service and Tema Metropolitan Assembly Security Guards; say they acted swiftly to prevent the fire from spreading.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the structure that caught fire is a container used as a book shop.
This is the second time in ten days that sections of the same market have caught fire.
Director of Public Affairs of the Police Service, DSP Cephas Arthur told JOYNEWS Anna Agyapong that the suspects, who have been charged on two counts – unlawful entry and causing damage – have been remanded in police custody.
Students in some communities in Nanumba North District walk long distances of about 16 kilometres daily to access basic education.
Mr Issahaku Iddrisu, Head teacher of the Juo Primary School told journalists that all pupils who completed Juo, Juasheiyila and Salinayila primary schools, travel to Bimbilla for Junior High School (JHS) education.
He said the only three-classroom primary school block for the Juo community was built in 1989 until ActionAid Ghana and Songtaba both NGOs, provided the facility with additional classroom block.
Mr Iddrisu explained that the community was provided with a JHS only on paper, since there is no structure for the school.
He said some parents who could afford, send their children to stay in Bimbilla township in order to access basic education.
Mr Iddrisu the situation does not auger well for the positive and holistic development of the children.
He said due to poverty in the area parents who cannot afford the expenses of their wards are discontinuing their education.
Berekum Arsenals in London-based Arsenals’ jerseys
Berekum Arsenals in London-based Arsenals’ jerseys
As most pundits, connoisseurs and book-makers have said – I totally agree with their assertion that, this seasons Glo Premier League (GPL) could be equated to the South-African ABSA Premier League and the Egyptian Premier League, hence, making it one of the best on the continent.
No wonder the wheels of the league spun at a top speed till the final week before it settled on a winner. And for the relegated clubs, they even had hope on the ‘D’ day that, they could escape relegation considering their point build-up.
Nonetheless, it also recoded some comical events in its course which I couldn’t control myself from laughing. That is exactly what this piece is centered around. To highlight some of those events so we can learn some lessons from them.
Kindly have a seat so you could calm your nerves as I take you through them.
Treatment of injuries
The question here is-how humorous is this? We witnessed a league where ordinary water became the remedy for every injury that occurred on the pitch whereas energy drinks were substituted for pain killers.
In my quest to unravel the mystery behind the use of pain killers at the expense of energy drinks the answers I had from some players all tilted towards one angle ‘it’s effectiveness.’ According to them, if they chew them prior to a game it gives them extra energy.
Again, I remember in one of the league games that I couldn’t go to the stadium so had to monitor proceedings on the screen, a player persistently complained of dazing and the only remedy to that effect was to give him water to wash his face, rinse his mouth and to drink some. The power of Ghanaian water!
In a game which I represented fully, a player fell and held his head after a corner kick; surprisingly, the supposed medic of his club rushed onto the pitch and immediately began massaging his foot.
I will only single out Asante Kotoko who had a qualified medic in the person of Dr. Kweku Boateng on their bench whenever they were involved in action, but for the others the least said the better.
Post Match Interviews With Players
During an interview session a player is supposed to respond to questions put to him by an interviewee, however, in this instance something unimaginable was introduced.
After a tiring league game at the Accra Sports Stadium which I won’t mention names, one of Metro TV’s journalists approached a player and before he could begin his interview the player shockingly began responding to apparently no question.
It seemed he knew already what the journalist would be asking so had to respond quickly to save them time. Seriously I couldn’t hold myself from laughing.
On the other side, it was either God or a super natural power somewhere responsible for their performance, no tactical or realistic answers were provided.
Attitude of Security Officers
‘Goooal Oh Shit!’ This was the exact reaction of a policeman at the Wa Park when Nti Boakye of Asante Kotoko wasted a goal scoring opportunity against Wa All Stars.
His reaction triggered the anger of the Wa All Stars supporters, who vehemently hooted and threw insults at the policemen. After the game, I tried to see if I could fish-him-out and believe you me, he was nowhere to be found.
Similarly, I spotted some security officers joyously clapping when Hearts’ goal poacher Mahatma Otoo scored a hat-trick against Real Tamale United at Tamale. It doesn’t happen anywhere.
The only difference between the security officers and the supporters was that, the securities were in uniforms whilst the supporters weren’t. Contrary to that, they all had clubs vis-à-vis favorite players and were all supporting.
These were just two of the many.
Berekum Arsenals in London-based Arsenals’ jerseys
One would ask, why jerseys? Very sad! In this era when football has become business with clubs raising money from sponsorships and advertisements, I expected Berekum Arsenals to have learnt from the likes of Kotoko, Medeama, Edubiase and co. who made money from sponsorships and advertisements.
Evidentially, these clubs soled the spaces in front of their jerseys to some cooperate organizations for money to respectively run their clubs.
But an experienced club like Berekum Arsenals decided to go in for replicated jerseys of English-based Arsenals which had Flying Emirate, their headline sponsors boldly inscribed in front.
Berekum Arsenals as a club obviously became a Good Samaritan therefore did adverts for the Qatari Airline without any agreed amount. Bizarre right?
As if that was not enough, the jerseys even had the logo of English-based Arsenals embroidered vividly in both the shirts and shorts preventing them from embroidering theirs on it.
RTU’s Performance
30 games, 2 points, 73 goals-against, 19 goals-for, no win. That was the fruit of Real Tamale United’s labour when the wheels of the league rested on the 30th week.
A search through my archives reveal that this record was unprecedented in the history of Ghana football.
Right from the word go ‘Esere Mu Sere Gyata’ as they are referred to, were dragged in the mire to the slaughter house and there, every club been it big or small, young or old came with its arsenal and had a portion of them.
A club that could pay for the services of an expatriate manager a Spanish to be precise but couldn’t pay players salaries ranging between GHC 100.00 and GHC 80.00.
Even at a time when relegated clubs hadn’t been decided, their players publicly threw in the towel, saying they will be demoted, yet, their management and technical brains believed they would escape relegation. Very funny!
They finally became a laughing stock when they fielded an unqualified player in one of their games, causing them to lose six points from their hard earned eight points; leaving them with only two points.
Conclusion
The fact that they are presented as been comical doesn’t mean they should end there, the various bodies mandated to see to the success of the league should ensure that each and everyone associated with it performs his or her duties professionally as it’s done elsewhere.
The National Lotteries Authority (NLA) on Wednesday donated assorted medical items and furniture to the Bolgatanga Health Centre as part of its corporate social responsibility to society.
The items valued at GH¢6,000.00 included a sterilizing machine, blood pressure apparatus, a pediatric weighing machine, 10 office metallic chairs, 10 plastic chairs, 10 benches and three office desks.
Mr George Gyamfi-Osew, Director of Operations at the NLA, making the presentation noted that funds accrued from lottery were paid into the Consolidated Fund, but noted that the Authority was also obliged to support communities.
He said in consultation with the community, the NLA saw that residents mostly needed healthcare support, hence the decision to make the items available to the clinic.
Mr Gyamfi-Osew expressed the hope that the items would go a long way to promote health care delivery in the Bolgatanga Municipality.
He cautioned members of the public involved in illegal lotto operation (Banka to Banka) to desist from the act as it hampered the authority’s efforts in generating enough revenue for national development.
“These illegal operators have no overheads whatsoever and should not function. If their activities should cease, monies going to wrong pockets could be channeled into the development of communities and ultimately increase government coffers for national development”, he said.
He added that there was the need for Ghanaians to share responsibility in order to nip in the bud these illegal operations.
Mr Edward Ayiriba Ayagle, Municipal Chief Executive for Bolgatanga, who joined in the presentation, conceded that maintenance culture was absent in all sectors of the economy, especially the health sector.
He, therefore, called on management and staff of the clinic to as a matter of priority endeavor to regularly maintain the items to ensure they get longer lifespan.
He called on other institutions to complement government’s efforts in the provision of quality health care and other sectors of the economy for development.
Mr Lucio Dery, Regional Health Administrator and Madam Rebecca Anamolga, a Physician Assistant and head of the facility, who jointly received the items, expressed their appreciation to the NLA for the gesture and pledged to take good care of the items.
Mr Dery noted that the items had come at an opportune time, saying “logistics and resources are key in primary health delivery…”
