The Presentdet Is Back form the vocation

President Mills is mocking critics for peddling what he said were fabrications about the state of his health during his short period of leave outside the country. He said he was not the least perturbed with such fabrications and counseled such critics to use their fertile imaginations for the development of the country .“Some people have very fertile imaginations; they should use it for the benefit of the country. “I think that they did me a favor by talking about things which were not true. I was not perturbed at all. Now they are seeing me here. This is Atta Mills live,” Mills said to high ranking members of government which provoked a sudden burst of laughter. President Mills said whilst those fabrications were ongoing, he was busily working for the good of the country though he was on leave.  He returned yesterday to a rousing welcome by scores of Ghanaian and top government officials at the Kotoka International Airport

The Change of Ghana Politics

In Ghana today nepotism is growing where favor are given just like that in business, politics etc.
A political family is a family in which several members are involved in politics, particularly electoral politics. Members may be related by blood or marriage; often several generations or multiple siblings may be involved.
Nepotism is favoritism granted to relatives regardless of merit.
Nepotism is a common accusation in politics when the relative of a powerful figure ascends to similar power seemingly without appropriate qualifications.

HIV Infection Rate

Ghana faces difficult times ahead in her effort to reduce HIV infection rate by 50 per cent within the next four years.This follows withdrawal of financial support by the Global Fund, which has been a major financier until now.The Fund took the decision at its board meeting attended by stakeholders in Accra.
Global Fund to Fight AIDS has since 2005 been contributing about 70 per cent of Ghana’s anti-HIV programmers. Donor countries met in New York last year and pledged to support HIV AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria control programmers with 11.7billion US Dollars between 2011 and 2013.

More than half of the money was meant for HIV- related activities in its current round of funding known as Round Eleven with development countries being the biggest beneficiaries.
One year after the pledge, however, countries like Holland, Denmark, Italy, Belgium, and the European Community have all failed to honor their obligation.
The development is due mainly to the global economic challenges confronting such nations.
There are also reports donors are unsatisfied at audited reports on funds beneficiaries had received.
Ghana lost Round 10 funding, and therefore was not indicted in the audited report.
This notwithstanding, her new HIV programs will not receive funding from the Global Fund. The Ghana AIDS Commission recently launched the National HIV Strategic Plan to cover the period up to 2015.It focuses on controlling new infections and reducing mother-child transmission till 2015 among others.
Director of Technical Services, Dr Richard Amenyah, says the development presents a catastrophic future to the commission.
He fears the prevailing estimated death of 15 thousand HIV-infected persons in Ghana could rise.

“This has a lot of implications for a lot of countries including in the developing world Ghana. We have about 115000 Ghanaians who will need HIV treatment by 2015 without which they wouldn’t be alive and because of that, we are very concern that we have not been able to take advantage of Global Fund financing”.
While Global Fund continues to support on-going programmers, the Ghana AIDS Commission, will only hope government fulfill a 100 million dollar promise it made in June.
Dr. Amenyah observed the absence of Global Fund support could also affects Ghana in achieving her Millennium Challenge Goals.
We think that the absence of Global Fund support we are going to have serious challenges as we work towards the Millennium Development Goal 4, 5 and 6 by 2015 so it is a very critical time for us”, he explained. In spite of funding constraints, the commission is intensifying education programmers with emphasis on prevention.“The National Strategic Plan intends to increase prevention of mother-child transmission of HIV services to more than 90 per cent of our mothers who avail themselves in ante-natal clinics”.

Problem Cause Accident In Ghana

Six major road safety problems have been selected as focus areas for the strategy:                              Accident black spots in urban areas and villages;

 Pedestrians;

 Children;

 Professional drivers;

 Speeding;

 Drunken driving;

The NRSC has also identified other stakeholders from the public and the private sectors who can contribute to improving road safety. Among these are the Transport Coordinating Council and the oil marketing companies. Private companies have in the past provided funding for road safety campaigns and road safety education programmers for school children. Shell and Exxon have successfully demonstrated that road safety training for drivers can contribute to reduced crash costs for the companies.

 Ghana established a Road Fund in 1997. The monies for the Fund are derived from levies on fuel, tolls andvehicle licenses. They are managed by a Board consisting of 13 members, the majority of whom are from the private sector. The Fund can be used for road safety activities and there is tentative agreement to make 900 million (approximately US$ 150,000 at year 2000 exchange rates) available for road safety provide a reasonable action plan is submitted. Up-to-date road crash cost figures are not available for Ghana but using 1% of GNP as a typical minimum estimate gives a figure of $72.6 million per annum.

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GRSP in Ghana

Since its registration as an NGO, the organisation has grown from a core management team to include a technical group and an executive board. The Executive is responsible for general management issues, including partnership development and funding, and is composed of a Chairperson, Finance Director and Executive Secretary. The Technical Group conducts the road safety activities and is led by a Technical Director and team. Since the formation of the Technical Group under Mr Justice Amegashie, the number and quality of activities have grown rapidly.

In 2006, GRSP Ghana were also able to secure the services of Mr Kwasi Abbey Sam (Former Chief Director of the Ministry of Roads and Transport) as their new Chairman.

Partnerships have been developed with numerous organisations and agencies from the public, private and non-governmental sectors.

Click here to contact the GRSP local coordinator at this location

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Projects

Road Systems Management

Speed study (completed)

An independent urban speed study was conducted by GRSP Ghana in November 2006. The results indicate that drivers are exceeding posted limits (50kph) by as much as 50kph and that vulnerable road users are at extreme risk of severe injuries from high urban speeds. The report, presented to the NRSC, made a series of recommendations, including more rigorous enforcement of speed limits in urban areas.

Project summary: Speed study Accra, Ghana

 Pre-hospital care (ongoing)

 GRSP Ghana helped organise a  seminar on trauma care at Akosumbo (Volta lake) in June 2005. The Deputy Minister for Roads and Transport attended. The seminar has increased the awareness of urgent medical attention for road crash victims and will lead to both legislation and resources to improve victim care.

In follow-up to the seminar, GRSP Ghana collaborated on the publication of the report "Strengthening Care for Injury Victims" – Recommendations for a National Policy. Support from the Ministry of Health is being sought to bring the recommendations into general practice.

In late 2006 GRSP cooperated with emergency medical services to develop a National Resuscitation Council. The Council aims to identify international good practice methods that will improve the effectiveness of services rendered at the crash scene and prevent overlap when treating victims. Members of the Council currently include representatives of Ghana Ambulance Service, the Ministry of Health, the Police Hospital, teaching hospitals, the Fire Services, the Ghana Red Cross and St John Ambulance.

GRSP Ghana held a First Aid workshop focusing specifically on treating road crash victims. Trainers from the local Ghana Red Cross took the lead role and the workshop was hosted by the Ghana NRSC, with attendees drawn from the police, fire service, ambulance service, ministries and communities.

As part of the UK Fire and Rescue organisation (UKRO) support for road safety initiatives a fact finding visit was conducted at the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) facility at Tema. The GNFS play a crucial role in safety at the Tema Oil Refinery and in road safety as well as fire fighting. The service personnel were very professional and gave a demonstration of victim extraction from a car crash, using cutting equipment. Although they have first aid capability, they also work closely with the Ghana Ambulance Service, which has paramedics at the fire station.

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Safer Roads Users

Voluntary code of conduct

Traffic collisions and casualties cost low and middle income countries an estimated USD 65 billion annually, exceeding the total amount of development assistance received. In addition, the limited resources available in these countries for road safety are often inadequate to affect change in the short and medium term.

The ideal situation would be a world in which there is no need for extensive public expenditure on road safety because people adopt safe behaviour. For example, the overwhelming public support in most high income countries today for the compulsory wearing of seat belts is far removed from the public resistance to buckling up in the1970's.

Personal obligation to safety

 The idea that it is possible to engage the public at a personal level in road safety has led to the development of the driver Voluntary Code of Conduct (VCoC). In countries where there are scarce and competing resources, the most effective way to achieve casualty reductions may be to target the public and elicit personal commitment to being a responsible and respectful road user. This project is the result of a partnership between Shell Ghana Limited the Global Road Safety Partnership (Ghana) and the National Road Safety Commission.

Historical research into the causes of crashes suggested that road user errors were the predominant cause. The more recent approach of considering the road/vehicle/user system as a whole focuses more on the interactions between users and the physical elements of the system. Behavioural issues and human choices remain critical, however, with respect to aspects such as wearing seat belts and helmets, drinking and driving, and speed.

Low cost, high impact

 This project was developed as a result of considering the costs and difficulties of implementing road safety schemes at a national level. It was recognized that for example, a single school safety campaign costing US$1000 would have to be multiplied 20,000 times in order to reach all pupils in Ghana, costs which are far beyond the reach of the current National road safety and education budgets.

Drinking and driving campaigns are also very expensive, however, without the necessary police resources and enforcement capability, the risk of being apprehended is low and the deterrent is minimal. The same is true for speeding and other road traffic offences.

The project has been developed in Ghana West Africa as a unique contribution to the national safety issues. It is a relatively low cost scheme with the capacity to influence behaviour nationally.

Strategic issues

 The Voluntary Code of Conduct working group identified 10 strategic issues impacting on road safety in Ghana:Speeding

Drink Driving

Seat belt wearing

Red light running

Use of mobile phone while driving           Close following

Dangerous overtaking

Inconsiderate driving

Non use of day running lights

Pedestrian visibility

These were then drafted into a personal commitment document. The scheme continues to be rolled out through public and private sector organisations in order to create a network of members who have actively agreed to support the 10 issues. To date more than 85 companies are participating in the scheme and Shell have adopted it as part of their operational strategy in other parts of Africa.

Project summary: Voluntary code of conduct, Ghana

 Project leader: TOTAL

 Project partners: NRSC, GRSP Ghana NGO

Study of seat belt use (completed)

 GRSP Ghana undertook the first national study on seat belt compliance in Ghana in 2006 as part of the Drive to Live programme in partnership with Shell Ghana. Seat belt usage was measured in a series of observations undertaken in the country’s regions with the highest crash rates. These observations indicate about 40% compliance with seat belt usage laws. The study (sample size 12,000) also recorded motorcycle helmet usage, mobile phone usage and spectacle wearing. The data was collected prior to a road safety campaign conducted by Shell Ghana that encouraged seat belt wearing and switching off phones while driving. A set of “after” campaign data will be collected, which will also be used to inform a national seat belt campaign. Mr Noah Aguh, a statistician and member of the GRSP Ghana technical group, supervised the data entry and analysis.

Project summary: Seat belt study, Ghana

 Training

Two road safety training courses were organised by GRSP Ghana, one for a Youth Coalition (two days) and one for the Police (one day). The courses were both practical and interactive covering issues such as safety audits, safer communities, design of a remedial measure and costing (road infrastructure), designing a road safety campaign, developing a crash recording form and a road safety poster competition.

 The police training course featured a staged crash in order to understand the procedures involved in a traffic incident. This included post crash interviews with the participants to identify contributory factors. It emerged that the police had only received rudimentary training in first aid and as a result GRSP Ghana initiated the development of a first aid course for the police with the Ghana Red Cross Society.

Insurance

 In early 2007, GRSP Ghana and the Ghana Insurance Industry initiated a cooperation to assist insurance companies in Ghana identify and focus on ways they can positively influence driver behaviour such as introducing a system of premium rates to reward safe drivers.

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Safer Vehicles

Vehicle Standards

 GRSP Ghana has continued to be an active member of the "Vehicle Standards for Testing" Committee set up by the Standards Board. The aim has been to improve inspection standards for brake systems, lighting, tyres etc. The FIA Foundation seat belt manual was used, in addition to other good practice examples, for establishing national standards in diverse road safety areas such as seat belts.

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Dissemination

Dissemination activities

Jack Lewis, GRSP Ghana Executive Secretary, presented a paper on the VCoC at the Drive to Live conference held in Durban (February 2005) and was sponsored by Shell Ghana Ltd. GRSP Ghana had three papers accepted for the Road Safety on Four Continents Conference, in Warsaw in October 2005, one from Jack Lewis and two from the Technical Director, Justice Amegashie. GRSP Ghana also played a major role supporting the NRSC in the national road safety week in December 2005.

Following the success of his first road safety manual (now in its 2nd reprint), Justice Amegashie recently published an abridged Safe Driving Manual (sponsored by DfID). This version contains a section on first aid and will be widely used as part of driving school training in Ghana.

4th UN African Road Safety Congress

 GRSP Ghana played a supporting role at the 4th UN African Road Safety Congress, held in the Ghanaian capital on February 6-8 2007. The Congress was held under the theme 'Road Safety and the Millennium Developments Goals: Reducing the Rate of Accident Fatality by Half by 2015'. Attended by over 200 delegates and 25 Ministers from across the continent, the Congress was jointly organised by the Economic Commission from Africa (ECA) and the WHO with support from the FIA Foundation, SIDA (the Swedish International Development Agency) and the UK's Department for International Development.

 A key outcome of the Congress was that African Ministers of Transport and Health adopted the 'Accra Declaration' which fully endorses the main recommendations of the Make Road Safe report of the Commission for Global Road Safety.

The Declaration also calls on the G8 summit in Germany in June 2007 to "recognize the urgent need to improve road safety in Africa, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa; systematically include road safety in the work of the Africa Infrastructure Consortium; the Sub Saharan Africa Transport Policy Programmed; and in the development assistance programmers of the G8 nations to ensure that new and improved roads in Africa do not increase road traffic death and injuries"

Travelling Roads To Celebrate Christmas On Modern Ghana

Christmas is coming people will be travel to their families to celebrate the birth of Christ  but the road they pass to their homes town and villages are  very bad  roads.

About 30 people are feared dead in a motor accident at Savelugu in the Northern Region Saturday morning.

The accident occurred when a Benz bus travelling from Kumasi to Bolgatanga collided with a Tamale-bound Metro-Mass Transit bus.

An eye witness told Joy News that aside the dead, they are experiencing difficulties in carrying the injured to the hospital.

Inspector Alex Oppong of the Northern Regional Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), who visited the scene, narrated to Joy News that the Metro-Mass Transit bus was travelling from Bolgatanga to Tamale. 

He said, at Pong-Tamale, near Savelugu, the Benz bus which was travelling from Kumasi to Bolgatanga in an attempt to over-take a car run into the lane of the Metro-Mass bus causing a head-on collision between the two buses. Both drivers, together with all the passengers on Benz bus, according to Inspector Oppong died instantly.

The number of motor vehicles in Ghana is increasing rapidly and, coupled with population growth, is contributing to a rise in the number of road traffic injuries and fatalities. Road safety has become a major national issue receiving front-page coverage in the press and National TV news on a regular basis. Fortunately, the government and donor community have reacted quickly and increased funding to the NRSC, enabling the NRSC to expand and implement new targeted road safety initiatives. The Danish International Development Assistance, Danida, has been a primary supporter of government road safety activities in Ghana.

Road crashes kill an average of four persons daily in Ghana. In 2005, the latest year for which statistics are available, the number of road crashes increased by 16% relative to 2004. The regions Ashanti, Eastern, Gt. Accra, Central and Brong Ahafo Regions account for more than 70% of the total number of crash fatalities. Some 70% of crashes occur on flat and straight roads. Speeding is a major cause of crashes, accounting for over 50% of reported crashes. Buses and mini-buses cause 35% of fatal crashes while cars are responsible for 32%.

Road users between 16-45 years are the most vulnerable group and account for 58% of total road crash fatalities from 2002-2005. 70% of persons killed in road crashes are males. The age groups from 0-5, 46-65 and over 65 years also accounted for a 20.8%, 16.7% and 4.6% respectively of the total fatalities during the same period.

Pedestrians continue to be the most vulnerable road user group, accounting for more than 40% of the annual road crash fatalities. 21% of pedestrians killed annually are children below the age of 16 years of age. This was followed by occupants of buses/Mini buses, cars and HGV also recording 23%, 12% and 10% respectively.

Although fatality numbers are growing, crash risk has remained stable over the past six years. The statistics should be viewed with caution as the quality of the national data is affected by under-reporting (including both non-reporting, because not all crashes are reported, and under-recording arising from incomplete retrieval of reported crashes from police files). Whereas the actual degree of under-reporting is not currently known, the level of under-recording of the data has been reviewed and generally improved over the years.

Data management systems are improving as IT systems become more widely available and this will have an impact on the crash reduction programme from better informed safety programmes.

Road safety coordination and stakeholders

In the past, road safety activities were carried out by individual departments within the Ministry of Roads and Transport: Ghana Highways Authority, Department of Urban Roads, Department of Feeder Roads, Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority, together with the National Road Safety Committee. In 2000, the Committee became a Commission by act of Parliament and the Commission coordinate safety activities within Ghana.

The Government of Ghana, acting through the Ministry of Transport and Communications, established the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) to develop, promote and coordinate the National Road Safety Strategy.

The National Road Safety Strategy provided the NRSC with guidelines for its work in the 5-year period 2001-05.The purpose of the strategy was to break the upward trend in crashes, injuries and fatalities and create a basis for concrete, sustainable crash reduction by 2010. The overall target was a 5% reduction in road fatalities from 1998 as the base year to 2005 and a further 15% reduction before the end of 2010. A new 5-year strategy is currently being prepared.

The NRSC has identified seven major public road safety stakeholders who will be the mainstays for the implementation of the strategy. These are:

The National Road Safety Commission and its Secretariat (NRSC);

 The Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI);

 The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA);

 The Motor Transport and Traffic Unit - the traffic police (MTTU);

 The Ghana Highways Authority (GHA);

 The Department of Urban Roads (DUR);

Ghana As Sovereign Nation

The actual words “homosexual” and “lesbian” are not found in the Scriptures. The word “homosexual” is reported to be a German invention to euphemize and take the place of the distasteful word “sodomite.” Although the word “sodomy” as used today may not even have a direct connection with the sexual sins of historical Sodom.
The President of Ghana John Evans Atta Mills has officially responded to threats by UK’s Prime Minister David Cameron to cut aid to countries with anti-gay legislation saying Ghana would not accept any aid that has homosexuality strings attached to it.He said Ghana, a sovereign nation, will not kowtow to undue pressure from the West to legalise homosexuality. Interacting with media men at the Castle, Osu on Wednesday, President Mills stated that Ghana would go by the constitution because legalizing homosexuality has the tendency to destroy the moral fibre of society.      “Let me also say that whiles we acknowledge all the financial assistance and all the aid which has been given to us by our development partners, we will not accept any aid with strings attached if that aid will not inure to our interest or the implementation or the utilisation of that aid with strings attached would rather worsen our plight as a nation or destroy the very society that we want to use the money to improve,” he said.               A tough talking President Mills maintained that inasmuch as Britain can initiate policies that reflect their societal norms, they do not have the right to tell Ghanaians what to do regarding their cultural and moral values. “Let me make one thing very clear, no one can deny Prime Minister Cameron his right to make policies, take initiatives or make statements that reflect his societal norms and ideals but he does not have the right to direct other sovereign nations as to what they should do especially when their societal norms are different.

“I as President of this nation would never initiate or support any attempt to legalise homosexuality in Ghana. As a government we will abide by the principles enshrined in the constitution which is supreme. “Let me also state that while we acknowledge all the financial assistance and aid by our development partners, we would not accept any aid with strings attached if that aid will not inure to our interest or the implementation of that aid with strings attached would worsen our plight as a nation or destroy the very society that we want to

Women Empower In Modern Ghana

President John Evans Atta Mills has appointed Mrs. Charlotte Kesson-Smith Osei as the Chairperson for the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE).

The appointment was made in consultation with the Council of State, a statement signed by Secretary to the President J.K. Bebaako-Mensah has said.“The appointment takes immediate effect,” the statement noted.

Prior to the appointment, Mrs Osei was the founder and Lead Counsel of Prime Attorneys, a leading law firm in Accra. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Ghana Commercial Bank Limited and the Ghana Reinsurance Company Limited.

Mrs Osei had earlier served as a Senior Legal Officer for the Ghana Commercial Bank and as a Company Secretary/Legal Adviser for the Unibank Ghana Limited.

Mrs Charlotte Osei holds a Master of Law Degree (LL.M) from Queen's University, Canada, and a Master in Business Leadership (MBL) from the University of South Africa.

Charlotte Osei has significant experience in several facets of Law with particular specialization in Corporate/Business Law, banking, investment and employment law.

Overthrow Of Government

coups d'état)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government,usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either civil or military. A coup d'état succeeds if the usurpers establish their dominance when the incumbent government fails to prevent or successfully resist their consolidation of power. If the coup neither fully fails nor achieves overall success, the attempted coup d'état is likely to lead to a civil war. Typically, a coup d'état uses the extant government's power to assume political control of the country. In Coup d'État: A Practical Handbook, military historian Edward Luttwak says, "A coup consists of the infiltration of a small, but critical, segment of the state apparatus, which is then used to displace the government from its control of the remainder", thus, armed force

Emergency Eases As Strike Worsens

Doctors say they will accept no more emergency cases at the various public hospitals nationwide, as their strike take an ominous turn for the worse.

The doctors last week announced a nationwide strike in protest over stalled negotiation on the Single Spine Salary Structure but pledged to take only emergency cases at the various hospitals to prevent needless loss of lives.

However, a week later, the doctors are questioning the commitment of the Fair Wages and Salary Commission to fairly negotiate a salary structure for doctors and have sworn not to offer any service at the hospital, including emergency ones.

“The Fair wages and Salary Commission could not resolve the abysmal promotional patterns on the Single Spine Salary Structure. While other health workers are galloping across banks on the spine, the doctors are moving on a snail pace with respect to promotions for the same number of years worked.

“It is clear from the stance of the salaries commission that they are either not ready or not in the position to find solution to the grievances raised by GMA.

“The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission have resorted to the use of sentiments rather than a scientific approach in determining the grades of doctors on the Single Spine Salary Structure,” the President of the Ghana Medical Association Adom Winful said at a press conference in Accra on Friday.

He said the grading system being used by the FWSC is “botched” and has “created congestion” at the top of the single spine salary structure in the health sector.

He directed all doctors to vacate all public hospitals and step-up the strike.

“The National Executive Committee would like to inform its members to be steadfast in our decision to keep faith with the leadership of the GMA as we go through these turbulent times.

“Members are informed to continue with the strike action in our own interest until all the major issues are resolved.

“Members are instructed to step-up with the strike action by not attending to emergencies,” he directed.

He said the doctors will not be held liable for the consequences of the strike.

Sanity In The Health Sector Should Be Restored.

The opposition New Patriotic Party flag bearer has admonished president John Mills to end the blame game and take steps to return striking doctors to the wards. At a news conference in Accra, Wednesday, Nana Akufo-Addo questioned what he said is government’s poor handling of the crisis, insisting doctors are responsible and would not have laid down their tools if government had been proactive in handling the situation. The Ghana Medical Association, last Friday announced a nationwide strike after stalled negotiation on the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) and have since deserted the various public hospitals in the country.

Except for a few emergency cases, the majority of patients have been sent back home, some with only first aid treatment. President John Mills during a tour of the Greater Accra Region on Tuesday appealed to the doctors to return to duty whilst steps are taken to resolve their grievances.He also accused the NPP for only announcing the SSSS policy in 2009 but not putting in place any strategy for implementation. Nana Addo in a reaction said President Mills cannot in the tail end of his administration still blame the NPP for his failures.

He said if Mills complains about the NPP not leaving enough resources for the implementation of the SSSS, then the NPP should have as well left behind its ministers and president in place who would have dealt with the crisis in a “more intelligent manner.”Describing the president’s comment as “unfortunate”, Nana Addo said the government is not handling the crisis in a responsible manner, especially, when the same government had promised all public workers they would be migrated onto the new pay policy by the end of September this year.

“You are nearly at the end of the mandate; you continue to blame the [NPP],” he lamented Nana Addo said the strike should not be allowed to persist any further and the president must take immediate action to ensure sanity in the health sector is restored. “The Minister of Health, Yieleh Chireh is a man who can dismiss a doctor like Frimpong Boateng from his job with immediate effect. I would have thought that such a person is exactly the kind of person the President should instruct with immediate effect to engage with the doctors.“And we are talking about not tomorrow, not a day after tomorrow but today. That for me will be the action I would expect from the president,” Nana Addo emphasized.He also appealed to the doctors to tamper justice with mercy and return to work purely on humanitarian grounds.

Chief Beats Queenmother In Public

The Paramount Chief of Goaso Traditional Area, Nana Kwasi Baffour Bosomprah II, has been fined for allegedly assaulting the Queenmother of Dantano, near Kukuom in the Asunafo South District of the Brong Ahafo Region.

The Goasomanhene was compelled to cough out various fines amounting to GH¢3,200, as well as present three sheep and six bottles of schnapps by a panel of chiefs which sat on the case on September 12 at the Kukuom palace after he admitted to the offense.

Following that, the Queenmother of Goaso, Nana Yaa Achiaa, invoked the Great Oath of the Asantehene on Nana Kwasi Bosomprah for denigrating the stool by fighting in public.

By the Great Oath, the queenmother demanded his destoolment, a matter which is pending before the Asantehene.

The chief allegedly assaulted the Dantano Queenmother, Nana Ama Agyapah, also known as Nana Yaa Amankwaah, on June 4, 2011 at Ayomso, near Mim, during the final funeral rites of the late Ayomso queenmother.

The offence of Nana Yaa Amankwaah was that she allegedly refused to get up from her seat to pay the chief homage and insulted him when he arrived at the funeral grounds.

Out of fury, the chief allegedly violently pushed the queenmother to the ground and ordered his aides to subject her to beatings.

She reported the matter to the police and just when the case was being processed for court, Nana Kwasi Bosomprah, through one Mr. Baye, an NDC parliamentary aspirant at Asunafo North, intervened and opted for an out-of-court settlement.

Subsequently, Nana Kwasi Bosomprah was charged by the adjudicating panel to slaughter three sheep, present 6 bottles of schnapps, and pay various sums of money amounting to GH¢3,200. An amount of GH¢2,400 was to be paid to the victim to defray her medical expenses, while GH¢500 was meant to compensate her, with the remaining GH¢300 going to the panel.

According to a member of the panel, Okyeame Oduro Numapau of Kukuom, the Goasomanhene managed to pay the GH¢500 compensation and GH¢600 out of the GH¢2,400 medical expenses to the victim.

He also paid the GH¢300 to the panel and pleaded to be given one month to pay the remaining fine.

The panel, which was chaired by Nana Boakye Kukrudufo, the chief of Fawohoyeden, had the following members: Nana Kwadwo Boadi, Sianahene, Nana Obeng Bempah, Kukuom Akyeamehene, Nana Adusei Nkrumah, Nana Abena Osaa II, Queenmother of Kukuom and Okyeame Oduro Numapau of Kukuom, the office of the Kukuom Traditional Council Registrar has disclosed.

When DAILY GUIDE spoke to the assaulted queenmother, she confirmed being beaten by Nana Kwasi Bosomprah at the funeral grounds at Ayomso on June 4, 2011 because she refused to get up from her seat when the paramount chief and his entourage arrived.

She said she did not get up because they were all in a mourning mood and the event was not for merry-making to warrant any strict observance of the tradition, and more so she was not under the Goasomanhene.

Nana Yaa Amankwaah said the chief, who became furious with her conduct, rushed on her, pushed her down and ordered his aides to further attack her.

According to her, she reported the incident to the police and just as the matter was being prepared for court, the Omanhene pleaded with the police, through an NDC activist, to settle the case out of court which she obliged.

The queenmother said the matter had since been settled and the chief had been charged to compensate her. She said she was very satisfied with the compensation and wished the story died a natural death without being carried by the media.

However, when contacted, Nana Kwasi Bosomprah denied personally assaulting the queen mother.

He claimed it was some of his aides who smashed the umbrella of the queen mother on the ground when she rained insults on him in public.

He said he was dragged to the police and later before the committee because as a paramount chief, he took responsibility for his aides’ actions.

Nana Baffour Bosomprah threatened to deal drastically with Daily Guide if it published any story about him since he had not committed any crime.

According to him, the allegation was an attempt by his detractors to disgrace him, claiming the paper had been tasked by his enemies to tarnish his image.

Doctors Went On Strike

President John Mills has appealed to striking doctors to call off the four-day old strike and return to work.He said things have become difficult and urged the agitated doctors to consider dying patients at the various hospitals across the country and return to work.According to him, the NPP announced the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) but left no money to implement it, adding the doctors must exercise restraint in going about their activities. The President said this during a tour of the Greater Accra Region to inspect ongoing projects, Tuesday, Joy News' Presidential correspondent Seth Kwame Boateng reported.The Ghana Medical Association last Friday announced a nationwide strike to protest what they claim was stalled negotiation and a lull in migration onto the Single Spine Salary Structure. They blame the Fair Wages and Salary Commission as well as government for doing very little to address their grievances.Patients across the country are already feeling the ‘pain’ of empty wards and OPDs with no doctor ready and available to attend to them. Depending on how precarious and emergency their situation is they are either given a first aid and sent back home or admitted for careful examination. The doctors have come under a barrage of criticisms from some stakeholders, including government spokespersons, with a call on them to return to work. President John Mills on Tuesday waded into the crisis situation, appealing to the doctors to return to duty.  He said government is willing and ready to sit with them to address their grievances.

Train People For Jobs

Persistent complaints about the country’s universities’ failure to adequately equip graduates with relevant skills for the world of work, have come under attack.
A former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Legon, Prof. Akilakpa Sawyer, says the complaints are ill-informed, misplaced and populist.
The purpose of university education, he said, is to prepare people for work not to train them for specific jobs.
“The question of curriculum relevance is often crowded in populism. I do not think it is the university’s function to prepare its students for a particular assignment; the function is to broaden their minds; educate them about how to acquire knowledge, and give them values which ensure [that] whatever they do after the university, they bring to their task, skills, insights, values which they wouldn’t have had otherwise,” he said.
Prof. Sawyer is afraid the country’s universities are being pressurized into becoming vocational institutions.
“It is true that our graduates need to have jobs,” he said, but added, “it is not the university’s function to train them for jobs; absolutely not! It is to educate them for work, not train them for jobs. For example if you get a degree in Agriculture, it doesn’t make you a good farmer.”
Prof. Sawyer was speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show Monday on the quality of education in the country.
He said the increasing numbers of students in the university has put the quality of education under constant threat.
Demand for education, he believes, must be balanced with the need for higher quality because “it is not good enough to simply have large numbers in the institutions; if the teaching is bad and the research is poor, what do we get?”
According to him, the education authorities must adopt technology to help mitigate the problem of increasing demand for higher education which is impeded by inadequate resources to expand educational facilities to meet the demands.
The retired educationist recommended distance education as the surest way out. He debunked assertions that the quality of education is compromised if the distance learning module is adopted, insisting the module had been used successfully elsewhere.

Ghanaian Presidential Election, 2008

A presidential election was held in Ghana on 7 December 2008, at the same time as a parliamentary election. Since no candidate received more than 50% of the votes, a run-off election was held on 28 December, 2008 between the two candidates who received the most votes, Nana Akufo-Addo and John Atta Mills.Mills was certified as the victor in the run-off election on January 3, 2009, by a margin of less than one percent.
On 21 December 2006, former Vice-President John Atta Mills, who unsuccessfully ran as the National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate in 2000 and 2004, was overwhelmingly elected by NDC as its candidate for the 2008 presidential election.
Former Foreign Minister Nana Akufo-Addo was elected as the 2008 presidential candidate of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) at a party congress on 23 December 2007. Although he fell short of the required 50%, the second-place candidate, John Alan Kyeremanten, conceded defeat and backed Akufo-Addo.
The stakes of the election were raised by the discovery of oil in Ghana and an expectation for incoming oil revenues to begin in 2010. Additionally, allegations of electoral fraud that resulted in violence following elections in Kenya and Zimbabwe and military coups d'état in Mauritania and Guinea caused international election monitors to hope the Ghanaian elections would refurbish the image of constitutional democracy in Africa.
Turnout on election day was very high. Since few votes were expected for other candidates than those of the two largest parties, a first-round victory for Akufo-Addo or Mills was seen as possible, but Nduom stated he wished to "surprise" the other parties by gaining enough votes to force a run-off between the two others. With 40% of the vote counted, Akufo-Addo was leading with 49.5% to Mills's 47.6%.While Mills pulled ahead afterwards, Akufo-Addo again led by a slim margin with over 70% of the votes counted.
The second round was rerun on 28 December 2008 but due to logistics problems, the Tain District alone had its run-off election on 2 January 2009 due to problems with distributing ballots. Following the voting on 28 December, Mills led by a slim margin, causing the Election Commission to state it would not announce Mills as the winner until after the election rerun in Tain. Prior to the announcement hundreds of NDC supporters converged on the election headquarters demanding that Mills be declared the victor, but were kept at bay by riot police and armed soldiers.
Fear of election day violence caused the NPP to file a lawsuit seeking to delay voting in Tain as it claimed that "the atmosphere in the rural district was not conducive to a free and fair election". The court denied the NPP's injunction request and said it would only hear the case on 5 January 2009. In response, the NPP called its supporters to boycott the vote, for which it was criticised by civil groups.

The Peoples’ National Convention Feels Betrayed

The Peoples’ National Convention feels betrayed by what it describes as a breach of faith by the ruling National Democratic Congress.
The People's National Convention is a political party in Ghana.
At the elections, 7 December 2004, the party was part of the Grand Coalition, that won 4 out of 230 seats. Edward Mahama, candidate of the Grand Coalition won 1.9% of the vote at the presidential elections.
At the December 2008 elections, the party won 2 seats in Parliament. For the fourth time in a row, Edward Mahama was the presidential candidate. He received 0.8% of the vote.
The PNC has contested all national elections since the inception of the fourth republic apart from the 1992 Ghanaian parliamentary election, which was boycotted along with other opposition parties.
Politics of Ghana takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Ghana is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. The seat of government is at Golden Jubilee House. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and Parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The Constitution that established the Fourth Republic provided a basic charter for republican democratic government. It declares Ghana to be a unitary republic with sovereignty residing in the Ghanaian people. Intended to prevent future coups, dictatorial government, and one-party states, it is designed to establish the concept of powersharing. The document reflects lessons learned from the abrogated constitutions of 1957, 1960, 1969, and 1979, and incorporates provisions and institutions drawn from British and American constitutional models. One controversial provision of the Constitution indemnifies members and appointees of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) from liability for any official act or omission during the years of PNDC rule. The Constitution calls for a system of checks and balances, with power shared between a president, a unicameral parliament, a council of state, and an independent judiciary.

High Cost Of TertiaryEducation

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has expressed grave concern about the high cost of tertiary education, especially among the private universities in the country.

He said even though private universities are helping to bring quality tertiary education to the doorstep of many Ghanaians, the high fees being charged are making it impossible for many people to afford.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu, therefore, appealed to the government to support private tertiary institutions with infrastructure, equipment and funding to help reduce operational and overhead costs in order to
make their programmes easily affordable and accessible to many Ghanaians.

This was contained in an address read for him at the Second graduation of the Spiritan University College (SUC) at Ejisu, near Kumasi at the weekend.

Fourteen (14) students were awarded with first degrees, diplomas and certificates in philosophy, religious studies, sociology and economics.

The Asantehene pointed out that private tertiary educational institutions are playing a vital role in increasing access to higher education and there was the need for support to enable them to expand
and increase intake.

He charged managers of tertiary institutions to introduce innovative programmes that would meet the current development challenges of the nation.

Mr Joseph Kwabena Onyinah, Ashanti Regional Director of Education, praised the Catholic Church for its contribution to education in the country. He appealed to authorities of tertiary institutions not to concentrate only on the provision of knowledge and skills to students but their moral and spiritual development as well.

Reverend Father Ato Jackson-Donkor, Rector of the College, said the country would be heading for doom if tertiary institutions concentrated on introducing new programmes to the neglect of moral training of their students.

He said recent media reports of gang rape, homosexuality, sexual harassment of women and other negative practices by some university students in the country should be a wake-up call for authorities to
institute stringent measures to instils discipline in students.

President Obama's Africa speech

On July 11, 2009, was a historic day for the United States and the African continent as the first African-American President, Barack Hussein Obama, traveled to Accra, Ghana and addressed the Ghanaian Parliament.  President Obama's mere presence as the son of a Kenyan goat herder cum leader of the free world demonstrated a powerful symbolic shift in global politics. 
In his first presidential address to the African continent, President Obama pledged the United States' support for African democratic leadership and its socio-economic development.  He declared that "history was on the move" and that "Africa's future is up to Africans."  The president also extended the America's hand as a partner for Africa stating that "... in the 21st century, we are called to act by our conscience and our common interest" to do so.
President Obama's speech to Africa, although imbued with hope, still reflected the same arrogance, blame shifting, and paternalism Western leaders have shown since the continent's independent nations began to emerge.

President Obama remarks on the Cape Coast Castle EPA/SHAWN THEW

Colonial powers still claim a stronghold on Africans' future because they never left.  After the death of traditional colonialism, neo-colonialism succeeded to rule over the continent.  European monarchs and heads of state were quickly replaced by CEOs, multi-national corporations, and private investors.  Further undermining African autonomy, the International Monetar Fund (IMF) and World Bank stepped in to drown Africa's hopes of internal development under billions of dollars in high-interest loans and Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs), which cut vital social programs focusing on education and maternal and child health in favor of promoting privatization and trade with its former colonizers.
Africans cannot control their future because it was purchased by Western owned multinational corporations and global financial institutions decades ago. 
Furthermore allegations of abuses committed towards Africans by neo-colonial corporations are plenty.  On June 8, 2009 Shell gas company (Royal Dutch Shell) paid $15.5 million to the Ogoni people of Nigeria after they were found complicit in the violation of their human rights including the 1995 execution of activist and author Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others.  While in South Africa, European owned mining companies specializing in diamond and gold mining continue to compromise their employees safety and health; many not providing adequate health care or safe working environments for its staff.  And in the Congo, France's quest to acquire natural resources and minerals such as coltan, used to power cell phones, iPods, and laptops, has fueled the nation's decades long civil war.

Ghanaians line the streets to support President Obama EPA/SHAWN THEW

Just as colonizers drew the colonial map a generation ago, neo-colonialist are carving up the continent's resources in a way that deepens the ethnic conflicts and in-fighting national boundaries created 50 years prior.
President Obama said in his speech to Africa, "Freedom is your inheritance. Now, it is your responsibility to build upon freedom’s foundation."  But the West has not freed Africa.  The shackles of a century ago are still visible.  They are every dollar of international debt and every foreign-owned corporation controlling its resources.  If freedom is Africa's inheritance, then the old Western model of neo-colonialism and paternalism must die so that Africans may claim it.

NDC congress: Boakye Gyan

Major (Rtd) Boakye Djan, a member of the defunct Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), has stated that the Rawlingses will not rule out disrupting the upcoming congress of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) should they be convinced that President Mills could win the flagbearership race.

According to him, the former first family would either use physical force or a legal means to disrupt the July 8 congress.
 Mr Djan, who played a major role in the 1979 June 4 uprising, said his knowledge about Mr Rawlings convinced him that the former President Rawlings could resort to violence to get a stronger hold of the NDC than to lose it.

Again, he noted that the stakes were very high for the two contending parties - Mills and Rawlings camps - and added that the outcome of the congress had had a “wide range implications for the two leadership and their followers, that, it is going to be a ferocious fight.”

The former Rawlings ally stated that though the Rawlings camp was aware they would lose the contest, they can also not “allow themselves to be defeated, and hence would adopt some “destructive tactics”.

“And I can anticipate either a legal challenge …or a physical challenge that would disrupt it,” he maintained.

Ghana Need A Serious State Man

The campaign coordinator for the Nana Konadu for 2012 campaign team, Michael Teye-Nyaunu, has strongly condemned President Mills for declaring himself the winner of the upcoming flagbearership contest of the NDC for the election 2012.
With less than fifteen days to go for the flagbearership contest, President Mills on Wednesday June 22 told Municipal, Metropolitan and District Chiefs Executives at a conference that he has already won the contest and urged them not to worry.
Hon Teye-Nyaunu in an interview with Citi News described the president’s comment as premature and unfortunate.
According to him, none of the candidates can claim to have won even before the contest takes place in Sunyani from July 8-10.
The Lower Manya MP reiterated his earlier claim that President Mills is being misled by those around him as well as his supporters and advised him to brace himself for a drubbing in the Sunyani contest.“I wonder how he (President Mills)could say that (he had already won). You see, this is why I say that the people around him are not telling the man the truth. He is talking based on the report that they brought to him and I pity him because nobody goes into a fight thinking he is going to lose but in this case he has already lost and for him to come out with that statement, it is premature. Because the responses we are receiving do not tell us that he has won or it is a done deal.
“They (Mills campaign team) have done enough by influencing delegates with money and motorbikes and adopting tactics that are unfair but all these things notwithstanding Nana Konadu is going to win and I think that is it premature for him to declare that he has won”
Meanwhile, Nana Konadu is touring parts of the Eastern Region to campaign ahead of the July congress. Hon Teye-Nyaunu said the response from the delegates indicates President Mills will be given a serious run for his money.

Ghana Premier League Going Down

Over the years, the major leagues begin well with Ghanaian football lovers flocking to fill pubs and bars as if they have a date to honour with these foreign football leagues. The Barclays English Premier League (EPL) said to be the most exciting has stowed away Ghanaian soccer fans to pull on replica jerseys of the formers clubs. Factually, local football supporters are slapped with entertainment without pain. In other words Ghana stands to loose gate proceeds when this seasons league begins. Though this has been the trend over some period now, the zest of support for local football is said to be waning, but it is firmly hidden in foreign football leagues. Surprisingly, there has been no visible intent to stem this tied. Ghanaian football authorities are at their wits end to shred the support base of local soccer. Any doubt?

It is imperative to note that, the Professional League Board (PLB), has over the decades refused to reform the local football calendar. Likewise, has the PLB thought of starting the Premier League on time before foreign football swoops on the interest of Ghanaian football followers. Local football clubs pay through their noses to maintain teams. These clubs play in virtually empty stadiums, with arms thrown up in despair as to how to defeat the potent threat of foreign footballs’ venom. Efforts to boost attendance seem not to be in sight.

Nevertheless, kits used by football clubs in Ghana stands with many deficits. Names are not inscribed at the back of jerseys. Besides, some of these jerseys are worked out, hence, not colourful to please. The few who flock the stadiums are hand full, age-old supporters of clubs, or those who skip over the walls to freely enjoy the sweat of the field actors. Comparatively, Ghana Premier football teams are shabbily dressed to those of international clubs. These foreign clubs pursue football as a product, to which they give it all the marketing care it deserves. To the Ghanaian football authority, what is football? Is it only about entertainment? Most often, players of Ghanaian teams appear on pitches, as if conscripted to duty, running around without tactical formation and discipline.

Sierra Leone has suffered a total league collapse affecting that country’s fortune in football. The stadia meant for football matches turned out for the purposes of political rallies and religious crusades. What a wrong usage of an edifice of the beautiful game. Thank God, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) has up till now not shown any puns in paying bonuses to the national team players. But while Sierra Leone football authorities struggled to pay bonuses, that country’s citizens gladly fill cinema halls to dish out peanuts to watch top liners of foreign leagues. Especially, the English Premier League, (EPL). This was reported by a Sports Journalist, Joseph Sawan. Ghana Football stands at the ebbing risk to suffer same. No prophesy of doom. Let those within the confines of civility prick themselves and brood through. With just 50 pesewas or 1 Ghana cedi, top matches involving Michael Essien’s Chelsea and Manchester United could be served by cable networks, at cinema halls. Read between these few lines with a squint eye.

In spite of all these, our stadia are comparable to Chilean mines. Proclivity to violence is not in dispute, while perpetrators and their faceless morale boosters are royally offered save heavens every time. The image of Ghana football has over the years failed to respond to treatments of reprieve, foresight and dedication. Is Ghana Football Association GFA, waiting to see the total demise of our Premier League Football, before they look out for a miracle ‘man’ to come wake it up?

GFA should enquire from Ghana Airways now Ghana International Airlines (GA/GIA) how slowly patronage can dwindle, image can come crushing, and an airline can be run from offices without any visible evidence on tarmacs. The FA might equally run Ghana football from the GFA offices with rarely any real functional clubs. How many local players featured prominently in the 2010 African and World Cups? It attests to the quality of local materials available. God help Ghana Football. A call to make up for the 23 man squad without active role is logically similar to ignoring the local players.

Lets catalogue Ghana Football failed promises of attempts to success. When was the last time Ghana appeared at the Youth under 17 tournaments. Again, we could not qualify for the last Olympics. Ghana has lost the places for the number of Ghanaian Football clubs at the Confederation of Africa Footballs’ (CAF) continental competitions. Sadly it took place under our gazing eyes. What about the Ladies under-20 team who were in Germany 2010? Not even a wooden medal. Please pay heed to didactic, for the one the gods would destroy they first make proud. Ghana Football’s quality is fading like a material and sinking like a ship. The captain must be up to smile the roses. No intent to split hairs with an authority. It is time to get active. Releasing verbal brutes to defend the indefensible policies and as well make the untenable tenable will not change the dwindling fortunes of Ghana Football.

Although, a top United States Minister of God laid hand’s on an aircraft of the defunct Ghana Airways now Ghana International Airlines, yet you know what happened. Should it be repeated? Wait till it happens to Ghana Football. Then you would be a living witness of the beautiful game, turn ugly game in our part of the world. For those who would ebb to any depth to achieve their objective of being recognised by their paymasters to prove that Ghana football is colourful should goad. When the ship finally sinks the water will hit their feet. Should we wait?

THE MODERN FOOTBALL OF GHANA

The Dispute Resolution Committee of the Ghana Football Association will begin the process of arbitration into a petition filed by Vincent Sowah Odotei to the Executive Committee over his candidature for election for the Presidency.

Also, the petition by Neil Armstrong-Mortagbe has been directed to the same body though no date has been fixed yet for the start of the arbitration process.

Both individuals filed separate notices with the Ex.Co, contesting the decision of the Elections Committee to disqualify their candidatures to contest for the office of the President.

The Ghana national football team, popularly known as the Black Stars, is the national association football team of Ghana and is controlled by the Ghana Football Association. Before gaining independence from Great Britain in 1957, the country played as the Gold Coast.

Although the team did not qualify for the senior FIFA World Cup until 2006, they had qualified for five straight Olympic Games Football Tournaments when the tournament was still a full senior national team competition. The team has won the Africa Cup of Nations four times (in 1963, 1965, 1978, and 1982), making Ghana the second most successful team in the contest's history, behind Egypt. The Olympic Team, the Black Meteors, in 1992 became the first African country to win a medal at football.

After going through 2005 unbeaten, Ghana won the FIFA most improved team of the year award and they reached the second round of the 2006 FIFA World Cup led by Serbian football coach, Ratomir Dujković.

At the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, they became the third African team in history to reach the World Cup quarter-finals.

The Ghana Amateur Football Association was founded in 1957, soon after the country's independence, and was affiliated to both CAF and FIFA the following year, Englishman George Ainsley being appointed coach of the national team.

In 1960 the Black Stars played Spanish giants Real Madrid, who were at the time Spanish, European and intercontinental champions, and drew 3–3.

Charles Kumi Gyamfi became coach in 1961, and Ghana won successive Africa Cup of Nations titles, in 1963 and 1965, and achieved their record win, 13–0 away to Kenya, shortly after the second of these. They also reached the final of the tournament in 1968 and 1970, losing 1–0 on each occasion, to DR Congo and Sudan respectively. Their domination of this tournament earned the country the nickname of "the Brazil of Africa" in the 1960s. The team had no success in FIFA World Cup qualification during this era, and failed to qualify for three successive African Cup of Nations in the 1970s, but qualified for the Olympic Games Football Tournaments, reaching the quarter finals in 1964 and withdrawing on political grounds in 1976 and but making little progress in continent-wide competitions until the appointment of Burkhard Ziese as coach in 1991.

A new generation of players who went to the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship final became the core of the team at the 2002 African Cup of Nations and the 2004 Olympic Games, and were undefeated for a year in 2005 and reached the finals of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the first time the team had reached the global stage of the tournament. Ghana started with a 2–0 defeat to eventual champions Italy, but wins over the Czech Republic (2–0) and USA (2–1) saw them through to the second round, where they were beaten 3–0 by Brazil.

The Black Stars went on to secure a 100 percent record in their qualification campaign, winning the group and becoming the first African team to qualify for 2010 FIFA World Cup. The World Cup Draw in Cape Town on the 4 December 2009 saw the Ghanaian team being placed alongside Germany, Serbia and Australia in Group D. They were able to reach the last 16 where they played the USA, defeating them 2–1 in extra time to become the third African nation to reach the World Cup quarter finals. They then lost on penalties to Uruguay in the quarter finals, having missed a penalty in extra time after a certain goal was saved off the line by Luis Suarez's deliberately parried handball who was then shown a red card for his action.

The Ghana Football Association is the governing body of football (soccer) in Ghana, based in Accra.
It is on record that the game of Football was introduced into the Gold Coast towards the close of the 19th century by Merchants from Europe, who had then invaded the coastal areas and built forts and castles to enhance their trading activities either in merchandise or human cargo. The sailors at their leisure times played football among themselves and sometimes with a select side of the indigenous people. The popularity of the game spread like wild fire within a short time along the coast culminating in the formation of the first football club, EXCELSIOR in 1903 by Mr. Briton, a Jamaican born British, who was then Head Teacher of Philip Quaicoe Government Boys School in Cape Coast. As the popularity of the game grew, other clubs along the coast, namely: Accra Hearts of Oak, Cape Coast Venomous Vipers, Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs, Sekondi Hasaacas and Sekondi Eleven Wise all amateur clubs were formed.