Ayew: Africa will be taken seriously

In a nucleus of new-found football talent from west Africa, the name of Ghana playmaker Andre ‘Dede’ Ayew has been on everyone’s lips.

When the Black Stars' camp was rocked by a spate of injuries on the eve of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2010, coach Milovan Rajevac turned to a group of untested youngsters to shoulder the burden. He not only promoted the spine of the team that won the FIFA U-20 World Cup Egypt 2009, but he also handed them free reign to roam and a responsibility to bring pride to Ghana. Ayew did just that.

The left-winger nevertheless went into the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ known largely for being the son of Abedi Pele, the three-time African Footballer of the Year. He emerged from it as a global star in his own right, however, thanks to some exhilarating performances. FIFA.com caught up with the 20-year-old to discuss South Africa 2010, the new-found pressure on his shoulders, and his desire to win the UEFA Champions League, the Cup of Nations and the FIFA World Cup.

FIFA.com: Andre, the road to the Africa Cup of Nations 2012 begins this weekend against Swaziland. What are your thoughts?
Andre Ayew: Obviously it’s going to be a tough road to the qualifiers and I’m not just saying that because it’s a usual thing to say. It’s going to be tough because a lot of teams will now be targeting us. If you look at some of the teams we have to play, they are not easy opponents even for so-called small countries. In football, anything can happen that is why it’s important for us to step up and work hard. First we have to play Swaziland and we don’t know much about them. They are a closed book to us, but I’m sure they have watched us a lot of times. Then we have countries like Congo, Sudan – not easy opponents, especially away from home.

Suddenly, you have become one of the most recognisable faces in this team. Do you feel added pressure now?
Pressure is part of football. It’s always there. I would be lying if I said I don’t feel pressure, but it’s good pressure. I’m still young and I want to enjoy my football. I think after the World Cup in South Africa, people expect a lot from us, which is natural after the kind of performance we had.

There was a lot of speculation about your future at club level. Have you settled now, and what are your personal goals?
I'm at Marseille and happy there. At club level, I have always said that I want to win the Champions League - it’s one of those accolades that any player would like to add to his CV. We have good players at Marseille with a lot of experience. We are a very confident bunch and we know that we can do it. We have to win the league first and do it time and again. Of course teams like Bordeaux and Lyon also have good players and all the teams are good enough to win the league.

At national team level, my mission is twofold: we first have to win the Africa Cup of Nations, which we came very close to doing in Angola when we lost to Egypt. That was a disappointing moment for us, but now we have to focus on 2012. Of course our biggest dream would be to win the World Cup.


For me, it’s surprising that no African side has reached the semi-finals of the World Cup. Africa is home to some of the best players in the world. I think we just need a little bit of luck.Ghana midfielder Andre Ayew


Talking about the FIFA World Cup, Ghana came agonisingly close to making history by becoming the first African side to reach the last four…
That was a painful experience for us. I think even today that hurts a bit. To go out in that way was really tough for us, and just to think about it brings some sad memories. We were so close, but yet so far. I don’t want to talk about that day a lot; it will stay in our memories for a long time. But we try not to think about it, we try to look at some of the positives that we gained from that tournament.

For me, it’s surprising that no African side has reached the semi-finals of the World Cup. Africa is home to some of the best players in the world. I think we just need a little bit of luck. It was good that the continent hosted its first World Cup, and it was a resounding success. From now on, people will take Africa seriously; they will know that Africa is capable of organising great events. We were overwhelmed with the support we got from South Africans during the tournament. Africa was united.

What did the coach Rajevac say in the dressing room after that quarter-final exit to Uruguay?
Everyone was devastated; we knew we were so close to advancing to the semi-finals. You could see the disappointment on each and every face after the match. Not much was said. There was no need for words.

The Black Stars camp looks like a happy family. Is that the reality?
Of course we are a happy bunch; we have a lot of respect for each other. When I arrived here, there were guys like Michael Essien, (Stephen) Appiah, (John) Mensah, who were big stars, but you could see the way they handled themselves with the other players. Their attitude was always the same. We learned a lot from their behaviour.

You have probably been asked this question before, but how do you feel about being compared to your father?
[laughs] I guess some people will always make that comparison, but that doesn’t bother me. My father played his part and he was one of the greatest players. I don’t want to compare myself to him. I believe I have to just keep on being myself. I have my own life and my own goals.
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CID Invites NDC Boss

Dr. Kwabena Adjei, Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has finally been dragged to the Nima Police Station by the leadership of the Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) over his infamous outburst against the judiciary.

The grouping, which is seeking the arrest of the NDC National Chairman, took a step further towards that end when its leadership went to the Nima Police Station to lodge a formal complaint yesterday afternoon.

DAILY GUIDE learnt that upon lodging the complaint, the Ghana Police Service has invited Dr. Kwabena Adjei to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) headquarters for questioning.

Confirming Dr. Adjei's invitation to Citi FM, the Director of Public Affairs at the Ghana Police Service, Superintendent Kwesi Ofori said the most senior official of the CID, in the person of the Director-General, was tasked to invite the NDC chairman for questioning.

Superintendent Ofori said Dr. Adjei, when reached on his phone, pledged to honor the invitation when he returned from his hometown in the Volta Region.

The democracy advocacy grouping is seeking a police investigation into the outburst because, according to the Director of Operations of the AFAG, Samuel Awuku, “we find the outburst subversive and we are seeking a full investigation into it.”

The outburst, AFAG maintained, contributed to Justice Anthony Opong’s recuse from the Ya Na murder trial and a general instilling of fear and panic among members of the bench.
The mission to the Nima Police Station, according to AFAG, was not without drama as the procedure was unusual.

Reporting first to the counter Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) to lodge the complaint, the officer who described the complaint as political said he could not handle it, whereupon according to Samuel Awuku, they were referred to the District Commander, DSP Aduhene Banieh. “Upon listening to us, the officer said the Divisional Commander would want to meet us and therefore referred us to the Superior Officer,” he said.

ACP Timothy Yoosa Bonga, the Divisional Commander, according to Mr. Awuku, upon listening to them gave the okay for them to file their complaint to open the door for formal investigations into the case to commence.

“As I speak to you, a formal complaint has been lodged which is being handled by the Nima Divisional Crime Officer, DSP Amos Yelsong,” he said.

AFAG was among many groups and individuals who expressed disgust at the outburst of Dr. Kwabena Adjei, NDC National Chairman when he took on the judiciary with his infamous “many ways of killing a cat”.

He was provoked by the acquittal and discharge of Tarzan and Kwadwo Mpiani in the Ghana@50 celebration trial and other cases involving former government officials during the tenure of President John Agyekum Kufuor.

Dr. Adjei, whose political antecedents are rooted in the revolutionary PNDC junta, threatened the judiciary with a purge if members of this arm of government did not embark upon such a purging programme themselves.

His reference to the many options available for killing the cat, when asked how he was going to purge the judiciary, was what earned him public opprobrium.

Those who condemned him did so on the basis that the outburst emanating especially from a man who was associated with the junta under whose tenure three high court judges were abducted and murdered under mysterious circumstances, sent chilling reminders to Ghanaians with a sense of that piece of history.

He refused to apologise, defending himself however that he was misquoted even as the leader of the party, President Mills, pledged his support for the independence of the judiciary, a pledge which cynics accepted with a pinch of salt.

Ripples from that infamous outburst, which attracted a reaction from the usually recluse association of judges and magistrates, continue to feature in local politics.

Meanwhile, the Council of Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches of Ghana has described the comments of Kwabena Adjei as an affront to the tenets of the 1992 constitution that undermines the basic principles of democracy.

The council has therefore called on Government not to pursue what, in their view, may appear like an agenda to jail politicians of the opposite divide at all cost.

The President of the Council, Apostle J.A. Adotey told Citi News the council was only seeking to advise all parties concerned to be mindful and circumspect in their utterances, especially after President Mills had re-assured the nation that he had no intentions to interfere in the judiciary.

The council’s decision to issue the statement arose at a meeting held on 30th August, 2010.

“After his Excellency the President had spoken, we expected the matter to die out because people needed to respect the President’s position.

“But after his statement, there were several other comments including the one made by the Group of NDC Regional Chairmen which we felt were most unfortunate. In the first place, I wasn’t expecting the NDC Chairman to speak for the executive arm of government. He can do that for the party but not the government, and we think that those actions threaten the tenets of the constitution.

“If you have issues against the judiciary, there is a process you use in trying to correct those problems other than coming to the press to petition any particular Judge or the Chief Justice,” Rev. Adotey said.

Members of the Council of Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches of Ghana are the Apostolic Church of Ghana, Word Miracle Church, Christ Apostolic Church and the Church of Pentecost.

Others are Jesus Generation Sanctuary, Assemblies of God, Royal House Chapel, the Global Evangelical Church, Calvary Crusaders, Victory Bible Church and the Christian Action Faith Ministries.

By A.R. Gomda

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Invasive snails seized by Customs at Dulles airport

U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 14 giant African land snails from a traveler from Ghana at Washington Dulles International Airport, the agency said Thursday.

The snails are an invasive species that can cause major damage to crops and are illegal to possess in the United States.

The traveler declared the snails when asked if he was carrying any agricultural or live products, so he was not fined or charged, CBP spokesman Stephen Sapp wrote in an e-mail.

The animals were seized when the traveler, whose name was not released, arrived Sunday.

The snails, which were about the size of a child's fist, have been killed. - Emily Babay

ebabay@washingtonexaminer.com

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Coach Milo Quits

Just a few days after denying media reports that he was on his way out of the camp of the Black Stars, Milovan Rajevac, the Serbian coach of the senior national team, has confirmed earlier speculations and dealt a bitter blow to the nation.

Milo denied the reports moments after he led the Black Stars to tame Swaziland 3-0 in a 2012 Cup of Nations (CAN) qualifier.

But reports emanating from the international arena suggest that the Serbian, whose rating soared after taking the Black Stars to the quarter-finals stage at the just-ended World Cup in South Africa, had signed a multimillion dollar contract with an oil-rich Saudi club.

Though details of the deal are not yet known, DAILY GUIDE SPORTS checks indicate the 56-year-old Serbian has signed a three-year contract with Saudi Arabian club side Al Ahly Jeddah, running into some millions of dollars.

Earlier reports had suggested that Milo, who is regarded as one of the best tacticians in the world, had been offered $60,000 by the Ghana Football Association in order to steer the campaign of the Black Stars until the 2014 World Cup, to be hosted by Brazil, was over.

But in a twinkle of an eye, the Serbian appeared to have followed in the footsteps of ex Black Stars’ coaches, his compatriot Ratomir Djukovic who left for China after taking Ghana to its first ever World Cup in Germany in 2006, and Frenchman Claude Leroy, who abandoned the Black Stars at the beginning of the 2010 World Cup/CAN qualifiers.

Goran Milovanovic, the agent of Milo who the Black Stars’ coach claimed he had a misunderstanding with, expressed ‘shock’ and ‘disgust’ over the coach’s sudden change of mind over a new contract with the Black Stars yesterday.

According to the agent, who negotiated a new four-year contract with the GFA for the Serbian, he convinced Milo not to take other offers.

“I want to make it clear that I have no hand in any Saudi deal and I have a problem with the apparent breach of trust. I am disgusted.

“I am seriously unhappy with the way he has suddenly turned his back on the people and government of Ghana, the players of Ghana, the members of the Ghana FA”, he told ghanasoccernet.com.

“We sat down with the Ghana FA last month and we negotiated a very good deal. Even though there were other better offers, we agreed that we must respect what the people of Ghana have done for him.He publicly gave his word to the people of Ghana, to the Ghana government and the Ghana FA after decent negotiations that he would stay and we negotiated on that basis.”

The FA on Tuesday gave Milo a seven-day ultimatum to sign a new contract with the Black Stars or face the exit.

But the latest twist to events means the FA would have to quickly search for a new coach since the 2012 African Nations Cup qualifiers have begun.

For the first time in the history of modern football, most Ghanaians had wanted Milo to stay because of the transformation and tenacity he brought to the team, but they would have to contend with the Serbian’s decision.

By Charles Nixon Yeboah
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AFAG seeks NDC Chairman's prosecution

The Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) has formally lodged a complaint with the police asking for the arrest and prosecution of the Chairman of the National Democratic Congress, Dr. Kwabena Adjei .

The group is accusing Dr. Adjei of making subversive comments against the Judiciary when he called on the Chief Justice to purge the Judiciary of corruption and biases or the party shall purge it for her.

His comments drew lots of criticisms from the general public, the Bench and the Clergy, while many others, including the minority in Parliament, also called for his arrest and prosecution.

On Thursday, leading members of AFAG, a pressure group aligned to the opposition New Patriotic Party, filed a complaint at the Nima Police Station in Accra.

Martin Adjei Mensah, a leading member of AFAG told Joy News' Justice Baidoo that their action is “to ensure that Dr. Kwabena Adjei is brought to book.”

“We find his comments subversive and we think it largely infringes on several aspects of our laws.

“We expect the police to arrest, investigate and possibly prosecute him."

It is not yet clear if the police will act on the matter.

Story by Nathan Gadugah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

NDC Supporters clash over Effiduase DCE

Supporters and opponents of Mr Kwadwo Addai, the District Chief Executive (DCE) of the Sekyere East District of the Ashanti Region Wednesday morning clashed at the district capital, Effiduase.

Police personnel had to fire warning shots to disperse the rioters and maintain security.

Nhyira FM’s correspondent, Alexander Afrifa who was reporting on the riots, became a victim, having been assaulted by the supporters. He has since been hospitalized.

Some supporters of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) had accused the DCE of sidelining them in the execution of development projects in the area.

Although Mr Addai repeatedly denied the allegations, the angry supporters gathered at his office Tuesday and threatened to kick him out.

They vowed to defect to another political party if the appointing authority fails to sack the DCE.

To calm tensions and find an amicable solution to the impasse, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Kofi Opoku Manu Wednesday went to the district to try and intervene in the matter.

But when he entered the Effiduase, the two groups – supporters and adversaries of the DCE – launched an audacious attack on each other.

Joy FM Correspondent, Kwabena Ampratwum said the police had to whisk the both the DCE and the Regional Minister out of the area to prevent anything untoward happening to them.

The embattled DCE, told Joy News’ Dzifa Bampoh that he had scheduled the meeting with Mr Opoku Manu at a secured location but the Regional Chairman of the NDC who led the Regional Minister’s delegation bypassed that location and drove the convoy into the trouble makers’ zone.

He dismissed the calls for his dismissal by his detractors, maintaining that out of the 62 branches of the NDC in the district, “58 branches are solidly behind me.”

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$2 Million Ghana Airways Royalty Go Missing

Royalties in the sum of $2million paid to Ghana Airways from 2005 to 2008 have not been accounted for. The payment, by KLM, was made at the time Ghana Airways was not in operation, raising questions as to who received the money and to which account it was paid.

Some former workers of the defunct company are therefore calling on the government to investigate the royalty payment in particular and the liquidation of Ghana Airways in general.

According to the former workers, the entire liquidation of Ghana Airways was very ‘stinky’ and disgraceful and went against professionalism and good governance, saying it was also unconstitutional to deprive citizens of their jobs and also distribute national assets without due care.

Speaking on behalf of the workers, a former Senior Staff Association Chairman of the Ghana Airways, Roland Mosore, told journalists that the circumstances under which the airline was liquidated made them to believe that it was a deliberate move to collapse the company, dispose its assets and form a new airline solely for the benefit of a few persons in the former administration, including the then President, John Kufuor.

He said during the period of challenges of the airline, the workers sacrificed 30 per cent reduction in salary for a period of seven months, got reduced payment of all allowances by 40 per cent and worked overtime without collecting any payments, all in a bid to contribute to the survival of the airline. Furthermore, he added, the then government rejected a loan request of $7million and $2million respectively by the airline to help in its resuscitation. “All these we believe were steps to ‘kill’ Ghana Airways, because airlines like KLM, Kenya Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Fidelity, among others had expressed partnership interest”, he said. According to Mr. Mosore, all these reputable airlines were disqualified to partner with Ghana Airways and in rather mysterious circumstances, the airline was declared liquidated and a new so-called Ghana International Airline formed with tax payers’ money taken from SSNIT contributions.

Interestingly, he noted, while the company needed less than $9million to stay afloat, the NPP government spent $6.5million in retrenching workers of the airline and spent an additional $5million to form a new airline in partnership with GIA USA, which, according to him, had never even operated a ‘bicycle rental business’.

“How then could Ghana Government partner such a business in aviation?” he asked.

Mr. Mosore said the ‘salivating NPP politicians’ and their cronies took charge of the assets of Ghana Airways and wrongfully decided to share them under the guise of liquidation, thereby forcing the airline into extinction without any steps to restructure or discuss with the experienced aviation professionals to find suitable methods of solving the problems.

He held that the government, in forming a new airline, has much to learn from the experience of Ghana Airways and GIA, and this would ensure that the new airline succeeds.

“The government’s developmental agenda will be enhanced with the formation of a New Ghana Airways and drawing from the lessons of the previous NPP-led and failed GIA, the NDC-led government shall not fail in the formation of a better state-of-the-art national carrier”, he said in a statement co-signed by Alex Koufie, a former Union Chairman of Ghana Airways.

Mr. Mosore said there were hidden ‘vampires’ in the administration of the aviation industry in the Transport Ministry and suggested to government to engage the representatives of the former workers to be part of any decisions and formulations of any policy or formation of a national carrier. He called on government to inform Ghanaians about the cost of the liquidation exercise and how the assets were disposed (who bought what and at what price). He requested also for a full disclosure on the total income realized from the sale of the assets of the company.

According to him, the information would not be hard to come by since a Chief Director, Mr. T.A. Selby, who was an advisor of the previous administration at the Ministry of Transport, and later at the Aviation Ministry, who played super active roles in halting the operations of Ghana Airways and the formation of GIA, is still at post, steering the affairs and advising the current Minister for Transport.

The then acting Registrar General, Mr. J.K. Harlley, who presided over the liquidation exercise of the company, is also at post, he added
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Ashawo Man Robs Clients

A 23-YEAR-OLD MAN who has been ‘servicing’ men while dressed as a woman has been arrested.

The suspect, Francis Atsu, smartly dressed as a fashionable attractive female, tells his sex partners he is called Gifty Atsu.

Speaking to DAILY GUIDE exclusively at the Accra Regional Police Headquarters after his arrest yesterday, Francis/Gifty Atsu revealed that he started dressing like a woman and practising prostitution at Aflao years ago.

“I only came to Accra recently to look for greener pastures when a soldier man hired my services for the night,” he said.

According to him, he had so far had sexual intercourse with ten men since arriving in Accra and seemed sorry his adventure had been so quickly terminated.

Even the police were fooled initially because they thought they had a woman in their grips who had just looted items from one of her clients, a soldier.

Francis had breasts like a woman. Apparently, they were two gloves filled with water and nicely tucked into a brassiere.

He wore earrings, three pieces on each ear, beads on his waist, an anklet and had a wig on, and wore a lady’s skirt and blouse that made him look completely like a woman.

In his hand, Francis carried a lady’s handbag which was filled with condoms and a make-up kit.

Drama unfolded when the prostitute was hauled to the police station for stealing his/her client’s laptop and other items after spending the night with him.

He was arrested when he tried selling the items at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle last Monday and was subsequently detained in the female cells of the Accra Central Police Station.

According to a police source, ‘Gifty’ Atsu was spotted by the soldier during the celebration of the Homowo Festival Bash at Teshie on Saturday.

The source said the soldier then bargained with the lady to spend the night with ‘her’ for a fee of GH¢20.

After the agreed deal, the soldier (name withheld) then took ‘her’ to d Morea friend’s house to spend the night.

“That night, the soldier was so drunk that he could not perform and therefore did not touch Gifty till the next morning,” the police said.

In the morning, the soldier left Gifty in his friend’s (also a soldier) room for work, with the intention to return later in the day to satisfy his sexual desires.

“Gifty, after the soldier left, took the laptop of their host, digital and manual cameras, a barbering machine, as well as some jeans trousers together with an amount of GH¢20 and bolted.”

The soldier however did not report the matter to the police.

Confirming the story to DAILY GUIDE, the Accra regional crime officer, Superintendent Frank Adufati, indicated that Francis Atsu was arrested Monday night by the police when he tried to sell the stolen items.

He noted that the police could not immediately detect that she was a man until close examination by the investigator in charge of the case the next day.

“In her caution statement, Francis Atsu gave his name as Gifty Atsu. We could also not immediately detect she was a man because she had breasts, and was wearing earrings, beads, a wig and a lady’s dress and other items used by women.”

Mr. Adufati said the investigator, upon interrogation, realised Gifty was behaving as if she was a man.

“The investigator then sought permission to examine Gifty and it was during the examination that we detected she was a man.”

The police have since contacted the soldier the prostitute allegedly robbed for his statement.

Francis Atsu would be arraigned soon, according to the regional crime officer, to answer charges of stealing.

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At Osu Children’s Home

The Osu Children’s Home, built alongside the Remand Home in the 1950s for orphans and homeless children to be trained to become useful citizens, has become a ‘death transit camp’ where gruesome atrocities are committed against inmates.

The helpless and parentless children have been literally turned into objects of violent physical abuse, emotional torture, corporal punishment and reckless neglect that led to death of three of the orphans just within three months.

Ace investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas’s working in an undercover operation at the orphanage has been able to capture a video recording of this crime against humanity and has narrated to DAILY GUIDE how death is so rampant at the orphanage that mass burial of the inmates have become the order of the day.

The said video also captured caregivers of the orphanage gleefully sharing among themselves, food stuffs and other items that had been donated to the orphans while some of them packed and set on fire clothes and toys that ought to be shared among the inmates.

“There was a point I had to disguise myself into a woman; I used the name ‘Hajia Barkisu’ and the caregivers of the home sold to me some of the food stuffs that had been donated to them.

“At another time I disguised myself as a pastor called ‘Rev. Abednego Akpabli’ of the Christ of Jah Church; the whole thing took me about seven months to uncover and we used about thirty secret cameras hidden at vantage locations in the home,” Anas told DAILY GUIDE.

The video also showed 6-year-old Yaw Moses, a physically-challenged lad who was reportedly beaten until he had a broken vertebral column and died.

Yaw was in House One, where he and a host of others were being cared for by Florence Adama, Aunty Zenabu, Comfort Anang, Madams Adobea, Grace and Dora.

Madam Grace, according to the children, was supposedly responsible for Yaw until he died. She was sighted in the video clip holding tight the hands of a young boy by name Evans Doudoo, as she ordered other children to slap him.

“Because of his condition, all the caregivers beat him a lot. Aunty Grace beats him anytime she finds anything wrong with him. The last time he fell off his wheelchair and broke his lip, a caregiver, instead of treating him, beat him the more. He was left in the open on the bare floor very often,” a child reported.

Interestingly, while the child was in visible agony, House One record book on his daily condition read that Yaw Owusu was looking healthy, quite cheerful and had a peaceful night.

In the video, he, like other helpless inmates, ate meals from the floor because their ‘mothers’ would not care to lift them up.

When he finally gave up and died with scars all over his body, Yaw was buried at the La Cemetery under the sponsorship of Anas.

House Two is taken care of by one Hajia as house mother, Cecilia Bafo-Bone as her assistant and madams Rachael and Florence as other caregivers, but the situation is not different.

In House Three, the children are in the care of Gladys (house mother), Madam Elizabeth, Edith Kwao-Kuma, Comfort Bekoe, Rose and a woman called Lizzy, while the nursery section is in the care of Edith Awor and Madam Nancy, with Evelyn as cook.

Some of the male overseers who allegedly terrified the children and inflicted pain on some of them include Akuamoah Boateng, 21, who was captured in the video dishing out violent slaps to the children before giving them their daily ration of oranges.

The children also spoke of rampant sodomy, penal weeding, and their food sometimes being maggot-infested.

But in spite of most of the inmates looking malnourished, the supervisor of the home, Sharon Abbey, insisted in the video that all children were adequately taken care of, with each being fed on two eggs a week and the institution using five cartons of chicken per day for their meals.

The daily beatings were not only confined to the home. Those who attend the La Estate Primary School and Osu Home School at South Labadi Estate are caned regularly for non-payment of fees, according to Anas’s findings.

They returned to the home to de-silt gutters while barefooted, as others did their homework seated on the bare floor, unsupervised.

After the investigations in Ghana, Anas travelled to other countries as Senegal, Liberia and the USA to see if what was happening at the Osu Children’s Home is the norm but it turned out to be an exception.
With this revelation, it is not clear what the government, UNICEF, religious leaders and policy think-tanks would do to bring sanity to the home and give the children a better life, as it is expected to do.


Asked what motivated him to investigate happenings at the home, Anas had this to say: “Well we have been doing stories on trafficked children and I commend DAILY GUIDE on this because we have done a couple of collaborative investigations on this subject but this time round I wanted to know what happens to the children we rescue from traffickers and lo and behold this was what I saw. I am tempted to believe that the conditions in the orphanage is worse than what the children would have gone through if we had allowed them to have been trafficked,” Anas explained.


Some scenes in the video showed three babies who died in the last three months under the watch of caregivers, all of whom were buried in a mass grave. After their death, they were lifted up ‘lovelessly’ like unwanted wet kittens which should be gotten rid off as quickly as possible.

The Remand Home has a ‘prison cell’ where children who ‘pilfer’ minor items such as a bottle of Coca Cola are summarily locked up for hours. A child who had diarohea was left to stand for several hours in his own feaces while his colleagues taunted him as ‘nii ni fo’ (he who shits).
A pathetic scene showed babies seated on chamber pots for long hours with no care-giver available to clean them up until they fell asleep on their potty.

Apart from the dead babies, it is now on record that 7-year-old Kobi Stephens, who had a swollen leg, was not attended to for several months and later died on admission at the Ridge Hospital from what hospital sources described as ‘severe internal infection and pneumonia’.

Another inmate, Yayaa Cynthia, 15, also died of unknown causes, but DAILY GUIDE sources say she had complications and went blind in the home before she eventually passed away, while Victor Ataa, 25, also died of an untreated disease.
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Ghana Black Stars : Where is the Money ?

Credible information gathered by The Chronicle as at press time last night, indicates that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) will, this morning, dispatch letters to the Minister of Youth and Sports, Akua Sena Dansua, and the president of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Mr. Kwasi Nyantekyi, inviting them to explain how bonuses meant for Black Star players had delayed, and the allegation that the players rejected the money because it was being paid to them in cedis instead of dollars.

The decision follows President Mills' reaction to recent Chronicle publications that players of the national team had rejected bonuses meant for them, because the money was in Ghana cedis, instead of dollars as promised by the President.

In an interview he granted The Chronicle last week Friday, President John Evans Atta Mills took strong exception to a report carried by the paper that the Black Stars players had rejected the bonuses he promised them, because the money was paid in Ghana cedis, and not US dollars.

"I have paid them in US dollars, and my ministers, especially the Sports Minister, can tell you. I have not reneged on my promise to them. I have paid them long ago," he stressed.

The Chronicle, however, prompted the President to do a little bit of background checking as the paper stated that if he did not hand over the money personally then he should probe into the issue.

Official sources contacted at the SFO confirmed that if two personalities were being invited for questioning, in connection with the Black Stars bonuses.

According to the source, the invitation letters were ready, and would be dispatched to them early this morning.

The Chronicle also gathered that apart from the controversial dollar bonuses, the SFO would also be questioning the duo over how the various sponsorships secured for the national teams were utilised.

The SFO would be looking -at the quantum of the sponsorship, and the utilisation vis-a-vis government's contribution to the management of the senior national teams.


The interrogation would also cover proceeds from the Metro TV, Rice Masters, Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited, Inter-Sports and PUMA deals.

The SFO would further be investigating the Glo sponsorship of the Premier League, and a revelation that a company was paid 10% agency fee at a time Glo had indicated that it dealt directly with the GFA, and not through any agent.

Source: The Ghanaian Chronicle
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Two Million Barrels Oil For Ghana

Ghana and Equatorial Guinea have concluded a sales and purchase agreement under which two million barrels of Zafiro blend crude oil will be lifted annually from Equatorial Guinea to Ghana.

The Crude Oil Sales/Purchase Contract was signed between the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and Guinea Equatorial de Petroleos on behalf of their respective countries.

A statement released yesterday by the head of the Economic Evaluation & Monitoring Unit of GNPC, Mr Kwame Ntow Amoah, said the deal concluded what was begun in May, this year when President Mills paid a three-day visit to Equatorial Guinea.

It said the GNPC had effected the first lifting of about one million and fifty thousand barrels under this Contract since July, this year.

President Mills secured the deal at the May talks with the President of Equatorial Guinea, Mr Theodore Nguema Mbasogo.

It is to sell the oil to Ghana under a 90-day credit agreement, similar to earlier ones Ghana struck with Libya and Nigeria.

Equatorial Guinea is one of sub-Saharan Africa's biggest oil producers with about 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) of output.

Ghana is expected to join the ranks of commercial oil producers by the end of this year when pumping starts from the giant offshore Jubilee Field.

Initial production is pegged at 120,000 barrels per day, which could catch up with the Equatorial Guinea production level in five years.
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Kumasi and the Snake Girl

THE ADAGE that ‘wonders shall never end’ was demonstrated at Tafo, a suburb of Kumasi, yesterday morning, when a woman believed to be in her late twenties allegedly turned into a snake.

The information virtually caused a stampede at the Tafo District Police command when residents trooped to the scene to catch a glimpse of the ‘snake woman.’

Abena Agyeiwaa, a native of Mampong in the Ashanti region, turned into a big black cobra at about 7:30 am at Tafo Mile Four.

The incident, according to eyewitnesses, unfolded at a culvert located in front of the Maranatha Kingdom Faith Ministries, a local church in the area.

An eyewitness, Adelaide Yeboah aka ‘Ama Ataa’, wife of the pastor in charge of the church, told DAILY GUIDE “I was at home when I heard people shouting that there was a snake in front of the church.”

Alarmed by the shouts, Mrs. Yeboah said she decided to come out and find out what was amiss and to her surprise, she saw an extremely large black cobra crawling slowly in front of the church.

According to her, the large crowd which appeared at the scene as a result of the incessant shouts, attempted to kill the snake, a development which saw the snake seeking refuge in a culvert.

Determined to kill the mysterious snake, the pastor’s wife noted that the unwavering crowd decided to pour hot water into the culvert to force the snake out.

Few minutes after the hot water had been poured into the culvert, Mrs. Yeboah said that a wretched-looking woman emerged from the culvert to the utter shock of the multitude that had gathered there.

“When the people shouted that the snake had turned into a human being, the woman angrily responded, and so what,” the frightened pastor’s wife claimed.

She added that the crowd became convinced that the woman was indeed the snake that entered the culvert, when she began wiggling her body like a snake after emerging from the culvert.

She disclosed that there were visible burns on the body of the woman after emerging from the culvert, a development which suggested that she was badly affected by the hot water that was poured into the culvert.

The pastor’s wife said when the woman was interviewed after she had come out of the culvert, she indicated that she was not a snake and that she decided to enter the culvert because she did not have any place to sleep.

When asked of her location, Mrs. Yeboah said the woman told them that she was a native of Mampong, who is married to one Lawrence and has two children and that she came to Kumasi for business.

Fearing that the woman could be attacked by the angry crowd, the pastor’s wife said the Tafo district police command was called in to come and whisk the woman to the station for protection.

Police officers at the station had a hectic time controlling the crowd that besieged the station to catch a glimpse of the woman.

Realizing that the crowd was overwhelming them, the district police commander, Superintendent Kwaku Buah, called for reinforcement from the Regional police command.

The crowd only dispersed after the reinforcement from the regional police command had arrived and taken the woman to the central police command for protection.

Speaking to DAILY GUIDE, Superintendent Buah said it was untrue that it was a ‘snake-woman’, stressing that nothing of that sort could happen.

He disclosed that information reaching his outfit revealed that the woman was a deranged person who had been brought to a prayer camp at Anwiaa, a suburb in Kumasi.

The district commander disclosed that the woman became mentally challenged after she gave birth to her second child and that she usually left her home at Mampong for unknown destinations.

Superintendent Buah observed that the woman was being detained for protection from the angry and superstitious mob.

Within minutes, news about the said strange happening had reached every corner of Kumasi, as radio stations thronged the station to telecast live reports, a development which made the story the most topical issue in town.

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