Pictorial evidence - Ghana much united when Black Stars activities are not politicized

For those who seek to capitalise politically on every good showings of the senior national football team, the Black Stars, the following pictorial presentation is to remind us all how united Ghanaians are when Black Stars' superlative performances are devoid of unbridled politics:

End of a pictorial story. Let's allow the Black Stars to close our ranks!

Coaches Tanko, Appiah and Konadu making a strong case for young Ghanaian coaches!

Young Ibrahim Tanko has made his own piece of history as being the first Ghanaian coaching export to take a team to the World Cup

Wonderful exploits of some young Ghanaian coaches have reaffirmed the belief that the future of Ghana football is bright. And of course, the future would be more brighter if we continue to hone and harness the managerial acumen of the up and coming coaches in the system.

For the first time, two of our own young coaches - Kwesi Appiah and Maxwell Konadu will lead the senior national team, the Black Stars to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil thanks to the trust and confidence reposed in them by the Ghana Football Association, (GFA).

As if that was not enough, another young Ghanaian, Ibrahim Tanko  aided his boss Volker Finke to book a ticket for Cameroon to the same destination.

The likes of Kwesi Appiah, Maxwell Konadu and Ibrahim Tanko's coaching exploits in recent times have gone a long way to justify the assertion that the current generation of Ghanaian coaches can go far if we repose confidence in them.

Young Ibrahim Tanko made history after  helping Cameroon book a ticket to next year's FIFA World Cup  in Brazil and this comes after series of tutorials under German Volker Finke that has seen him worked as an assistant coach for Freiburg's reserves in 2007.  

After 18 months on that job, he made another stint in the J. League's Urawa Red Diamonds, in the same capacity, as he rejoined his former Freiburg boss Finke.  

On June 2013, they continued their partnership as Tanko joined the coaching staff of Cameroon national team, headed by Finke and this was the beginning of an era that will see the ex-Black Stars striker  making his own piece of history as being the first Ghanaian coaching export to take a team to the World Cup.

I had series of pleasant encounters with the affable young coach in the 2011 African Youth Championship in Johannesburg, South Africa when he embarked on a personal drive to scout for young talents.

So it came as no surprise to me when authorities of the GFA appointed him  as the head scout of the senior national team, the Black Stars prior to the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations in January 2012. 

Ibrahim Tanko's nobility and level of knowledge in football, especially, youth development is second to none. No wonder Finke has never had a cause to doubt his (Tanko) understanding of the modern game.

The former Borrusia Dortmund player, as an assistant coach for the Indomitable Lions, saw his side demolish Tunisia in a convincing 4-1 victory in Yaounde and will surely be part of the technical team to Brazil.

He sums it all in his feelings for such a wonderful feat.

"I feel very good, it is not only good for me but for Ghana as well and it's so great to become the first Ghanaian to help an African nation qualify for the World Cup".

Typical of the 36 year-old trainer, he did not take glory for such a feat, rather, he lauded the Cameroonian players for their professional approach.

"I played my part but the unity among the players also played a major role, we had a very good atmosphere when we came to camp.

"All the players knew what was at stake so they were all determined and at the end we were able to qualify."

Coaches Kwesi Appiah and Maxwell Konadu will also lead the Black Stars to the World Cup - First by any Ghanaian coach

The current breeds of young Ghanaian coaches have developed the penchant to upgrade their knowledge in the game. Their desire to achieve a lot in their chosen career is admirable but they can only get to the top with the help of local authorities.

Coaches Kwesi Appiah and Maxwell Konadu aspired to the top and one will not be far from right to say that they have finally arrived after dint of hard work and serious learning.

Thanks to the GFA Technical Directorate, many up and coming coaches in Ghana have undergone series of training in order to acquaint themselves with the intricacies of coaching.

The likes of Didi Draman of Asante Kotoko, Black Stars coaches Appiah and Konadu, embattled David Duncan, Yousif Abubakar of Heart of Lions and many more coaches have embarked on one course to the other to upgrade themselves in order to be ever ready for the ever changing game of football and the results are palpably clear.

It is only left for managers and owners of local clubs to give such coaches the needed opportunity to impact on our players.

It is high time club owners and managers of various national teams reposed confidence in the current breeds of coaches. I find it quite unfortunate that club owners keep hiring  unknown  foreign coaches that they themselves struggle to mention  their names to coach their teams. They give them all the needed support, yet, the result is nothing to write home about. In fact, those foreign coaches add no values to the teams.

We only need to encourage our own, give them good conditions of service and they would surely turn around the game of football in Ghana.

These new breeds of coaches are hungry for success but they can't do it without the needed support and encouragement.

Kwesi Appiah and Maxwell Konadu brought the Black Stars to this far and all of a sudden, some faceless people clamoured for some foreign face to beef up the technical team of the Black Stars.

It's been exactly a year since David Duncan came in to salvage the sinking image of Hearts of Oak and after building quite a potent squad from some young talents, the Hearts of Oak Board decided to terminate his contract with no tangible reason.

Can you imagine what would have happened if  Duncan was a foreign trainer?

Why is it difficult to respect and accept our own?

So if a German has believed in Ibrahim Tanko, then why can't we, as Ghanaians, believe in our own young talented coaches.

So if German Volker Finke reposed confidence in a young Ghanaian coach, then why can't we do same as a nation?

CANDID CORNER: An African country will win the World Cup soon - S...

CANDID CORNER: An African country will win the World Cup soon - S...: Ghana's Sulley Ali Muntari relishes World Cup glory, hints on Black Stars' extra motivation and his passion for cars Ghana and ...

An African country will win the World Cup soon - Sulley Muntari

Ghana's Sulley Ali Muntari relishes World Cup glory, hints on Black Stars' extra motivation and his passion for cars

Ghana and AC Milan midfielder, Sulley Ali Muntari has reiterated the firm belief of some great footballers that sooner or later, an African country will win the World Cup.

Some football pundits including African legend Roger Milla have predicted an African glory in the World Cup sooner than later, and this, Sulley has concurred in an interview with the BBC.

"I have the belief that one day an African country will win the World Cup but I don't know when. But, Ghana, we want to do well in Brazil so let's keep our fingers crossed", such were the words of Muntari.

Even before Ghana officially books a ticket to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Sulley has predicted a wonderful showing by the Black Stars at the Mundial.

The AC Milan striker believes Ghana will surpass their quarter final achievement in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa when they answer the call in Brazil.

The Ghanaian star believes Ghana has come of age after two consecutive World Cup appearances and are more than ready to mount up a challenge for the ultimate.

"We are much experienced now; In 2006 World Cup , we did very well and in 2010 in South Africa,  we were amazing so definitely we want to do well in Brazil and hopefully we want to go far in order to  make our people and even ourselves happy" Sulley told Dan Walker of Football Focus for BBC World News.

He was, however, quick to note that the second leg in Egypt comes first before any other target.

"It is a big task for us because, now, all eyes will be on Ghana so we want to do well but we have to beat Egypt first.

He admitted that everybody was on cloud nine when the Black Stars annihilated the Pharaohs of Egypt by 6-1 in the first leg of the final qualifier played in Kumasi.

"We all know how good Egypt are; they are a very strong side, they play very good football and they've been dominating for a very long time now; We beating them 6-1 was amazing and fantastic!

"The dressing room was full of excitement, everyone was happy but we know exactly it is going to be difficult over there but we will try our best not to even go there for a draw; we will try and go there for a win because now we are full of motivation and we just want to do well.

"We know how important it is to play in the World Cup and how lovely it is to play in that competition", Muntari intimated.

And please don't be surprised to see Sulley Muntari investing in cars after his career because the AC Milan star says dealing in cars will be his life after football and that he is looking forward to establishing companies around the globe after football.

"I grew up loving cars and it is my passion", Muntari concluded.

Sulley hoping to deal in flashy cars after football career

More challenges for President Mahama and his team after infamous 'Vickyleaks'!

H. E. John Dramani Mahamah defied all odds and appointed Victoria Hammah as Deputy Minister of Communications but the President will leave to regret the day he made that decision as Ms. Hammah has become a liability to his  administration!

His Excellency John Dramani Mahama's administration has been bedevilled with one challenge or the other since the National Democratic Congress (NDC) took office for the second term.

Right from the inception of office, the Mahama administration encountered the biggest challenge in opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP)'s petition to the Supreme Court of Ghana challenging the outcome of the 2012 General Election.

Then came the power and energy crisis as well as shortage of treated water in many urban areas as well as perceived corruption within his administration and the public sector as well.

That was not all, the Mahama administration also inherited plethora of strikes and demonstrations by some organised work forces over disagreements of salaries and other emoluments.

As if that was not enough, the current government led by John Mahama had to deal with intra-party issues concerning derogatory remarks by some disgruntled senior members of the NDC who were, somewhat, over looked by the President during appointments for various key positions.

As if by design, the bold decision by President Mahama to over look a lot of senior members in order to give young members of the NDC  a chance in his administration seems to have presented him (President Mahama) with further challenges.

One of such young and new faces in government has become a liability to the government as her comments in a secret conversation secretly recorded by someone purported to be her driver has further embarrassed the Mahama-led government.

On the said leaked tape, the dismissed Deputy Minister of Communications, Victoria Hammah indicated her determination to make one million dollars ($1000,000) before leaving politics. 

She also claimed, among other things, that a minister played a role in the Supreme Court judgment of the 2012 election petition which confirmed President Mahama as validly elected president.

On the over 30 minutes tape recording of the deputy minister and her unknown friend,  she (Victoria Hammah) blabbed about how politically connected she was and how a colleague deputy minister at the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, Rachel Appoh, secured her appointment after having dated men in the governing NDC.

A snippet of the leaked tape has presented the President with a challenge to tell Ghanaians why he dismissed the crestfallen deputy minister. Is it because her comments in the said tape implicated the NDC of influencing the Supreme Court rulings on the election petition?

Or the fact that Victoria Hammah had ambitions to bag in $1000,000 before quitting politics?

Of course, if your minister is caught on tape insinuating the fact that somebody from your party influenced the Supreme Court on a land mark case like the election petition, then, as a President, you are challenged to tell us why we should not believe such a person.

It would have been a different story if Vicky Hammah was sacked before making such a comment. In this case, she was still at post and had no issue with any body in government so we can't say she was just bitter and decided to speak lies about the government.

One will not be far from right to say that the current Mahama-led administration would go down as one of the administrations with a lot of young or inexperienced members.

So if a minister is caught on tape alleging that her colleague minister was appointed because she has dated some big men in the party, then it calls for concern.

Once again, the challenge here is that the President will have to prove to us that all his ministers were appointed on merit and that they were not just cronies that he wanted to appease them with positions.

More so, if your minister is caught on tape with an avowed mission to make at least $1000,000 before she leaves politics, then, as a leader of such administration, you should prove to us that you and your members are not in politics to suck the nation dry.

Another challenge for the President and his government is to prove to the citizenry that his good friend and lawyer Tony Lithur does not control as many as three ministries as was alleged by Vicky Hammah in that tape. Because, according to the dismissed deputy minister of communications the fact that Tony Lithur controls at least three ministries makes his wife very powerful

No wonder the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur has started the damage control. She said in a statement that she has never met, communicated or had any discussion with any judge with a view to influencing the outcome of the presidential election petition.

Surely, there will be more damage control as issues discussed on that leaked tape cannot be swept under the carpet just like that.

As for the arrest and the alleged kidnap of the former driver of Victoria Hammah, we may have to leave that issue for another day.

A transcript of the whole conversation between the former deputy minister and that unknown lady at the other end is available on www.peacefmonline.com

There are many Victoria Hammahs in Ghana politics!

Beautiful and well endowed Victoria Hammah - A classic example of an unqualified, over ambitious and unintelligent politician?

Crestfallen Victoria Hammah has become very popular in Ghana for wrong reasons. She was caught on tape making embarrassing comments concerning the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC)  in a serious gossip with another lady.

On the said tape, the former Deputy Minister of Communications was heard discussing issues ranging from political maneuverings, financial aspirations, intra-party lobbying, creation of ministerial portfolios purposely to create jobs for people etc.

What has become notoriously popular was her quest to make at least One Million Dollars ($1000,000) before she leaves politics.

“...I will not quit politics until I make one million dollars. If you have money then you can control people”, at least, a voice similar to her's appeared to be saying this.

Let's hear her speak on other issues concerning some of her colleagues in the following quotes:

"My appointment was solid way back. So, what does it tell you? That even in terms of influence, I've more influence than you Rachel. Even you who won your seat, they have crammed you, two, in the Gender Ministry. And you wont seek wisdom. The moment you lose your ministerial job, you lose your might and influence. Then you become unpopular in your constituency. When somebody contests against you, you see that your position is in trouble. Then you’ll be done, you are finished.

“The point is that a lot of us young people are ambitious and meanwhile they don’t read and they are not politically astute; before you fire any ammunition you must see whether your opponent has equal or more. You, you have no any pedigree; your father is a constituency chairman in NPP, then you want to fight a woman that her appointment elicited attacks from the Presby Church and all that yet the president went ahead to confirm her!

 “You must look at the motivation for your appointment first; She has the public anyway; Rachel appears to be Pentecostal but she is deadly, me I know her; she appears she is decent in public; that is the public perception about her but she has dated men in the party; I have not dated anybody in the party.

“Oye Lithur issued one statement which made you appear that you are unintelligent. I asked her, Rachel, you and Oye Lithur who do[es] the Ghanaian public believe is unintelligent? She said, her; I said yes [but] not just you, you, Sena and myself, the Ghanaian public believe that we are unintelligent; so you cannot fight your boss, she will use that intellectuality (intelligence) against you,” the female voice said.

 “I learnt even before the verdict (on election petition), Nana was with the justices and all that; you don’t know the role she has played even for us to win the court case, then you want to use your unintelligence to overthrow her.

"You want to fight Oye Lithur. Tony Lithur controls three Ministries. That Rachel is not wise…Tony Lithur has been the friend of the Rawlingses, been a friend to  the President  now and his wife. I learnt even before the verdict, Nana (Oye Lithur) was with the Justices and all that. You don’t know the role she has played for us to win the court case. Then, you want to use your lack of intelligence to push her out...?

"Tony Lithur and John Mahama; they've got an alliance. They are allies, you understand. They defend each other. Rachel, who do you have?"

Nana Oye Lithur - How powerful is she and her husband in the current administration?

Enough of her dialogue with that unknown receiver at the other end.

So do we honestly believe Victoria Hammah is just one of her kind in Ghana politics? 

How many politicians in Ghana can beat their chest and tell the whole populace that they entered politics genuinely to better the lot of Ghanaians?

How do we explain the fact that people enter politics with close to nothing but after just a single term as a minister or even a District Chief Executive (DCE), they amass countless properties and fortunes?

We talk about the fact that she was never qualified to be a minister. Is it the first time that we've seen an unqualified person becoming a minister?

In fact, Ghana's political landscape has witnessed countless occasions when square pegs were put in round holes from one administration to the other. The perception is that people in authority do so to reciprocate a certain gesture they got from a certain beautiful curvy lady who warmed their beds some time back or for the simple fact that somebody has stood beside them during thick or thin. Simply put, you only have to owe allegiance to a big man and you are assured of an enviable position in Ghanaian politics.

The phrase 'job for the boys and girls' have been with us for a long time and will never go away but will not be interesting to see an unqualified person at post, who, instead of grabbing properties, would learn quickly on the job and help improve the nation to prove doubters wrong?

In the case of Ghana, you give them political opportunity and they quickly devise a strategy to suck the nation dry to the detriment of ordinary Ghanaian.

It has become common to see students with avowed mission to enter politics as soon as they leave school. All because those who entered politics have shown that you can only become somebody through politics.

For those who have taken a hypocritical approach to this lady's issue, I want to remind them that she was not and will not be the only politician to gossip about a colleague politicians. In fact, there are elements who gossip about President John Mahama and there were other elements who also gossiped about President John Kufuor.

The sharp contrast between those hypocrites and Victoria Hammah is just that they are/were quite smart to observe people are/were watching or listening to them while Miss Hammah seemed to have been blinded by her stupid ambition of raking in $1000,000 from her short political career to the extent that she became unaware that people closer to her were plotting her downfall. 

The earlier intriguing manner at which her edited speech for an occasion was changed did not even serve a warning notice to her that people were watching her closely.

As for the series of bombshells she dropped about the current administration, it is up to His Excellency President John Mahama and his team to do their own damage control just like they've done to other mind boggling issues.

But wait oh; So I am a driver who drives a minister who is a relative. Sure, I might have gotten the job because she is my relative. She makes a lot of money from her position but she craves  to steal a lot of money that belongs to the nation.

 I know a lot of Ghanaians are suffering and if I allow this thief to stay on her job and carry her ambitions through, a lot of school children will be deprived of classrooms to study, there will be no good hospitals and people will die, moneys meant to build Information Communications Technology (ICT) facilities etc. would go into her pocket alone. 

So I decide to blow her cover; must I be arrested by the police when in fact, there are no laws in the country that speaks against my actions?

Romance between Sun and Moon in Ghana!

Nature decided to play games on the minds of mankind when people in Ghana and some West African countries experienced a partial solar eclipse on Sunday, November 3, 2013.

People in some parts of Ghana witnessed the sunny light being dimmed to evening for about one-and-half minutes, when the face of the Sun covered 80-85 per cent by the Moon.

A partial solar eclipse is one where there is a maximum partial cover of the Sun by the Moon.

On March 29,2006, the last time Ghana experienced an eclipse, it was a total eclipse, which caused a complete darkness for three minutes.

This is how an amateur photographer captured the 'romance between the Sun and the Moon: