Asamoah Gyan is BBC African Footballer of the year

Ghana’s striker, Asamoah Gyan has won the BBC African footballer of the year for the year 2010.

The former Liberty Professional, Stade Rennes player is the 3rd Ghanaian to win this award after Samuel Osei Kufuor and Michael Essien took the award in 2001, 2006 respectively.

The 25year old player currently plays his football with English side Sunderland and has scored 5 goals in 19 matches in the premiership.

Asamoah Gyan beat his fellow country man Dede Ayew, Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o, Yaya Toure and Didier Drogba of Ivory Coast. 

The announcement was made during BBC's African sports programme Fast Track after football supporters across the world casted their votes online and by text.

The BBC African Footballer of the Year is an annual award given to the best African footballer of the year as Football supporters across the world cast their votes online and by text.

Champions League Draw: Bayern Munich Meet Inter Again, Barcelona Await Arsenal Test

Last year's finalists Inter and Bayern Munich will meet in the round of 16 this season, while 2006 finalists Barcelona and Arsenal face a rematch of their game as well.

Friday's draw for the first knockout stages of the Champions League resulted in a number of interesting ties.

Last year's finalist Inter and Bayern Munich will meet in the round of sixteen this year. Diego Milito fired the Nerazurri to Champions League glory last year and the Germans will be gunning for revenge this time around.

Another interesting tie will be the match between Arsenal and Barcelona. The Spaniards proved to be too strong for the Gunners last year and also beat Arsenal in the 2006 CL final.

Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid are one of the favourites to lift the trophy this year, but they'll have to deal with Olympique Lyonnais if they are to go far. The French side beat Madrid in the round of sixteen last term and will be eager to cause another upset this term.

Draw outcome:

First leg home	First leg away
Roma	Shakhtar Donetsk
Valencia	Schalke 04
Inter Milan	Bayern Munich
O. Lyon	Real Madrid
Marseille	Man Utd.
Copenhagen	Chelsea
Arsenal	Barcelona
AC Milan	Tottenham

Each match will take place over two legs, with the draw order determining who has home advantage in each game. Dates:

Source: Goal.com

Eight arrested for international call termination in Ghana

Eight people, seven Ghanaians and one American citizen have been arrested for terminating international calls locally.

The eight were arrested last Friday December 10, 2010 in Accra with sophisticated electronic equipment like computers, simboxes, CISCO broadband routers and mobile phone scratch cards. The names of the suspects have not been disclosed.

The suspects are believed to be engaged in the fraudulent activity of terminating international calls in Ghana making these calls appear as though they were made in the country. The practice denies government of revenue.

The Executive Director of the National Communications Authority (NCA), Harold van Percy had told the BBC that call termination does not only affect call quality, but also causes the country losses in revenue to the tune of $60 million annually.

According to the  Airtel Official in charge of Revenue Assurance and Fraud Management, Nixon Wampamba, “Looking at the find, these fraudsters are very profession to the point they were using shavers to strip the Srcatch Cards very quickly and seem to have had a team that was then loading the credit onto the SIMs.”

He said “On the scale of it, the fraudster had over 200 Airtel SIMs. If we use the standard average for simbox fraud, each SIM is generating around $40 a day. Hence the total estimated revenue is $240,000 per month. With government losing $72,000 per month in tax/levy collection.”

The Ghana government has been saying it has evidence that some telecom operators connive with fraudsters to use simboxes to do call bypass, which enable them to re-route incoming international calls through local SIM cards making those calls terminate as though they were locally generated.

And since the government started monitoring and levying incoming international calls, it has generated not less

than $15 million in taxes, and Minister of Communications, Haruna Iddrisu has said. He has also indicated that nothing will stop the government from monitoring incoming international calls to check fraud and generate revenue for the state.

Meanwhile, the telecommunications companies operating in Ghana have openly condemned international call monitoring in the country. There are six telecoms companies licensed to do business in the country. These are MTN, Vodafone, Tigo, Airtel, Expresso and Globacom which is yet to start operations.

The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications (GCT), comprising of all the telecoms operators in the country endorsed a declaration by the West African Telecommunications Conference (WATC) condemning international call monitoring in Ghana.

The WATC issued a communiqué at its recent meeting in Dakar, Senegal on November 25, 2010 describing government’s monitoring, levy and surcharges on incoming international calls as a breach of International Telecom Laws, the ECOWAS Treaty and the West African Union Treaty.

It condemned the practice and called on all telecoms operators in countries where the practice is ongoing, like Ghana, Guinea and Congo, not to cooperate with any company employed by their respective governments to monitor calls and impose surcharges and levies.

In Ghana, the government has imposed a 19 cent per minute charge on all incoming internationals calls and has employed Global Voices Group (GVG) to monitor those calls and ensure that government got its revenue.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

 ghanabusinessnews.com

Asantehene purchases a £3m house in UK

The Ashanti King is the most influential traditional figure of authority in Ghana.

He lives in a palace in Kumasi, the capital of his gold-rich kingdom, but he travels the world often to meet subjects and raise funds for his many charitable educational projects.

This six bedroom neocolonial property bought in November is expected to provide an aside from his work. It has an outdoor swimming pool, a tennis court and stables.

It sits on a 20-acre estate with creamy marble floors though out and a cinema room. However it is still the drawing room with double windows, a decorative fireplace and paneling was what caught the eye of the 60 years old king.

Before getting to the throne in Ghana, he lived a modest life in London working for a local council, but like his fifteen predecessors he now lives a grand live holding court with his subjects, playing golf and meeting some of the world’s most important people. That includes the queen of England who he met on one of his many visits to Britain.

Ghana, a producer of gold since the 16th Century, today has one of the largest and richest reserves of gold in the world.

The Obuasi gold mine, some thirty minutes drive from the Kingdom’s capital Kumasi, is the biggest in the country. So with the mining industry that has been a relative success story, the influence of a king who presides is immense.

Though without constitutional powers, his approval is sought in many political appointments and decisions.

His office is so revered that public criticism is rare but with this new purchase, many in his kingdom and beyond might just muster the courage to ask questions about the king’s priorities.

Source: BBC 

AU suspends Ivory Coast till Gbagbo steps down

The African Union has suspended Ivory Coast, following a disputed presidential election in the West African nation.

AU official Ramtane Lamamra said Ivory Coast would remain suspended until opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara “takes over” from Laurent Gbagbo.

The UN Security Council earlier said Mr Ouattara had won last month’s poll.

However, Mr Gbagbo – backed by the army – is defying international pressure and continuing to cling to power.

In a separate development, the US warned that it would consider sanctions against Mr Gbagbo if he refused to step down.

Violence fears

Mr Lamamra made the announcement on Thursday, after an AU meeting at its headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Mr Lamamra said the decision had been taken by the council of the 53-nation bloc, describing Mr Ouattara as “a democratically elected president”.

Earlier, West African regional bloc Ecowas also suspended Ivory Coast.

The move is largely about prestige, but if these measures are backed by the West African Central Bank – which is yet to respond to a request from Mr Ouattara to gain control of the Ivorian government accounts held there – it would make it very difficult for Mr Gbagbo to keep control of the state, the BBC’s John James in Abidjan reports.

Last Thursday, Ivory Coast’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) declared that Mr Ouattara had won the 28 November run-off by 54.1% to 45.9%.

But after Mr Gbagbo and his supporters alleged the ballot had been fraudulent in some northern regions, the Constitutional Council – run by Mr Gbagbo’s ally – overruled the Commission.

The council said Mr Gbagbo had secured just over 51% of the vote.

Both Mr Gbagbo and Mr Ouattara have since sworn themselves in and named their rival Cabinets, heightening tension in the country.

Mr Ouattara – who has the backing of the US and France among other nations – is operating from a luxury hotel in Abidjan, guarded by UN peacekeepers. His power does not extend much further than the perimeter walls of the hotel.

However, Mr Gbagbo – who seems determined to hold on to power in the face of all opposition – must at least recognise that almost every international organisation, government and financial institution recognises his rival as the winner of the elections, our correspondent says.

He adds that there remains a real potential for violence, with thousands of unarmed militia and rebel soldiers allied to each side.

The election was intended to reunify the world’s largest cocoa producer after a civil war in 2002. The north is still under the control of the New Forces rebels who support Mr Ouattara.

Source: BBC

All Ghana football leagues indefinitely suspended

The Ghana League Clubs Association (GHALCA) has indefinitely suspended all football leagues throughout the country in the aftermath of the raid at the Ghana Football Association (GFA) by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO).

The mouthpiece of the league clubs took the decision at an Emergency meeting held on Wednesday in solidarity with the GFA.

Emmanuel Adotey, Chairman of GHALCA said the stand was motivated by the inadequate background information on the motive of the operation by the EOCO.

“We have decided to suspend all leagues indefinitely until investigations by the EOCO are complete.

“We also want the EOCO to come clear on the motives of their operationsat the GFA Secretariat”.

Adotey added that the bulk of the operational materials have been carted away by the EOCO making it impossible to carry on with the various
leagues, especially the Premier League and the Division One League.

“All the working materials have been carried by the EOCO.”

He emphasized that the decision was in solidarity with the GFA saying, “GHALCA is an association of clubs, which make up the GFA.”

The GHALCA Chairman noted that they will consider reviewing their actions only after the EOCO has completed negotiations and furnished them with the details of the findings.

By the decision, GNA Sports therefore reckons that the ultimate matches of the first round of the 2010/2011 Premier League hang in a balance just as the two-week old Division One League.

The FA Cup which was also scheduled to take off on December 5 is likely to be affected likewise the President’s Cup fixed for December 17.

A high-powered team from the EOCO earlier Tuesday stormed the premises of the GFA for documentary evidence on sponsorship agreements and alleged fraud of the Association.

The EOCO had a warrant that gives them the right of search.

Source: GNA

Economic Crime Office raids GFA offices

A high-powered team from the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) on Tuesday stormed the premises of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) for documentary evidence on sponsorship agreements of the Association.

 

The EOCO had in their possession a court search warrant that gives them the right to obtain the documents at the offices of the country’s soccer governing body.

The exercise which lasted for nearly two-hours halted operations at the offices as staff were barred from going in and out of the state-of-the-art headquarters of the Football Association.

The team numbering over a dozen, centred their search at the office of the GFA scribe, (Kofi Nsiah), the head of the Administration and went away with eight Central Processing Units (CPU) from the various offices. They also took away bundles of files.

The operation drew scores of people to the GFA premises. The media was also there.

Randy Abbey, Spokesperson of the GFA told the media that the action of the EOCO officials emanated from a search warrant issued through an ex-parte motion at the court.

“The EOCO wrote to us and we responded. The case is pending in court but they said they have a search warrant to look through documents at the GFA.

“It is basically about sponsorship agreements of the GFA.”

Randy described the situation as “unpleasant”, adding “some of the staff are traumatized because they have never had such experience.”

Attempts to seek reaction from officials of the EOCO were unsuccessful as they remained mute to questions from media personnel.

The move comes barely a week after FIFA was said to have cautioned the GFA over a possible sanction due to recent acts pertaining to governmental interference in the administration of the game.

Few months ago, the EOCO invited the GFA to respond to some reported irregularities in the brokerage of the sponsorship partnership with cellular outfit, Globacom on the Premier League and the exploits of the senior national team.

Source: GNA

Tourism Ministry denies Dutch NGO’s accusation of not promoting Ghana abroad

The Ministry of Tourism has denied allegations leveled against it by a Dutch NGO, the Ghana Tourist Information for Europe (GTI). The GTI claims the Ministry is not interested in promoting Ghana to European visitors who want to visit the country.

But Deputy Minister of Tourism, Mr. Kobby Acheampong says the group’s allegations are untrue.

“We know about this NGO, but we have no formal relations with it,” he told ghanabusinessnews.com on the phone.

“Because we have no formal relations with the NGO it is difficult to know who bears the cost of their activities in the name of the country,” he said.

The group said “we stopped promoting tickets to Ghana, because the Ghanaian government doesn’t want tourists to come to Ghana,” indicating that Ghana is missing opportunities.

According to the group there are the problems of environmental dirt and the growing mismatch between product and price at certain destinations. “A growing number of visitors report disappointments about their visit to Kakum, Xavi, Bobiri and Wli. The prices have been raised beyond reason. The visitors reports that they are seen by Ghanaians as walking moneybags,” it said.

“We believe the Ghanaian tourist industry can grow substantially, but only if the industry and the Ghanaian institutions grab the opportunities. We are so to speak the foreign branch of the Ghana Tourist Board”, Eva van Dijk a director of the group which was formed in 2007 says.

According to her, “We talk to consumers, to press, to tour operators and we generate promotion for Ghana everywhere.”

But Mr. Acheampong asked “who wouldn’t to see someone promote Ghana for free? Advertising Ghana is a bad idea.”

He said because the Ministry has no formal relations with the group it is difficult to set aside any budgetary allocation in support of its activities.

He also indicated that the group had a meeting with the Executive Director of the Ghana Tourist Board and he also said the same thing. He asked for the formalization of the relationship to facilitate the group’s activities on behalf of the country.

Tourism is Ghana’s fourth foreign exchange earner. In 2008, projected tourists arrivals was pegged at 698,069 with receipts in monetary value amounting to $1.2 million, as against 586,612 arrivals in 2007 amounting to $1.17 million.

In 2005, however, the country earned $836 million from tourism.

Domestic tourism last year saw a total of 417,558 arrivals to the country, comprising 303,668 residents visiting 25 tourist sites and 113, 890 non-residents patronising domestic tourism.

Currently, tourism is one of the fastest growing sector in the economy and is expected to grow at an average rate of 4.1 % per annum over the next two decades.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

ghanabusinessnews.com

Troubleshooter Mbeki arrives in Ivory Coast

Abidjan, Ivory Coast (CNN) -- Former South African President Thabo Mbeki arrived in Ivory Coast Sunday on an emergency mission as two men claimed to be president of the west African nation.

Incumbent Laurent Gbagbo defied international appeals to step aside and was sworn in Saturday as the new president in a formal ceremony inside the presidential palace that was broadcast live on television.
Less than an hour-and-a-half later, his rival, Alassane Ouattara, told reporters that he, too, had taken the oath of office and asked Prime Minister Soro Guillaume to form a new government.

Mbeki, sent by the African Union, met with Gbagbo and the U.N. special envoy to the country in Abidjan, before meeting with Ouattara, according to Mbeki's spokesman, Mukoni Ratshitanga.

Mbeki met with Gbagbo at the presidential residence, and with Ouattara at an Abdijan hotel he is using as a headquarters. He was also to meet with the electoral commissions and the nation's Constitutional Council. Mbeki told reporters he was sent by the African Union to hear out all the parties and make recommendations. He said he would issue a statement later.

Ouattara told reporters he was "honored to receive Mbeki as the president of Ivory Coast."

Meanwhile, a Guillaume spokesman said the prime minister presented the new government that Ouattara told him to form.

The capital Abidjan has remained calm so far. A 7 p.m. curfew contributed to an eerie calm Saturday evening.

But the political chaos heightened fears that the Ivory Coast -- known as Cote d'Ivoire in French -- would once again plunge into the unrest and bloodshed suffered after a civil war broke out in 2002.

On Sunday, the army announced on national television that the country's borders and airspace would be open on Monday morning. The border had been closed last week amid rising tensions following one commission's announcement of Ouattara as the winner. International broadcasting agencies were shut down at the same time.

The Constitutional Council declared Gbagbo the winner Friday, invalidating earlier results from the Independent Electoral Commission which handed Ouattara the victory with 54.1% of the vote.

The Constitutional Council said Gbagbo had won the election with 51.45% of the vote to Ouattara's 48.55%. It tossed out votes it said were marred by fraud in northern regions that were considered Ouattara strongholds.

It was the job of Y.J. Choi, the special envoy in the Ivory Coast of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, to review and sign off on the results. Choi said that, even if Gbagbo's complaints were taken into consideration, Ouattara was the winner.

"Having evaluated all the tally sheets, 20,000 of them yesterday evening, we are in a position to know what happened really," Choi said in a telephone interview from Abidjan. "With absolute certainty, we know that Ouattara won the election."

With his credibility in question, Gbagbo defied calls from international leaders to respect the will of Ivorian voters by taking the oath of office in front of a room full of supporters and military commanders.

"These past days I have noticed serious cases of interference," Gbagbo said. "The sovereignty of Cote d'Ivoire, is not negotiable. My responsibility is to defend it."

French President Nicolas Sarkozy appealed for calm and urged military and civilian officials to respect the will of the people.

U.S. President Barack Obama warned Gbagbo: "The international community will hold those who act to thwart the democratic process and the will of the electorate accountable for their actions."

Ouattara, a former economist for the International Monetary Fund who served as prime minister, had been banned from previous races.

Gbagbo's critics said the incumbent stoked tensions by accusing Ouattara of masterminding the civil war. Ouattara has denied the allegation.

Once a prosperous nation and a driving force in West Africa, the Ivory Coast spiraled downward into instability after fighting erupted between the government-held south and discontented Muslim rebels living in the north. Thousands of people died in the conflict.

Ouattara enjoys popular support in the rebel-held north and now, with both candidates claiming they are president, the potential exists for more bloodshed. The streets of Abidjan have already seen violent clashes in the past few days.

Credit: CNN

Our spirit will get Chelsea through this sticky patch - Essien

Michael Essien believes that training hard, coupled with a good team spirit, will see Chelsea turn the corner and regain their Premier League dominance.

The Blues have had a difficult time in terms of their recent form, as they have won only one of their last five games in the Premier League. This has caused Carlo Ancelotti's charges to lose the top spot to an in-form Manchester United side, which currently have a two-point lead over the Londoners.

However, the Ghana international, who will return from suspension this weekend, believes that his side will turn a new leaf.

"My ban is over so I am looking forward to getting back on the pitch and doing what I do best," Essien told the club's official website.

"The snow is starting to get heavier and no doubt the snowball fights will start soon when training is over but it’s always serious training first.

"We are working hard in training to turn things round after our recent sticky patch and I believe the togetherness, ability and spirit in the camp will see us through."


Source: Goal.com