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Atia, Lariba show class at 2023 Accra Inter-City Homowo Marathon
Koogo Atia staged an improved show to win the men’s top prize in the 21km event of the Accra Inter City Homowo Marathon held on Friday.
Having been beaten to the slot last year, Atia took nothing for granted.
He gave an early indication as he attempted to break away from the pack but his closest competitors, especially Basit Afful and Ishmael Arthur managed to keep him in eye contact.
But the University of Education, Winneba final year student brought maintained his composure, kept the lead and saved some energy as his pursuers attempted to close up.
But when he mattered most on the final stretch, Atia increased the tempo and left behind Afful and Arthur in second and third places respectively, finishing with an impressive time of 1:07.39.
Atia received a GHȻ10,000 cash prize and qualifies to participate in the Soweto Marathon later in the year.
“I am looking forward to the next challenge of competing on the international stage. I have to prepare very well to make Ghana proud,” he said.
Lariba Zakaat grabbed the same amount of money and silverware after dominating the women’s category to emerge winner.
Just like Atia, she was pushed to her limit by first runner up Anaaba Portia and Ramatu Abdulai, second runner up to the tape.
Winners in the 5km, 10km men’s and women’s races as well as wheelchair race were honoured by the organisers.
Addressing participants after the race, Mr. Henri Senyo Penni, the General Manager of Medivents Consult, organisers of the event said he was satisfied with the turnout and commended the runners for turning up in their numbers.
“First of all, I want to congratulate the winners in the various race categories and hope that will be a motivation for those that didn’t win to train harder to be counted among the winners.
Sponsors of this year’s race include Allied Consortiums, HD Plus, G4S, Serene Insurance, mybet.africa.com, Happy FM, Harmony Haven, Aqua Blue Mineral Water, Indomie, and Dannex Aryton.
This year’s Accra Inter-City Homowo Marathon was organised in partnership with the Ga Traditional Council (GTC) and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA).
By Spectator Sports Reporter
Ghana Tourism Authority is leading Ghana’s participation at ITB Berlin, which opened in Berlin with a vibrant national pavilion highlighting Ghana’s rich cultural heritage, tourism destinations and investment opportunities.
March 5 has been designated as Ghana Day, a special platform to promote Ghana’s languages, cuisine, Kente, festivals and business prospects to the global tourism community. The stand has already drawn strong interest with traditional arts and crafts displays, immersive multimedia presentations and popular Ghanaian snacks.
Seven private-sector players are exhibiting alongside government officials as part of efforts to deepen trade partnerships, expand market access, and attract investment across the hospitality, heritage tourism, ecotourism, and creative arts sectors.
Ahead of the official opening, the Ghana delegation also engaged young Ghanaian investors in Germany in collaboration with V Afrika-Verein and the Ghana Embassy, strengthening diaspora investment linkages and highlighting opportunities within the tourism value chain.
Ghana’s coordinated presence at ITB Berlin 2026 reinforces its strategy to position the country as the Gateway to Africa and a competitive destination for leisure travel and global investment.
The Member of Parliament for Nsawam Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh Dompreh, has expressed concern over delays in the release of the District Assemblies Common Fund, warning that the situation is stalling development across the country.
On his facebook page, he described as a matter of urgent national importance, the Minority Chief Whip pointed to what he sees as a growing crisis of unpaid contractors, abandoned projects, and halted infrastructure works in many districts.
He noted that several communities are grappling with half completed schools, unfinished health facilities, abandoned markets, deteriorating roads, and stalled sanitation projects.
According to him, many contractors who have executed projects for district assemblies have not been paid, forcing some construction firms to demobilise from sites while workers lose their jobs.
He stressed that the District Assemblies Common Fund is not a discretionary allocation but a constitutional requirement under Article 252 of the 1992 Constitution, intended to support development at the local level.
In his view, years of delayed releases and accumulated arrears have weakened district development financing and disrupted projects meant to improve living conditions in communities.
He further argued that some payments made in recent years were largely the settlement of old debts rather than funding for new or ongoing projects, a situation he believes has affected contractor confidence and local economic activity.
He described the issue as more than a budgetary challenge, characterising it as a development emergency and a governance concern.
He therefore urged the appropriate authorities to pay outstanding DACF arrears, settle contractors who have completed their work, and ensure that transfers to districts are automatic and predictable.
He maintained that decentralisation can only succeed when district assemblies receive adequate and timely funding to carry out development projects.
He emphasised that stalled projects directly affect ordinary citizens, since they rely on such infrastructure for education, healthcare, transportation, sanitation, and economic activities.
He called for renewed attention to grassroots development, insisting that national progress should not be concentrated only in major cities but extended to all communities.
By: Jacob Aggrey
