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Back-to-base Kotoko aim to silence Bechem
After one year and eight months, Asante Kotoko will now have a new feel of the renovated Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi when they slug it out against leaders Bechem United in the week-two fixture of the Ghana Premier League (GPL) on Sunday.
Kotoko will be eager to pick a second straight victory against a well-organised Bechem United who kicked off their campaign in grand style with an emphatic 4-0 win over Medeama SC last Saturday.
With both sides yet to taste defeat, much will be centred around the cracker as the headliner.
The Porcupine Warriors produced a sweet 3-1 come-back against Dreams FC last Saturday after which gaffer Dr Proaper Narteh Ogum has been praised by many for his tactical brilliance – effecting two mind-blowing changes which resulted in all three goals in the dying stages of the afternoon.
With the return of former GPL top scorer Augustine Okrah, Emmanuel Avornyo who bagged brace on his debut, Francis Twene and Kofi Agbesimah, can the Hunters surprise the Porcupine Warriors in Kumasi?
At the Len Clay Stadium today, Ashantigold will play host to Karela United – a game Karela will give their all for a win after a hard-fought stalemate at home against Aduana Stars.
Returnees Real Tamale United (RTU), who drew at home in their first game with Great Olympics, lock horns with a rejuvenated Legon Cities side today.
At the Accra Sports Stadium, it will be an Accra derby when new entrants Accra Lions lock horns with Great Olympics in a fearsome contest.
Wounded Medeama SC will come guns blazing against debutants Bibiani Gold Stars at the Tarkwa TNA Park on Sunday – as the former aim to bounce back from their humiliation last weekend.
Aduana Stars will be at the Nana Agyeman Badu I Park tomorrow when they host tricky King Faisal.
On Sunday, Elmina Sharks will tussle it out with poor Dreams FC at the Ndoum Park in Elmina. The Sharks will be poised to give the visitors a run for their money.
At the Golden City Park, Berekum Chelsea will face off with Eleven Wonders tomorrow. Both will be itching for a win after defeats on their first game played last weekend.
BY LINUS SIAW NARTEY
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
Richard Appiah, the footballer who killed two children and stored part of their bodies in a fridge at Abesim in the Bono Region in 2021 has been handed a lifetime sentence.
This was after a five member panel of judges at the Accra High Court returned a verdict of guilty against the convict.
Appiah, 32, also a draughtsman would spend the rest of his life in prison after he was convicted of murder.
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BY MALIK SULLEMANA
