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Black Stars visit ‘Heal Komfo Anokye’ Project in Kumasi
President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku led a powerful delegation of officials, Black Stars players and Technical team members to the ‘Heal Komfo Anokye’ project, spearheaded by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II on Tuesday June 11, 2024.
The President led the team from the GFA, including the Black Stars players, technical team and management members to show support and affection to patients at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), as they encouraged and wished them speedy recovery.
The visit also afforded the GFA President and his entourage the opportunity to witness and be briefed, at first hand, the mounting challenges facing the health facility.
The visit by the team follows Ghana’s thrilling 4-3 win over Central African Republic (CAR) in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Monday June 10, 2024 at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi, to go top of Group I of the qualifiers.
Top officials of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital led the players and officials on a tour of the facility while interacting with patients in a heartwarming gesture.
The GFA President pledged the commitment of the Football Association to support the renovation of the biggest hospital in the Ashanti Region using the GFA Foundation as a vehicle to offer critically needed help.
He said, “I think all the players and technical staff, who are all here, have heard the message. On behalf of the entire team, I want to assure you of our commitment towards honouring the call by Otumfuo Osei Tutu II. Everybody here is naturally an ambassador. We have our images as a potential avenue for use in supporting such a worthy course. We’ll never know who will be a beneficiary of this facility in future. It can be our good selves, families and friends amongst others. We have a lot of footballers who have used these facilities and continue to use them.”
“We appreciate the call from Otumfuo, our father. He’s always been there for us whenever we have needed him. He has been our spiritual head. He has attended a lot of our games and he’s an icon we all look up to,” he said.
“Through the GFA Foundation, we will play our part, and the message will pierce through the hearts of many. This is a firm commitment that we’ll offer to this clarion call by Otumfuo. Actions, they say, speak louder than words, and football will speak with a much louder voice. Our presence here confirms our commitment. We’ll confirm and affirm our support to the project, in due course.” he concluded.
The ‘Heal Komfo Anokye’ project is an initiative of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, to raise funds to renovate the deteriorating Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.
The Asante King is seeking to raise $10 million for the refurbishment of the main ‘G’ block of the facility, which serves as the main referral centre for 12 out of the 16 regions of Ghana.
Despite its reputation for providing quality and affordable healthcare services and conducting groundbreaking research, KATH faces serious infrastructural challenges that affect service delivery.
President Simeon-Okraku led a delegation that included Vice-President Mark Addo as well as Executive Council members Frederick Acheampong, Dr. Ransford Anertey Abbey, Black Stars Coach Otto Addo and Captain Thomas Partey, the technical team and the players of the Black Stars.
Massive celebrations were recorded countrywide as the Black Stars opened their 2026 World Cup campaign with a 1-0 victory over Panama in Toronto on Wednesday.
Midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi scored the only goal of the match late in the game as he shot in a decent cross from substitute Brandon Asante.
The win gave Ghana a positive start in the competition, placing them in second position behind England, also with three points but with a superior goal aggregate.
After the final whistle, the streets and other viewing centres were turned into partying grounds as fans, mostly clad in the team’s paraphernalia, danced to several World Cup-themed music.
Others blew the vuvuzelas in joyous mood with others putting up a spirited ‘jama’ session.
Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for the Adentan Constituency, Akosua Manu, has urged party members to move away from what she describes as an “entitlement mentality” and focus on unity, sacrifice and hard work as the party prepares for the 2028 general election.
In a statement titled “Is Loyalty a Queue?”, and posted on facebook, Ms. Manu argued that loyalty to the NPP should not be judged by how long a person has been in the party but by their contributions and commitment to its growth.
According to her, the NPP’s history shows that many of its leaders faced significant opposition from within the party before eventually leading it to electoral success.
She cited former President John Agyekum Kufuor as an example, saying he had to overcome resistance from influential figures within the party before winning power for the NPP in 2000.
Ms. Manu noted that after the party lost power in 2008, former President Kufuor faced criticism and accusations from some party members.
However, she said supporters eventually put their differences aside and worked together to rebuild the party.
She pointed to the experience of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who, according to her, faced opposition from some factions within the NPP despite his long service to the party.
“His trials were ten times what Kufuor endured,” she stated, adding that Akufo-Addo eventually overcame the challenges and became President of Ghana.
Turning to the NPP’s current flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Ms. Manu said he also faced resistance from different groups within the party while seeking leadership.
She praised Dr. Bawumia for contributing to policy-based political discussions in Ghana and for remaining composed following the NPP’s defeat in the 2024 elections.
According to her, party members must now rally behind him in the same way they supported former Presidents Kufuor and Akufo-Addo.
Ms. Manu, however, warned that internal divisions and a sense of entitlement remain major threats to the party’s future.
She argued that some party members place too much emphasis on how long individuals have belonged to the NPP rather than on their contributions and capabilities.
“This entitlement does not question impact. It does not ask what you sacrificed or what you built. It asks only how long have you been here,” she said.
The former parliamentary candidate cautioned that such attitudes could discourage committed members and prevent the party from selecting the best people for leadership positions.
She further called on the party’s incoming national executives to strengthen the NPP’s core values of sacrifice, honesty, integrity and dedication to national development.
Ms. Manu addressed the concerns of young party supporters, many of whom she said became discouraged following the NPP’s electoral defeat in 2024.
According to her, many young people remain eager to see the party return to power but are unwilling to support internal conflicts driven by personal ambitions.
She urged party elders to place the interests of the NPP above their individual goals and to demonstrate leadership that attracts rather than alienates members.
“The NPP is bigger than any one of us. It always has been. Our collective responsibility is to act like it,” she stated.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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