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GTF Pres Lartey Otu joins WT Dev’t C’ttee
World Taekwondo has appointed Ghana Taekwondo Federation (GTF) President, Mr. Frederick Lartey Otu a member of its Development Committee.
World Taekwondo is the governing body of taekwondo globally with 213 nations affiliated to it.
Mr Otu, a Senior Customs Officer of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), therefore, becomes the only Ghanaian taekwondo official to have attained this feat in Ghana.
He emerged one of the favourite candidates appointed to the board after a stringent review and assessment of over 480 other candidates.
Dr. Chungwon Choue, President of World Taekwondo in an appointment letter he signed commended Mr Otu whose contribution and dedication to the sport made him a favourite among the nominations.
“The aim of World Taekwondo over the coming years is to strengthen our status as an Olympic and Paralympic sport including the virtual environment, be recognised for our impeccable governance and sustainability, and continue our devotion to helping refugees and displaced persons through Taekwondo.”
“I believe that you will be a valuable asset to World Taekwondo and devote yourself to the cause,” the letter said.
Mr Otu became a certified International Taekwondo Referee after passing the prescribed test and has since rose through the ranks to become a 1st Class International Referee.
He attended the 39th International Taekwondo Referee Seminar in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1999 and participated in the 11th Foreigner’s Taekwondo Instructor Training Course organised by the World Taekwondo Academy, Kukkiwon in South Korea In 2005, to become a certified Taekwondo Instructor.
Following that was his election as a Council Member of the African Taekwondo Union in 2017 in Muju, South Korea and was re-elected in 2021.
That same year, the GTF President was appointed Chairman of the Development Committee of the African Taekwondo Union (AFTU) by the President of the African Taekwondo Union, Mr. Ide Issaka.
Mr Otu, who doubles as the 2nd Vice President of the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) was also appointed a member of the World Taekwondo Commonwealth Management Board on May 16, 2022 by Dr. Chungwon Choue.
He also received a Certificate of Appreciation for his dedicated service and outstanding contribution for the development of taekwondo at the 40th anniversary celebration of World Taekwondo on May 28, 2013.
Until his latest appointment, Mr Otu was a World Taekwondo Technical Delegate.
Among his responsibilities as Technical Delegate include checking the overall preparations made by an Organising Committee before a competition and ensure everything has been arranged in strict conformity with the WT competition rules; decide method for drawing of lots and the ration of random weigh-in and to approve the results of draw and weigh-in.
BY SPECTATOR SPORTS REPORTER
Hundreds of street children received a special treat during the Christmas festivities as a result of a collaboration between the management of the La Beach Hotel and the Street Academy in Accra.
It was part of the Hotel’s current arrangement to provide lunch for the children of the Academy every Friday.
Courtesy that partnership, management of the La Beach Hotel feted hundreds of street children housed by the Street Academy, creating a partying moment for the children.
According to officials of the Hotel, the gesture was to let the children feel part of the festivities and not left out.
The children enjoyed delicious meals and snack after which they danced as they enjoyed the moment.
According to the Hotel officials, “the season represents one that every parent gathers their children and shower them with gifts and others to make them happy but sadly, these unfortunate children are left on their own, having no one to care for them.”
“This is an event we intend to make an annual one. Through this, we hope to put some smiles on their faces. It is not proper to leave them on their own.”
The Executive Director of the Academy, Ataa Lartey, expressed gratitude to the management of the hotel, saying that, “this has gone a long way to excite the children and make them feel part of the celebration.”
He said due to the number of children that join around this time of the year, it becomes difficult for the Academy alone to shoulder this responsibility.
“It is not easy to organise such activities alone because it draws a lot of children, that is, those in the Academy and their friends that follow them but with such cooperate supports, we are able to bring them together to share in moments like this,” he told The Spectator.
By Spectator Reporter
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A 30-year-old surrogate mother has delivered a set of quadruplets at The Walking Egg Medical and Fertility Centre at Pokuase in Accra, in a rare surrogacy success that has brought renewed attention to assisted reproductive care in Ghana.
The babies-two boys and two girls- were delivered through a caesarean section in the early hours of Tuesday at 36 weeks and weighed an average 2.5 kilograms each, a weight doctors say was healthy for a multiple pregnancy.
IUI stands for Intrauterine Insemination, a common fertility treatment where healthy sperm are collected, ‘washed’ and concentrated in a lab, and then directly inserted into a woman’s uterus around ovulation using a thin catheter to help sperm reach the egg for fertilisation, often used for unexplained infertility, cervical issues, or mild male factor infertility, and is less invasive than IVF.
Speaking to The Spectator after the surgery, the Medical Director of the Centre, Dr Nana Yaw Osei, said the pregnancy was achieved through Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) and was not planned to result in multiple births.
“With IUI, you introduce prepared sperm into the uterus and have no control over how many eggs fertilized.”
“Unlike IVF, where embryos are formed outside the body and the number transferred can be controlled, this outcome was left entirely to nature,” Dr Osei explained.
He said unlike IVF which could result in multiple babies, this is “possibly the first IUI leading to quadruplets in Ghana.”
He revealed that the surrogacy arrangement was necessary because the intended mother had lost her uterus during surgery to remove fibroids, making it medically impossible for her to carry a pregnancy.
“She had no womb of her own, through no fault of hers,” Dr Osei said, adding that “Surrogacy was the only option available for her to have a biological child.”
When scans later showed that the surrogate was carrying four fetuses, the medical team considered fetal reduction, a procedure sometimes used to reduce risks in multiple pregnancies. However, the option was rejected.
“As a strong Christian, fetal reduction is abortion to me,” Dr Osei said. “After discussions with the intended parents and the surrogate, we all agreed to continue with the pregnancy.”
Despite concerns commonly associated with multiple pregnancies, Dr Osei noted that the surrogate experienced no major complications, and the delivery was smooth. Paediatric assessments conducted after birth confirmed that all four babies are healthy.
Dr Osei again indicated that surrogacy, though still widely misunderstood, is recognised under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 2020 (Act 1027).
He urged the public to engage the subject with greater understanding.
“Surrogacy is not about convenience,” he said. “It is about restoring hope to people who have lost the ability to carry a child.”
Describing the moment of delivery, he added, “I was in tears in the theatre. It reminded me why I chose this profession.”
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
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