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Hughton needs our full backing to succeed
• Hughton (centre) and some of his Black Stars players
On Monday – March 20, 2023, Chief Coach of the Black Stars – Chris Hughton, was officially unveiled to Ghanaians at the SC Mall in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.
The outdooring took place three days ahead of the coach’s first official assignment at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi where he led the Stars to pip Angola 1-0 on a nervy Nations Cup qualifying afternoon.
Many commentaries have been made about the near-dawdling performance in that home game, the first by the Ghana team since their ill-fated World Cup in Qatar 2022.
But whilst many had their eye on the game, others too were concerned about the absence of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) boss and his deputy during the unveiling of the 64-year-old coach.
“We are utterly surprised not to see the GFA president Kurt Okraku and his vice Mark Addo at the introduction of the coach, and that sends a lot of signals,” was the voice of one of the many fans who called on a radio sports programme.
Even though the GFA Communications Director Henry Asante Tsum was fully represented, the fans think “it was dolefully not enough.”
The impression that is being bandied around is that the FA failed to be around to ‘grace’ the occasion because Hughton was not their choice but that of the government.
It might not exactly be the truth, but the multi-million-dollar question on the lips of Ghanaians is that when was the last time the GFA top brass – right from the halcyon days of Kwesi Nyantakyi, failed to attend the unveiling of a new Black Stars coach?
Some assert that the FA would have loved to have a coach other than Hughton for the Stars’ job – reason for which it opened applications for that purpose. However, following successful negotiations with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the FA – the man who has been in charge of the team since the exit of Otto Addo – was fully endorsed.
Whatever the case, what is needed now is giving Hughton the all-embracing support and backing to succeed. The FA, clearly, must not lose sight of the fact that when Hughton succeeds, the FA succeeds too; when he fails, they fails as well.
Having served as Technical Advisor of the Black Stars through to the Qatar World Cup, the Ghanaian-Irish should have an appreciable amount of knowledge about the players and what could be done to improve on their performance and ultimately revive the dwindling fortunes of Ghana football at the international level.
The performance of the team in their reverse fixture in Luanda against Angola strappingly suggested a brighter future awaits the nation’s football with Hughton in charge.
Unlike what we were getting accustomed to by his predecessors, the coach did not tarry at all and made quick changes when the team was down to a Lucas Joao 50th minute strike.
Nippily – and in order to get the right response, Hughton introduced Joseph Paintsil, Osman Bukari and Inaki Williams for Semenyo and Sulemana, and Mohammed Kudus.
The substitution was scrumptiously deadly as it did not take long for them to make an impact, as Paintsil set up Bukari to rap home a dazzling redeemer.
Painstil, who was strangely overlooked for the Qatar World Cup, nearly snatched a late winner after latching onto a pass from Salis Samed, but his shot was blocked to the relief of the home crowd.
Upshot of the entertaining game left Ghana at the top of Group E – and just a point ahead of second-placed Central African Republic (CAR) who beat Madagascar 2-0.
As things stand now, the Stars need just a win in their next assignment at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi – somewhere in June, to book a place in the Cote d’Ivoire African Cup of Nations tournament.
Slowly but surely, Coach Hughton appears to be on course to building a formidable squad – capable of taking on the rest of the world – and he must be accorded all the needed backing to executing this mission.
By John Vigah
Member of Parliament for Akuapem North, Sammy Awuku, has expressed deep sorrow following the sudden passing of Isaac Batsa, the constituency secretary for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) lawmaker issued a statement on Tuesday reacting to the news, which has shocked the local political community.
Mr.Awuku praised the late NDC secretary for his bipartisan approach to local governance.
He noted that despite their different political affiliations, Batsa consistently rose above party lines to serve the constituency with diligence.
The MP revealed that the news was particularly shocking given that he had last interacted with Batsa just three days prior on Saturday.
Concluding his statement, Sammy Awuku extended his heartfelt condolences to Batsa’s family, the constituency and regional executives, and the entire NDC fraternity, wishing the deceased peaceful eternal rest.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
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Attorney General charges Chairman Wontumi and two others over alleged GH¢18.7 million Ghana Exim Bank fraud
The Office of the Attorney General has charged Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, and two others over the alleged fraudulent acquisition of funds from the Ghana Export-Import Bank for a farming project.
The charges were brought against Chairman Wontumi, Thomas Antwi-Boasiako, who is currently at large, and Wontumi Farms Limited.
According to court documents released by the Attorney General’s office, Chairman Wontumi, identified as the first accused person, allegedly approached the Ghana Exim Bank in January 2018 for financial support to undertake a large-scale farming project.
The prosecution said he applied for a GH¢19 million facility on behalf of Wontumi Farms Limited and claimed that the company had secured a 100,000-acre parcel of land for the proposed farming venture.
The Attorney General alleged that documents submitted together with the application contained false information.
According to the prosecution, one of the documents presented as a board resolution letter was dated January 23, 2018, but referred to a board resolution supposedly passed on December 9, 2017, four days before the company was officially incorporated on December 14, 2017.
The prosecution further stated that the accused persons also submitted a project proposal claiming that 2,500 hectares of the proposed farm would employ about 6,000 families, representing nearly 38,000 individuals.
Court documents indicate that the Ghana Exim Bank later approved an GH¢18.7 million facility made up of loans and grants for the project.
The facility was reportedly intended for the purchase of agricultural machinery, working capital, staff costs and consultancy services.
According to investigators, the bank disbursed more than GH¢14.3 million to the company between January and March 2018.
However, investigations by the Economic and Organised Crime Office of the Attorney General allegedly found that the proposed farming activities were never carried out.
The prosecution said the accused persons neither purchased the agricultural machinery nor secured the land they claimed to own for the project.
Investigators also alleged that Chairman Wontumi later submitted a document to the bank as proof that the company had purchased agricultural machinery worth GH¢4 million.
However, investigations reportedly established that the document was originally a pro-forma invoice from KAS-SAMA Enterprise and not an actual receipt.
According to the Attorney General’s office, the inscription “Pro-forma Invoice” was allegedly altered and replaced with the word “Receipt” before it was submitted to the bank.
The prosecution further alleged that Chairman Wontumi withdrew large sums from the company’s accounts and used the funds for personal expenses and investments in other businesses.
The Attorney General stated that attempts by the bank to recover the money were unsuccessful.
The Economic and Organised Crime Office reportedly began investigations into the matter in March 2025.
Chairman Wontumi was later arrested, cautioned and officially charged on May 14, 2026.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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