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Of insults, team quality and the Stars
ON Tuesday night, January 18 2022, Ghana’s Black Stars shamefully crumbled 2-3 to minnows Comoros in their final African Cup of Nations (AFCON) Group C game played at the Roumdé Adjia Sports Stadium in Garoua.
The staggering result was enough to bundle the 10-man Stars out of the campaign. Skipper Andre Dede Ayew was given the marching-off orders in the 25th minute when the Stars were already down to an inconceivable fifth minute goal. Comoros doubled their lead after the recess. But the 10-man Ghana team ferociously clawed back to make it 2-2 before conceding a late strike as the players poured forward in search of another goal.
Truth is that our boys were not good enough.
It was Ghana’s darkest moment in the history of AFCON as the hunt for their first Golden Fleece since 1982 continues next year when the continent’s football festival comes around, once again.
Evidently, it was not the first time Ghana had bowed out in round one; but this is the only time the Stars had returned from a Nations Cup tournament without winning a single game.
Ahead of the must-win tie, nonetheless, many Ghanaians took to social media and other media outlets to pour out invectives on the team, the Ayew brothers, the technical handlers and the leadership of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), for superintending over the Stars supposed failure.
At a point, it got so bad that some respected football icons including former GFA boss Lepowura Alhaji MND Jawula had to intervene, appealing to Ghanaians to take the edge off the Black Stars as regards their performance in the tournament – stressing the need to encourage the players at the crucial stage of the competition and “and not to kill their moral.”
“We should open our eyes. Ghanaians should tone down on some of the issues and some of the things that we say that don’t encourage our players because people are sacrificing to play for Ghana.”
Ghana had opened its Group C campaign with a dismal 0-1 loss to Morocco before being held to a disappointing 1-1 draw game by Gabon who struck as late as the 88th minute – after the Stars had taken an 18th-minute lead through an eye-catching Dede Ayew strike. That result put Ghana in a tongue-tied position ahead of the Comoros affair.
For the fans, beating Gabon and Comoros should have been as easy as shooting fish in a barrel. Perhaps, that may not be exactly true as things have changed now and the gap between the so-called minnows and the giants has narrowed appreciably. You may have been aware of what is happening to Algeria in the tournament.
Tipped to defend their title without much sweat, the Algerians were halted in their second group game by a team you would consider as neophytes – Equatorial Guinea. Stunningly, the 29th-FIFA ranked Fennec Foxes slumped 0-1 to the 114th-ranked Equatoguineans, to put them in harm’s way against Cote d’Ivoire.
Of course, nobody is saying the Stars must not be criticised. Far from that! Criticising in order to whip the team into line when they go off-beat is the way to go; but it must be done dutifully and constructively.
But when you get so hot-and-bothered and emotional, and rather decide to extend the attacks on the players to their families; that is most unfortunate and crude. It is the most uncultured way to address an issue – no matter how niggling it is.
Cast your mind back a bit and recall the avalanche of insults that former skipper of the Black Stars, Asamoah Gyan – and the mother (now late) had to be subjected to anytime he had a stumpy performance for Ghana. Is that the way to go? Many have had their hearts in the boots after reading some of the disparaging comments on social media.
Truth, however, is that the Black Stars and Coach Milovan Rajevac hugely let the nation down with the string of lifeless performances in the AFCON. Rajevac, who took Ghana to a memorable quarter final slot at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, has been disastrous in his second stint with delayed substitutions and tactics. Losing to Morocco and ‘little’ Comoros and picking a draw against Gabon, is the worst that can happen to a side that has won the Nations Cup four times – and only in 2010 and 2015 were in the grand finale.
Ahead of the AFCON, the Stars were also crushed 3-0 by Algeria in a friendly.
The only positive bit was when Ghana managed to beat South Africa 1-0 in that controversial tie to qualify for the play-off stage of the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
How do we include injured players like Mubarak Wakaso and Mohammed Kudus into our final squad for the tournament when we had other capable ones elsewhere? This is simply scandalous! Are the players currently in the team the best we could lay hands on?
Well, it is probably time for cool heads now as we navigate the way forward, especially when we have a crucial World Cup play-off ahead of us, in less than two months.
Whatever decision we take today should be able to change things for the better. For now, our football is bleeding and the love for the Stars is increasingly vanishing – if not gone already. It is incumbent on GFA boss Kurt Okraku and his lieutenants to burn the candle at both ends to resurrect the game’s fortunes as quickly as possible.
By John Vigah
The Global Network of Export-Import Banks and Development Finance Institutions (G-NEXID) successfully held its sixth (6th) Exchange Programme, hosted by the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) Bank in Accra from March 22 to 23 March.
The event brought together member institutions, partner organisations and Ghanaian public entities to advance dialogue on South-South trade, investment and development finance, while also creating opportunities for knowledge-sharing and institutional cooperation.
Organised as a capacity-building and networking platform, the 2026 edition of the G-NEXID Exchange focused on GEXIM’s experience in developing innovative solutions to promote intra-African and extra-African trade.
It also highlighted trade and investment opportunities in Ghana, particularly in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and broader national development initiatives.
The Exchange Programme forms part of G-NEXID’s mandate to foster cooperation among export-import banks and development finance institutions in support of South-South trade and investment.
This 6th edition follows earlier successful programmes hosted by India Exim Bank (2016), BNDES (2017), Indonesia Eximbank (2018), Afreximbank (2019) and Saudi EXIM Bank (2025).
On the first day, participants were presented with G-NEXID institutional information and received an update on the Network’s 2026 work programme.
There were a series of substantive presentations, including an overview of the Ghanaian economy by the Ministry of Finance, with particular attention to debt-related challenges; a presentation by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), on investment opportunities in the country; and institutional presentations by GEXIM and Development Bank Ghana (DBG) on their respective mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Discussions during the sessions underscored strong interest in sector-focused webinars and business dialogues, particularly in agribusiness value chains such as poultry and rice.
Participants also emphasized the importance of continued information exchange and the sharing of best practices, especially in the area of guarantees.
The second day opened with a presentation on the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme, a national economic transformation strategy launched by President John Dramani Mahama in July 2025.
The initiative aims to enhance economic productivity through continuous industrial activity, accelerated export development and strategic import substitution.
As the programme is expected to mobilise both private and development capital, it presents concrete opportunities for G-NEXID members in areas such as co-financing, guarantees, trade finance and technical cooperation.
The programme also featured institutional presentations by guest organisations, namely the African Guarantee and Economic Cooperation Fund (FAGACE) and the West African Development Bank (BOAD), which shared their mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Following these exchanges, the G-NEXID Secretariat held bilateral discussions with both institutions as part of the Network’s ongoing membership drive.
Participants further benefited from a presentation by the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB), as well as a showcase of GEXIM’s key pipeline projects.
On the margins of the Exchange Programme, G-NEXID members also held their 20th Annual General Assembly Meeting to review progress and discuss strategic priorities.
Following the event, participants joined the GEXIM@10 International Conference, held from March 24-25, 2026 under the theme, “A Decade of Enabling Export Trade and Industrial Transformation: Resetting GEXIM for the Next Frontier.”
The conference provided an important platform for exploring how Ghana can strengthen its transition from a primary commodity exporter to a more competitive player in value-added trade and industrial development.
Source – G-NEXID
President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, signed five bills including three amendment bills passed by Parliament into law.
They are: Security and Intelligence Agencies Bill, 2025; University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Bill, 2025; Ghana Deposit Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2025; Growth and Sustainability Levy (Amendment) Bill, 2026; and Education Regulatory Bodies (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
In a brief remark after assenting to the bills, President Mahama explained that the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act, 2026, scraps the Office of Minister of National Security and frees the President’s to appoint any Minister to supervise the security agencies.
He said it also reverses the name of the office of National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), to the original name, Bureau of National Intelligence, (BNI).
This the President said, addresses the confusion between that security agency and a well-known Ghanaian financial institution, the National Investment Bank.
President Mahama also noted that the University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Act, 2026, establishes another University in the Eastern Region, at Bonsu, with three campuses – the main campus at Bonsu in the Eastern Region, with the second campus to be cited at Ohawu in the Oti Region.
The third, the Presdient assed will be located at Acherensua in the Ahafo Region.
Touching on the Amendment to the Growth and Sustainability Levy Act, the President said, “As you’re aware, the act was amended to increase it from 1% to 3%, and so this act reduces it again. That is the levy on mining companies. It reduces it again to 1%, because of the introduction of the sliding scale of royalties.”
He also spoke to the passage of the Government Education Regulatory Bodies Amendment Act, emphasising that amends Act 1023 to grant greater flexibility to private tertiary institutions and the option to Charter.
The Ghana Deposit Protection Amendment Act, the President concluded, is an amendment to an original act that was supposed to guarantee deposits held in commercial banks or financial institutions.
It basically expands protection to include mobile money wallets and other digital platforms, ensuring a wider scope of digital financial assets are secured.
The signing ceremony, was witnessed by the Clerk of Parliament, Mr. Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, Secretary to the President, Dr Callistus Mahama, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Dr Dominic Akrutinga Ayine, Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, a Senior Presidential Advisor and a Special Aide to the President, Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, and the Vice President, Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang.
