Hot!
Stars, Galaxies, Princesses must show deadly hunger
• Otto Addo – Stars’ Chief Coach
Ghana football has had a bitter-sweet, topsy-turvy ride, this term.
From the Cameroon Nations Cup fiasco in January to the eye-catching Black Stars’ Qatar 2022 World Cup qualification in March, one cannot say the upshot has been that disastrous, albeit we had the Black Starlets (national male U-17 team), Black Maidens (national female U-17) and the Black Satellites (national U-20 team), all failing to pick tickets for their respective campaigns.
Afriyie Barnieh – Galaxies
We could still end the year on a high should the Black Stars jet into top gear in Qatar and make Ghanaians proud by gleaming beyond the quarter final berth they deservedly struck at the South Africa 2010 Mundial.
It is achievable when well planned.
However, one thing that has haunted down our game over the years is the lack of commitment, loyalty and show of nationalism in the national teams – with some of our players feeling it is their birth right to don the national jersey. Such players are all-too ready to cry wolf and make trouble at the slightest faux pas.
As we prepare inch-by-inch towards Qatar, our national team selectors must ensure we dig up players who are ready to fight for the national colours – aside from carving a niche for themselves and African football.
We need players who would play as champions – demonstrating lots of passion and desire; and be prepared to die on the pitch rather than throw up hands in utter despair. This, one has hammered over and over again.
Heartily, a good number of the present Ghana contingent has copiously demonstrated some great derring-do and a character that suggest they can defend the national flag with their last drop of blood. This was evidenced on their way to showing Nigeria the throbbing exit in the World Cup play-off.
That is the way to go!
One department that has been of great concern to most Ghanaians is the forwardline – and our technical team headed by Otto Addo and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) must be commended for trying to find a way of cutting that Gordian knot.
This, they have done by wooing a couple of players including Spanish-born Atletic Bilbao Ghanaian forward Inaki Williams Arthur, to switch nationality for Ghana. Inaki is a pure terror in attack who would give opposing defence real torture to deal with and we may have been privileged to get him into our fold.
Several failed attempts by the GFA to convince him to switch nationality in the past, hit a snag. Though Ghana qualified for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and needed him badly, he still turned his back on the Stars.
It is the reason one would not agree with some Ghanaians who claim the Atletico Bilbao goal-hunter is an opportunist and only switched nationality because he wanted to be at the World Cup.
Predictably, settling on the final squad for the Qatar World Cup would be a Herculean undertaking for the coach. However, once that is sorted out, all we need from the players is hunger and desire on the field. When that is fully advertised, the waning confidence of the public would be restored, doubtless. Ghanaians want to see the players approach every game as a final – grand finale.
This is the same attitude, we would expect the Princesses – who are preparing for the Under-20 World Cup in Costa Rica next month, to exhibit; not forgetting the Black Galaxies.
The Galaxies are expected to host Benin next week in the first leg preliminary stage of the Championship of African Nations (CHAN) with the return leg set for Cotonou – three days later.
Should they eliminate their Beninois counterparts in the two-legged fixture, the Ghanaians will cross swords with Nigeria’s Home Eagles in the second round, with the winner securing a spot at Algeria 2023 – next January.
The Home Eagles are hoping to return to the biennial competition after missing out on the last edition hosted by Cameroon.
Information indicates that the Nigerians have stepped up preparations for the qualifier, believing that they would have Ghana to contend with for a place in the Algeria tournament that starts from January 8-31, 2023.
Failure to qualify for the CHAN tournament for the fourth time in succession would be too much a bitter pill to swallow for Ghana – the Galaxies having missed out in the last three tournaments.
We must not miss the boat to Algeria and everything must be done to ensure the deal is well struck.
It is gratifying to see the locally-assembled team engaged in a number of friendlies geared at cutting off the rough edges and putting them in better shape to surmount the challenges ahead. Their job is well cut out.
PlainTalk With 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.
