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Takyi goofed but… (Final part)
Samuel Takyi
The MoYS statement categorised the $50,000 as follows – $10,000 as reward for the bronze medal, $20,000 to procure a vehicle for the boxer and the rest of the $20,000 to be invested in his career – specifically to fund his training, equipment and other requirement to enable him reach his full potential as a boxer.
The statement said the fund was not meant to be disbursed directly to Mr Takyi, but rather to be invested strategically in his development.
Gladly, government fulfilled its promise by presenting $10,000 to Takyi on November 18, 2021; presented a car on the same day and followed up with an amount of $5,000 on December 16, 2022.
This implies that out of the $20,000.00 meant for his personal development, a balance of $10,000 is now payable to him when he presents a good personal plan.
Clearly, all the back-and-forth between MoYS and the boxer could have been avoided if there was a clear-cut reward structure by government or the MoYS athletes.
Considering this is not the first time controversies over athletes’ rewards have come up, and this may not be the last; so the earlier something was done about it to avert future occurrences, the better it will be for all.
As far back as August 2014, there was a similar occurrence after Abdul Wahib Omar won bronze despite losing his semi-final bout to Louis Colin in flyweight at the Commonwealth Games.
Omar, then 22 years, was to receive $1,000 as a reward for winning one of the two medals Ghana won at the Glasgow Games. The other winner was Judoka Razak Abugri.
Many years after that, the reward remained unfulfilled.
“I have given up on the chase for that money. I have been made to go up and down several times. When I go there, they tell me the minister is not in.” This was the response the last time we discussed that issue.
Such is the frustration athletes go through after the long period of hard work to compete at the highest level to put Ghana’s flag on the international map as a sports nation.
This, I believe, has become an issue because of the absence of a structured reward scheme to guide authorities in awarding athletes.
Secondly, by our way of administering boxing, especially at the amateur level, demanding a developmental plan from a boxer before receiving his reward is like asking a man to walk on water.
Fact is, most of these boxers are usually on their own; they do everything for themselves. A few lucky ones among them enjoy the benevolence of their coaches who support their training and a little stipends to survive.
It is when they begin to show signs of promise that they begin to attract managers, some of whom come with varied interest.
So, imagine a boxer in need of money but without the ability to produce a development plan; he falls prey to whoever he approaches for help.
Maybe, what the authorities fail to realise is that a development plan is no guarantee for the success of a boxer and the earlier their real needs and problems were identified with ways found to address them, the better it will be for all the parties.
Most of these boxers lack decent places of abode. Most of them do not work so it even beats imagination why the choice to always think about cars if such athletes were to be rewarded.
The choice of a car would only change the boxer’s lifestyle and use a chunk of the cash reward on fuel. With no work to earn additional funds or income, every expenditure of the boxer would be from it and in no time, they would go broke.
Assuming a boxer uses part of the initial instalment to hire a simple but decent accommodation, after sometime, he would have to renew his tenancy agreement and in no time, could go cashless.
I have a simple advice for MoYS or government regarding a reward scheme for boxers or maybe all other athletes.
Preference may differ but with boxers whose conditions of living is nothing impressive to write home about, a $50,000 package coming in various forms could be used to procure a decent accommodation for the boxer or whichever athlete is involved; of course consideration must be given to whether he/she has one already or not.
This is an issue that must be given a serious attention while Takyi prepares a development plan to get the rest of the money released to him
By Andrew Nortey
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Focus on more pressing issues like Galamsey, not hate speech – Ellen Ama Daaku to Mahama
An aide to former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia,Ellen Ama Daaku has advised President John Dramani Mahama to shift his attention from social media hate speech to more urgent national issues such as illegal mining.
Speaking in an interview, she noted that the President’s recent comments about tracking the IP addresses of people who spread hate speech were unnecessary.
According to her, President Mahama must first define what he considers to be hate speech before seeking to punish people for it.
Ms. Daaku argued that the President himself had benefitted from hate speech and social media attacks in the past when he was in opposition.
She said even during his time in government, he described his opponents and their tribesmen in unpalatable terms, which later drew complaints from former President Nana Akufo-Addo to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
She stressed that harsh criticism of leaders on social media should not automatically be considered hate speech, adding that former leaders, including former President Nana Akufo-Addo had all been subjected to it.
“He is only feeling what Nana Akufo-Addo went through for eight years,” she remarked.
While acknowledging the need to regulate misconduct online, Ms. Daaku insisted that going after social media activists should not be a priority.
She noted that many political activists, including herself, had been insulted and attacked online but never called for arrests.
She concluded that President Mahama should focus his energy on solving pressing problems such as galamsey and the economy instead of concentrating on critics on social media.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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Prof Alidu Seidu files nomination for Tamale Central seat
The newly elected parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Tamale Central, Prof Alidu Seidu, has submitted his nomination forms to the Electoral Commission.
As of 10:00 a.m. today, he was the only person who had filed to contest the seat.
Nomination of candidates will close at the end of the day.
Associate Professor and Head of the Political Science Department at the University of Ghana Legon, Prof. Alidu Seidu won the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary primaries in the Tamale Central constituency with a landslide victory.
The elections, supervised by the party’s Elections and IT Directorate in the Northern Region, saw Prof. Seidu poll 840 votes out of the total valid ballots cast.
His closest contender, Lawyer Hanan Gundadow Abdul-Rahaman, secured 536 votes.
The other aspirants could not make significant gains, with Dr. Seidu Fiter obtaining 44 votes, Aliu Abdul-Hamid 23 votes, and the rest recording fewer than 10 votes each.
In all, 1,500 ballots were cast, with 6 ballots rejected and 7 spoilt ballots recorded.
The results were signed and declared by Dr. Arnold Mashud Abukari, NDC Northern Regional Director of Elections and IT.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) held parliamentary primaries in Tamale Central to choose a candidate for the upcoming by-election following the death of the sitting Member of Parliament, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed. Dr. Mohammed, who also served as Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, tragically died in a military helicopter crash in the Adansi Akrofuom District on August 6, 2025, alongside seven others.
His passing left the Tamale Central seat vacant, as required by Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
The Electoral Commission has scheduled the by-election for September 30, 2025. While the NDC moved quickly to open nominations and vet aspirants, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) announced it would not contest the seat, citing the need to respect the somber circumstances and promote national unity.
By: Jacob Aggrey
