Hot!
Unto us, a sport is born!
• Mr Charles Osei Asibey – GAF President
A few years ago when arm-wrestling emerged as a new sports discipline on an already over-loaded sports scene, many did not anticipate it will soon be the rock on which Ghana sports would stand.
It was not, as it were, an entirely new sport. It was more or less a traditional sport among both young and old; male and female but extremely popular among the youth.
For them, it was purely a way to prove the stronger of the two.
But how Charles Osei Asibey, the Barrister with no background in law, managed to turn this into a sport that could suddenly turn the fortunes of Ghana over 360 degrees is what many sports federation bosses must learn.
In such an encouraging performance from a 13th African Games hosted by Ghana, it is proper to hail the entire team including those who could not make it to the podium.
Their sparring sessions, contribution in training, encouragement and words of motivation inspired the winners on to win their respective medals. It may therefore sound someway trying to single out a particular discipline for praise.
It can be likened to a popular scripture in the Holy Bible found in 1 Corinthians 3:6-9 (KJV).
It reads: “I (Paul) have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
So neither did he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.”
From the above, every member of Team Ghana, be it individuals or federations becomes one and must share in the glory.
But as human as we are, surely, some special praise would be heaped on the Golden Arms who breathed life into the campaign. Let’s not forget we are also commanded to give to Caesar what is Caesar.
So from nowhere through the sheer strength and resilience of a female weightlifter, Winnifred Ntumi, Ghana’s first medal seed was planted, registering Ghana on the medal table with a gold and two silver medals.
Just a day after, Abeiku Jackson fetched swimming the first of two medals garnered at the Games and while we waited, the Golden Arms dropped the medal overdose, registering 41 medals comprising eight gold, 19 silver and 14 bronze.
That was unprecedented and cannot pass without a special mention.
Until this feat, Ghana’s highest medal haul was pegged at 27, a feat attained during the 1973 edition of the Games held in Nigeria.
Even if Ghana were to set a new medal record in the Games, arm-wrestling was surely not one of the disciplines uninitiated fans would expect our achievement to come from.
But from the inception of the sport as one of the ‘children’ of the National Sports Authority (NSA), arm-wrestling has maintained some level of consistency, sweeping medals for fun at international meets; they have been very dominant.
Without mincing words, ‘Barrister’ Osei Asibey has done a yeoman’s job worth emulating by all although the dynamics differs as far as the respective disciplines are concerned.
But the Ghana Armwrestling Federation (GAF) must guard against complacency. They must not rest on their oars because it will mark the beginning of a fierce ‘war’ with other competitors.
Like the popular saying, behind every successful man, there is a woman but in the case of the ‘Barrister’, he has been lucky to have a strong and buoyant board to indeed make arm-wrestling a sport of choice.
The Executive Board of GAF includes Pahrm. Kofi Addo Agyekum (Vice President), Mr Jesse Agyepong (General Secretary), Mr Godfrey William Amarteifio (Finance & Administration), Mr Edwin Amankwah (Operations), Mr Jonathan Lambert Nii Okai Awuletey (Marketing & Communication), Mr Husseini Akueteh Addy (Technical Director), Dr. Marc Dzradosi (Medical), DCOP Lydia Donkor (Director, Corporate Affairs), Mr Robert Appiah Ameyaw, Mr Norbert Kwankye (Members).
These men and women have provided a solid foundation on which arm-wrestling has been established and as they keep working hard to remain at the top, the whole world would consider Ghana a force as the arm-wrestling agenda is pushed to the Olympics.
By Andrew Nortey
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Christian Tetteh Yohuno, together with members of the Police Management Board (POMAB), on April 17, 2026, decorated nineteen (19) senior officers who have been promoted to their next ranks based on the recommendations of the Police Council and approval of the President, John Dramani Mahama.
The ceremony, held at the National Police Headquarters in Accra, forms part of efforts to recognise merit, dedication, and long-standing service within the Ghana Police Service, while strengthening leadership across key operational and administrative levels.
The officers promoted from Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) to Commissioner of Police (COP) are Dr. Luke Asue-In-Yeng Zakpaa, Mr. Frederick Agyei, Mr. Duuti Tuaruka, Mr. Arthur Osei-Akoto, Mr. Darko Offei Lomotey, Mr. Eric Ken Winful, Mr. Barnabas Nambont Nasumong, and Mr. Desmond Owusu Boampong.
The IGP and members of POMAB congratulated the officers and urged them to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and integrity in the discharge of their duties.
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
