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Will Akonnor’s exit bring back the spark?
Days when the mere mention of the Black Stars evoked trepidation and terror, now appears to have evaporated into thin air.
Today, when the senior team take to the pitch, it is a painful penance watching them play as they are full of faulty passes, uncoordinated play, poor inter-positional changes, lack of passion and discipline, ineptitude, erratic shooting, low-on-intelligence, name them.
The drastic dip in form has come as a major concern to stakeholders – especially the long-suffering fans, who have had to endure a lot of anguish over the years – the Stars having failed to win any major trophy since Libya ’82 (39 years ago) when they annexed the continental Holy Grail for then fourth unprecedented time.
Failure to win the African crown all these years has seen Egypt now equal Ghana’s record – grabbing the coronet three times more, to make it number seven. Cameroon, who had not won a single trophy in 1982, are now five-time winners of the Cup. Whatever happened to Ghana, one can not readily decipher – unless to say that we have not been honest to ourselves.
We are pack of liars! Our football authorities have said one thing and done another. They have never been consistent with their own vision, and have always been betrayed by their own utterances.
Ghanaians have been told that only players playing consistently in their European leagues, and who are in fine fettle, would be invited into the national team. Not so? But is that what is happening now?
Less than three weeks ago, a Germany-based forward Bryadon Manu, blew the lid off the Ghana Football Association (GFA) after getting an invitation into the national team for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers – insisting that he did not expect it because he “hadn’t played much” at club level.
It was reported variously that Manu had played a measly 78 minutes out of the available 540 in the Bundesliga II and Pokal Cup, for club side Darmstadt, this season, and was stunned by his invite.
“It came like nothing; I was surprised because I thought it was fake. I didn’t believe it. The Ghana Technical Director (Bernhard Lippert) called to tell me and I was happy but still, I was like how? To be honest, I hadn’t played that much to earn the call-up but then I told myself maybe they had seen something in me that other people hadn’t seen,” the honest Manu shared on social media.
The 24-year-old was included in the squad for games against Ethiopia and South Africa because of the absence of some key players. He did not play in both games, though.
You see how they are toying with the national team? It is heartbreaking!
How do you call a player in a fourth tier club in Germany who is not even playing consistently – as against the very consistent ones in your domestic top flight – who have performed tremendously well in the just-ended league? If we cannot select players from a league that the GFA itself described as “highly competitive” and can match some of the best in the world, then there is absolutely no justification to have a running league. Do you not think so?
How would any coach worth his salt, ignore the top goal-poacher of his national football league (Diawusie Taylor)? What message are we sending to the world? That strikers in our top-flight are not worth considering? Well, that is a question for the Ghana FA and its German Technical Director Bernhard Lippert, to respond to.
So, on Monday, the FA relieved Black Stars Coach CK Akonnor of his post, following a series of bad performances. The sack did not come as a stunner to many. Akonnor himself could have saved himself this embarrassment if he had resigned his post long ago; because it was limpidly clear he was not in charge of affairs. Many European coaches in the kind of situation that he found himself ahead of his dismissal would have stepped down long ago to save his face. But typical of an African coach, he did not; he may have been thinking more about the $25,000 monthly salary.
Akonnor was sacked together with his two assistants – David Duncan and Patrick Greveraars and Lippert is expected to work with the goalkeeping coach and other technical team members left in the interim. It baffles the mind why Lippert is still at post. As the Technical Director, how could he absolve himself from blame in the milieu of the foregoing, especially with regard to the Stars’ despicable performances? How do you set up the man to fail by inviting fourth division players for him and think you should not be touched? Indeed, what has Lippert added to the team since his appointment last year? This is unacceptable by an FA whose president should also have packed off with the shamed technical team.
As of press time on Wednesday, it was reported that the FA had appointed former Black Stars coach Milovan Rajevac, the man who spearheaded the team to that momentous quarter final berth at the 2010 World Cup tournament held in South Africa. Whether the Serbian’s second bite of the cherry is going to be successful or not, would to a large extent, depend on the consummate backing of the GFA.
The Stars slipped into third position of Group G of the World Cup qualifiers after losing to the Bafana Bafana of South Africa at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on September 6. The South Africans now have four points (having earlier drawn with Zimbabwe away). Ethiopia are second on the ladder with three points after upstaging Zimbabwe at home, the last-gasp win coming via a 94th minute spot-kick.
Though only two games played, the Stars – former World Cup quarter-finalists, have not given any strong indication of making it to the Mundial. They have been very less inspiring and really embarrassing in both games against Ethiopia and South Africa, selling out some disjointed football of dishonour to the world.
Indeed, against Bafana, the Stars did not even fire a single shot at goal. For 90 minutes, they lumbered their bodies on the field like drunken giants moving with the limbs of a mosquito. It was disgraceful watching them on a soil on which they subdued the world to some eye-catching piece of football during the 2010 World Cup tournament. It was the major trigger to Akonnor’s eventual departure.
Come next month, the Stars would attempt to stage a resurgence of their World Cup campaign as they first host Zimbabwe (who have also replaced their coach) and then hit the road to face them in the return. Question is, can Ghana pick the maximum points in both games? Would Akonnor’s exit bring back the missing shine with the appointment of a new sweat merchant? A sixty-four-thousand-dollar question with no response for now!
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.
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