amandla newspaper november 2011

AmandlaFounded October 2003

Volume 10 Issue 11 Global African Newspaper Telephone: 973-419-0073 / 973-731-1339 November 15 - December 16, 2011

PUBLIC �OTICEIf you are a Ghanaian-born U.S. citizen and have been denied Ghanaian citizenship upon application, Amandla would like toknow. Please contact us.

Nigeria’s Economy toOvertakeSouthAfrica by 2025 –FrankNweke, Jr.By Kwabena Opong

Nigeria’s former minister of Informa-tion, Frank Nweke, Jr. declared at aPlenary Session of the 2nd NigeriaInvestment Summit & Exhibitionorganized by the African BusinessRoundtable on September 22 that hiscountry’s economy has the potential ofovertaking South Africa by 2025. Mr.Nweke was among a number of pan-elists who spoke at the Plenary Sessionon Nigeria’s Economic Outlook.The former minister expressed hispride as a Nigerian adding that it is acountry that cannot be ignored. It isAfrica’s largest market with anestimated population of 160 million.According to Mr. Nweke, GoldmanSachs has picked Nigeria as one of theworld’s largest economies in the worldahead of Canada. One advantage isthat Nigeria has a predominantlyyoung population, a sentiment earlierexpressed by former British PrimeMinister Tony Blair.Nweke acknowledged the infrastruc-tural problems of Nigeria, particularlyin the area of energy, and said even inthe absence of the energy deficiency,the economy is growing at the rate of7.6 percent per annum. Further growthis expected this year.The potential to ease the total reliance

on oil is fuelled by the agricultural sec-tor’s productive capacity of 42 percent,making the economic outlook of hiscountry brighter. In addition to agricul-ture and oil is the country’s wealth insolid minerals which is yet to be ex-ploited.Added to the potentials Mr. Nwekeenumerated is the role of technology inhelping to provide the right atmos-phere for an economic take-off. Thecabinet selected by President Good-luck Jonathan is an added force forgrowth. It is youthful, knowledgeable,and efficient, he said. “Nigeria hasbeaten all the odds of the objectionsraised against its growth,” the formerminister concluded his submission.Mrs. Farida Waziri, Chairperson of theEconomic and Financial Crimes Com-mission who took the podium after Mr.Nweke spoke about the image problemof her country as a result of the infa-mous 419 incidents and corruption.She told the gathering made mostly ofyoung Nigerian entrepreneurs andAmerican investors interested in in-vesting in the country that her commis-sion is dealing effectively withcorruption and the 419 problem. Sheadvised individuals, banks and othermultinationals to be circumspect andinquire about the backgrounds of peo-ple who contact them for business. The

federal government, she said, is work-ing with international law enforcementorganizations to fight graft. Mrs.Waziri appealed to the Diaspora fortheir expertise and money in fightingcrime. The EFCC is working onmoney laundering frauds, offenses ofinternational corruption, the chairper-son declared. Several criminals andpurveyors of 419 and other crimes areserving jail sentences. The EFCC isworking with the FBI, the ScotlandYard and the Metro Police of Britainand others elsewhere.Mr. Robert Orya, President of NigerianExport Import Bank (NEXIM Bank)explained the role of his bank in for-malizing and deepening trade amongECOWAS member states. All sectorsof the Nigerian economy is under theradar of NEXIM Bank. The bank ishelping to find means of storing agri-cultural produce. Nollywood, theNigerian film industry is makingstrides in exporting its products andthe bank is playing an active role in theentertainment and the creative arts in-dustry. Ways are being explored to en-sure a more efficient transportationsystem in the sub-region to support theexport import sector of his country.The session was chaired by Dr. Ba-manga Tukur, President, African Busi-ness Roundtable and Chairman,NEPAD Business Group.

Solicit local inputs for development– International students suggestby Kofi AyimGhana and China seem to have certainthings in common: both do not solicitlocal inputs and are insensitive to theneeds and/or plight of the people theyclaim to help when it comes to devel-opment. This observations were madewhen 12 international students fromDrew University, New Jersey em-barked on a three-week study tour toall 10 regions of Ghana May 15 toJune 7 this year under the theme“China In Africa: The Ghanaian Expe-rience of a New Development Model.”China has more than 800,000 of its cit-izens currently living, working and/orrunning businesses in Africa, and over800 small and medium businesses in-volved in manufacturing and biddingfor construction of ports, railways,hospitals, administrative buildings andother facilities, usually at a very com-petitive price, and using comparativelyadvantageous cheaper labor and otherfactors of production. Chinese expan-sion especially in Africa, no doubt, ismaking the U.S. and the West edgy.In a special “share your experiencesand welcome back from Ghana” cere-mony held at the First PresbyterianChurch, Irvington, New Jersey Octo-ber 23, the students consensuallyagreed that it is counterproductive andserves no one’s interest for interna-tional (aid) projects to be foisted onAfricans because “what the interna-tional community thinks Africans mayneed, may be different from what they(Africans) think they need.” Using theLEKMAHospital at Teshie in Accra

and the Bui Dam Resettlement Projectbuilt by the Chinese and the Ghanaiangovernments respectively as case stud-ies, the students after interacting withgovernment officials, civil, traditionalleaders, as well as NGOs and stake-holders concluded that internationalaid and global partnership must becritically analyzed from conception,scoping, and implementation for itsmerits or otherwise. They claim localinput (from doctors, engineers, etc)was not adequately solicited in theconstruction of the LEKMAHospital.Ghanaian health professional and man-agers therefore have to struggle withChinese specifications that they knowvery little about. For example, theypointed out, for unknown reasons,X’ray equipment do not work. To but-tress their point, the students pointedto the Kumasi Youth Center, nearAsokwa also a “gift” from the Chineseas a White Elephant. They believeChina is in Ghana not necessarily tohelp it (Ghana) develop, but to exploitits resources, albeit creating local em-ployment in the process. They there-fore challenged the Government ofGhana to step up to the plate to playChina on an even field in order to beself reliant. “Teach a man how to fish,rather than giving him the fish,” cut inProfessor Keyser referring to Chineseaid to Africa. The students were con-vinced that China is no different fromprevious foreign powers that exploitedGhana and Africa for its resources. “Itis déjà vu neo-colonialism shrouded in

Continued on page 2

Rawlings and Kufuor Rock Lumba’s ShowSee page 2

Ejeviome Eloho Otobo, Director and Deputy Head, United NationsPeacebuilding Support Office, New York moderated the event

Hard road to travel: This is the highway between Tamale, Northern Region capital and Hohoe, ametropolis in the Volta Region, all in Ghana

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Amandla Vol. 10 Issue 11 Nov. 15 - Dec. 16

Editorial

Ghana’sAnnualRitual of Floods

When the floods hit Accra a few weeks ago,Ghanaians wondered when the deluge could becontained. It poured for five hours only but ninepeople lost their lives. Property worth billions ofcedis were washed away and for some time, driv-ing in a city already choked up with traffic, wasan ordeal that couldn’t be wished on one’s worstenemy. In its trail the floods left an epidemic:cholera erupted in some places in the city.Natural disasters such as floods are sometimesnot easy to predict or even prevent. But thefloods in Accra, in particular are not unpre-dictable. They have now become an annual rit-ual. And yet not much is being done about it.Apart from the structural needs that need to beput in place to contain the situation, indisciplineand corruption have much to do with the unend-ing incidence of floods. Further to that is the lackof administrative efforts to ensure that such inci-dents do not happen as frequently as they do.One of the factors that cause flooding is poordrainage, and drainage in Accra is very poor.Gutters are uncovered and owing to lack of indis-cipline, they have become the repository ofchoice for garbage, including human waste. Tomake matters worse the gutters lead to nowhereincreasing the potential for flooding. Why wouldpeople defecate in gutters and disrupt the desilt-ing of the Odaw river that has become a wastedisposal dump?Driving through some parts of the city raises theissue of town planning. Houses are built at placesdesignated for streets and drainage, and with anever-increasing population, waste disposal hasbecome a major problem. Such acts of indisci-pline are happening because of corruption in thedistribution of land for building in the city. Everyaspect of land acquisition in Ghana is mired incorruption and that has affected town planning.Added to these is the incidence of illegal militaryinterventions in governance since 1966. Infra-structural projects and policies were either dis-continued or ignored. The government of Dr.K.A. Busia’s Progress Party’s attempt to usecompensation money from Israel to construct acomprehensive drainage system was curtailed bythe intervention of Gen. I. K. Acheampong’s Na-tional Redemption Council in 1972. The thengovernment was executing a plan for the city ofAccra that dates as far back as 1922 at the timeof Governor Gordon Guggisberg. That plan in-cludes a subway drainage and railway system.If the drainage system built a few years ago atAlajo could prevent the latest floods in the area,it means something can be done about the issue.If sound administrative policies, including lawenforcement are put in place together with thepolitical will to provide the necessary infrastruc-ture, flooding can be minimized. Above all, suchactions need not be politicized.Our focus is on Accra now but such several othercities and towns also face the same problem. Toensure the security of the nation, such basic in-frastructure as effective drainage and comprehen-sive town and country planning are necessarycomponents that most developing countries ig-nore, and Ghana certainly is among them.The vulture mentality of always promising toseek shelter for the following season’s rains muststop. Unfortunately, there is no Noah in Accraand Ghana to build an Ark that would ferryGhanaians to the top of Mount Ararat next year.Hello! Is anyone listening?

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InternationalStudents Speakon DevelopmentAid in Africa

Contd. from front pagein aids and gifts,” a student com-mented.On another local front, the studentslearnt from residents of the BuiDam project that government didnot solicit their input before theywere uprooted from their ancestralhomes. Their new township built bythe government, according to the

students, has no functioning placesof convenience; and the local schoolis only up to the primary level. Thestudents lamented that the Dam andits attendant resettlement could havebeen designed and built to suit localand environmental sensitivity andsentiments of the people.The citizens of the new Bui Town-ship fear they would face similarfate that befell the people of Dodiand Asabi during the construction ofthe Akosombo Dam. Resettled atNkwakubew near Anum by the gov-ernment of Kwame Nkrumah,Nkwakubew, the students observedduring their visit there, is now aghost town.The students described their

marathon stretch from Tamale toYendi, Bimbilla and crossing theOti River to Nkwanta in the VoltaRegion and into Jasikan and Hohoe,as the most horrible and deplorableroadway they encountered inGhana. They could not understandthe rationale behind electing politi-cians that are incapable of develop-ing their constituencies. Thestudents decried the very unevennature of Ghana’s developmentwhere those in the rural areas areleft to fend for themselves.At the St. Cyprian’s AnglicanChurch in Kumasi, the students wit-nessed the ordination of a Bishopand came out with mixed feelings.They were stunned to see a blue

eyed, blond- hair portrait of JesusChrist in a wholly African (Black)environment, instead of indigenousportrait of Jesus created by God “inhis own image.”In retrospect, the students came outpositively strong on Ghana’sproverbial hospitality, so much sothat some are contemplating joiningthe U.S. Peace Corps with hopes ofserving in Ghana.The trip was under the leadership ofDr. Catherine Keyser, associate pro-fessor of Political Science and Chi-nese Studies and Dr. E. Obiri Addo,associate professor of African Stud-ies and Religious Studies both ofDrew University, Madison, NewJersey.

Kufuor, JJ RockLumba ShowByA.R. Gomda

Former President Kufuor and NanaKonadu Agyeman-Rawlings ex-hibiting their dancing skills at theDaddy Lumba Show last SaturdayFormer Presidents John AgyekumKufuor and his predecessor JerryJohn Rawlings, last Saturday de-scended on the Accra InternationalConference Centre simultaneouslyto a deafening applause by the manypersonalities who thronged thevenue for live performances by thehighlife icon, Charles KwadwoFosu popularly called DaddyLumba.President Kufuor grabbed NanaKonadu Agyeman Rawlings for adance, to the admiration of all pa-trons at the well-attended event.The level of applause when the twoformer leaders turned up together atabout 8:30pm was no match for thewelcome which greeted the arrivalof Rawlings at the launch of theJohn Agyekum Kufuor Foundationrecently at the University of Ghana,Legon.The two dignitaries were at the cen-ter to partake in the celebration ofthe achievements of one of Ghana’scontemporary highlife musicians,Daddy Lumba.The programme, whose success wasaccentuated by the presence of thetwo living former presidents, wasput together by Arnold Asante’sImagine Advertising Company.If Imagine Advertising’s efforts sawthe holding of the event, the ideaand invitation of the two formerpresidents by Adakbre FrimpongManso of Adom FM fame providedthe flamboyance brought by their

presence.Adakabre’s first port of call with aninvitation last Wednesday was theKufuor residence, and the immedi-ate-past president readily agreed toturn up as requested.“I then turned towards the Rawl-ingses’, meeting both of them attheir Ridge residence. They tooobliged the invitation,” Adakabretold DAILY GUIDE.As to whether the two former presi-dents’ arrival at the venue of theprogramme was pre-arranged by thetwo dignitaries whose frosty rela-tionship has seen an improvementin recent times, DAILY GUIDE isunable to relate.Their arrival together could pass fora rehearsed action and was respon-sible for the ecstatic welcome theyreceived at the hands of their com-

patriots.The sitting arrangement was anotherspectacle which attracted the atten-tion of the large turnout of peoplewhich beheld them as they sharedthe same settee with Paul Afoko andNana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings.At about 9:15pm, the former presi-dents were ushered into the mainhall of the event and their walkingside by side triggered another roundof applause which resounded soloudly that it deafened all conversa-tions among friends.Former President Rawlings dancedwith his spouse to the delight ofspectators and what followed there-after excited the crowd even further.Former President Kufuor sought thepermission of the man who handedover power to him in 2001 to dancewith his wife, Nana Konadu Agye-mang-Rawlings, which was readilyobliged.

Nana Konadu’s dancing abilityis known by many who haveseen her responding to the vari-ous local tunes, some of whichmade front page headlines ofnewspapers.The former First Lady led for-mer President Kufuor to thetune of the popular contempo-rary highlife, ‘Aben Wo Ha’and even though it was not adancing competition, manycould not resist grading themon their dancing skills.Both persons danced well butNana Konadu’s speed wassomething former PresidentKufuor could not match, evenas they remained the cynosureof all who were taking part inthe dancing session on thefloor.Former President Rawlings wasnot left out of the party, takingsome steps too with one of theladies in the company of hisspouse.The celebration, aside com-memorating a fine local musi-

cian, was an auspicious eventtranscending the usual high politicaltemperature associated with the re-lationship between the two digni-taries.Daddy Lumba has 27 albums to hiscredit and for the fantastic achieve-ment which has made his name ahousehold one across the country,he attracted a 24-carat necklaceworth $24,000.Remaining unsurpassed in his cate-gory of music, Daddy Lumba’s al-bums have yielded more numberones and top ten hits than any of hiscolleagues in the industry.Born on 29th September 1964, his‘Aben Wo Ha’ album catapultedhim to another level. His 28thalbum is in the pipeline.Source: Daily Guide

Ex-President Kufuor and Nana Konadu show dancing skills


African NewsLiberia: SirleafWins DisputedPollsLiberian President Ellen Johnson Sir-leaf was confirmed the victor of a run-off poll boycotted by the opposition,and vowed to reach out toher opponents and recon-cile the divided nation.Sirleaf's re-election wasseen as a foregone conclu-sion after rival WinstonTubman pulled out of therace and urged his support-ers to boycott the pollsover fears the process wasrigged.The National ElectionsCommission announcedthat with results talliedfrom 86.6 percent ofpolling stations, Sirleafhad won 90.8 percent ofvotes cast and Tubmannine percent.Only 37.4 percent of thecountry's 1.8 million regis-tered voters cast their bal-lots, with many believed tohave stayed away due theboycott call and violenceon the eve of the poll,when police fired on agroup of opposition protesters.The Carter Center's 52-person observermission said the vote was "conductedtransparently", though: "Regrettably,the election was marred by an opposi-tion boycott, violence on the eve of theelection, and low voter turnout."The United States urged Liberians to"peacefully accept" the results."We're obviously concerned and ex-pressed those concerns about pre-elec-tion violence, and we continue tomonitor very closely the situation onthe ground," State Departmentspokesman Mark Toner told reporters.Sirleaf, Africa's first female president,is facing a tough second term with hernation more divided than ever after thetainted election process.She has extended a hand of friendshipto opposition parties, saying she hopedto put together an inclusive govern-ment as she had when she was electedin 2005, just two years after the end ofa brutal 14-year conflict."I will reach out to all the presidentialcandidates," Sirleaf told reporters inMonrovia.Observers have said Sirleaf may face abattle for legitimacy, re-elected in anelection in which the opposition didnot participate, but the 73-year oldgrandmother has shot this down."The process is totally legitimate as itmeets the requirements of our constitu-tion."The poll had been billed as a chancefor the war-scarred nation to cement itsfragile democracy and hard-won peaceeight years after the end of a long andsavage conflict which left some250,000 people dead.The Carter Center said "the events ofthe past week show that importantchallenges to Liberia's democratic con-solidation remain."The first round election in the westAfrican state on October 11 wasgreeted by great voter enthusiasm assome 72 percent of the electorateturned out to cast their ballots.But when the results revealed Tubmantrailed rival Sirleaf by almost ten per-centage points, he cried foul and com-plained of irregularities."If there were fraud, would I not win?Overwhelmingly?" responded Sirleaf.The political bickering turned bloodywhen Tubman called an unauthorizedmarch after the close of the electioncampaign and protesters clashed withpolice who fired live rounds at them."I can confirm that several roundswere discharged by officers of theEmergency Response Unit. Given the

volatile and fluid situation it was nec-essary to use some force," police chiefMarc Amblard has said.Journalists saw two bodies with gun-shot wounds to the head followingMonday's incident and Tubman saysup to eight were killed.The president said she would establishan independent commission to investi-gate the shooting.

Analysts have said her glowing inter-national image could be dealt a blowafter an election campaign highlightingher shady past and the support she re-ceived from notorious ex-warlordPrince Johnson."If he chose to support me I could nottell him no because he was not speak-ing for himself he was speaking for thewishes of his people," Sirleaf told jour-nalists.She said she was determined to makeLiberia a post-conflict success storyand was confident of her ability to rec-oncile the nation -- a key criticism ofopposition parties.She said while implementing the Truthand Reconciliation Commission reportreleased in 2009 has taken time, hernew mandate would begin with a"palava hut" -- a traditional meetingplace for townspeople to settle differ-ences."I myself will be one of the first onesto go to the palava hut because I havebeen named in the report."The report names Sirleaf among thosewho should be banned from public of-fice for her ties to former warlord-turned-president Charles Taylor, whomshe says she supported before the fullextent of his atrocities became clear.Sirleaf said while her first term fo-cused on establishing peace and devel-opment, her second would tackleproblems such as job creation with un-employment running at a staggering 80percent. - ANP/AFP

... and promisesinclusion of all 15defeated opponentsAll 15 candidates who contested thepresidential elections against PresidentEllen Johnson Sirleaf have a place inher government when and if she wins,the president has promised.President Sirleaf, meeting foreign jour-nalists covering the election Thursday,said she will reach out to her oppo-nents after her nation-wide addresstoday.But the President said she is confidentthat she has the people's mandate afteran election her main rival, WinstonTubman, boycotted with claims offraud.Many of the defeated candidates havealready endorsed the president in therunoff, amongst them Liberty Party'sCharles Brumskine and Dr. Togba Nah

Tipoteh, along with Nimba County'sSenator Prince Johnson.It is not however clear if Mr. Tubmanwill accept a position in the govern-ment.--New Democrat

Liberia: OppositionSeeks Reconcilia-tion After PollLiberia's Winston Tubman said Fridayhe was willing to find a way to workwith President Ellen Johnson Sirleafafter disputed polls left the war-scarrednation more divided than ever.Africa's first female president was con-firmed the victor in a run-off election,seen as a foregone conclusion afterTubman pulled out of the race andurged his supporters to boycott thepolls over fears the process wasrigged.The United States and election ob-servers urged the country to accept thepoll results, fearing further violenceafter an opposition rally on the eve ofthe election turned bloody as policefired on a crowd of protesters.Tubman repeated his earlier stance thathis party would not recognize the re-sults, but was "prepared to heal thewounds of this country and to uniteour country.""Since Mrs. Sirleaf will now claim sheis the president and is recognized bythe international community, we haveto find a way to work with her and Ibelieve it is not beyond our ability tofind a way for that to happen."The National Elections Commissionannounced that with results talliedfrom 86.6 percent of polling stations,Sirleaf had won 90.8 percent of votescast and Tubman nine percent.Only 37.4 percent of the country's 1.8million registered voters cast their bal-lots, with many believed to havestayed away due to the boycott calland violence on the eve of the poll."I think the real telling thing is the lowturnout," Tubman told AFP and Frenchradio in an interview in his gardenearly Friday."We have shown that this party doesn'thave the support. ... What they couldn'tconceal were the empty polling sta-tions."Nobel Peace Prize co-winner Sirleaf isfacing a tough second term with hernation more divided than ever after thetainted election process.She has extended a hand of friendshipto opposition parties, saying she hopedto put together an inclusive govern-ment as she had when she was electedin 2005, just two years after the end ofa brutal 14-year conflict."I will reach out to all the presidentialcandidates," Sirleaf told reporters inMonrovia.Tubman, lying in a hammock on hisverandah as rain poured outside, saidhis party was "not for sale", while rec-ognizing that he would have to workwith the president for the sake of thecountry."We're in this political business be-cause we have a deeper ambition tounite our country, to heal the wounds... and that must go on," he said,adding that he was trying to convincethe youth in his party that peace is themost important thing for Liberia, andnot personal ambition."A lot of our young people want to beon the streets now, it is taking a lot forus to try and restrain them," he said.The poll had been billed as a chancefor the war-scarred nation to cement itsfragile democracy and hard-won peaceeight years after the end of a long andsavage conflict which left some250,000 people dead.The Carter Center's 52-person observermission said the vote was "conductedtransparently", though it added: "Re-grettably, the election was marred by

an opposition boycott, violence on theeve of the election, and low voterturnout."The United States urged Liberians to"peacefully accept" the results."We're obviously concerned and ex-pressed those concerns about pre-elec-tion violence, and we continue tomonitor very closely the situation onthe ground," State Departmentspokesman Mark Toner told reporters.Sirleaf said she would establish an in-dependent commission to investigateMonday's shooting, after police admit-ted that live rounds were fired as ten-sions soared between protesters andsecurity forces.Journalists saw two bodies with gun-shot wounds to the head followingMonday's incident and Tubman saysup to eight were killed.Sirleaf said that while her first term fo-cused on establishing peace and devel-opment, her second would tackleproblems such as job creation, withunemployment running at a staggering80 percent.

Ghana ImmigrationService detains 25Illegal ChineseMinersDunkwa (C/R), Nov. 13, GNA –Twenty-four illegal Chinese minershave been arrested by the personnel ofthe Ghana Immigration Service (GIS)at Dunkwa in the Central Region aftermonitoring and gathering intelligenceabout their activities in the area.A statement issued by the GIS andsigned by Mr. Francis Palmdeti said aprofile on the illegal miners indicatesthat they all hail from GuangxiProvince in the Peoples Republic ofChina.The Chinese workers did not havework and residence permit which is re-quired to legally reside and work in thecountry.The statement said since they weremining on a concession belonging toForce Field Mining Ltd, the firm hastherefore been fined GHÈ¼ 2,000 foreach illegal miner and is to providetickets for their deportation out of thecountry.Mr. Palmdeti warned prospective em-ployers to note that, in section 24 ofthe Immigration Act 2000 [ACT 573]it is an offence to engage the servicesof a foreign national who has not beenissued with a work and residence per-mit.“Similarly, any foreign national wish-ing to work in Ghana should be certainthat their employers have been issuedwith work permits on their behalf, be-fore they take up the employment. “The statement said enquiries about theprocedure for obtaining a work permitcould be sought at www.ghanaimmi-

gration.org, the Receiving Counter orthe Public Affairs Unit at the GhanaImmigration Service Headquarters.

GNA

Zimbabwe: Rearm-ing the SecurityForcesThe Zimbabwe Defence Force (ZDF)has taken delivery, via an African in-termediary, of the first of several con-signments of Chinese small arms andequipment.The delivery, via a so-far unidentifiedintermediary, has been negotiated byDefence Minister Emmerson Mnan-gagwa. The indirect route is intendedto keep the deliveries below the radarof Western governments, which haveimposed an arms embargo on Zim-babwe since 2002 - and of SouthernAfrican governments, trade unions andjournalists who have hampered recentdeliveries.The consignment is intended to re-equip the army ahead of a national ref-erendum and national elections withinthe next 18 months. It includes basicequipment for the ZDF's infantry units:at least 20 000 AK-47 automatic rifles,uniforms and 12 to 15 trucks. The in-clusion of 21 000 pairs of handcuffspoints to the intended domestic de-ployment of the refurbished units. Asecond consignment is due beforeyear's end.

The two Zimbabwean officers respon-sible for coordinating delivery areColonel Ndlahli Mbkhalhe and Cap-tain Sabestine Zabethe.Although the intermediary country isso far unidentified and it is unclearwhether the weapons' end-user certifi-cates identify Zimbabwe as the recipi-ent, it is unlikely that Beijing isunaware of the ultimate destination.Chinese officials are directly involvedwith Zimbabwe's Central IntelligenceOrganisation (CIO) - China is con-structing an intelligence training cam-pus for Harare - and with its armedforces.China has in the past been Zimbabwe'smost reliable source of weaponry forthe past decade. During Zimbabwe'sinvolvement in the civil war in theDRC (1998-2002), China sold it atleast US$66-million worth of smallarms. Since 2004 China has sold toZimbabwe 139 military vehicles and24 combat aircraft. This has, however,not been sufficient to offset the lossesin the DRC campaign or the ravages ofZimbabwe's hyperinflation period.With a Western arms embargo imposedin 2002, Zimbabwe has been seeking areliable source of arms, particularlysmall arms.

President Ellen Sirleaf Johnson: re-electedin recent elections

Opposition leader WinstonTubman

President Robert Mugabe

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Verification won’t solve electoralfraud – EC BossThe Chairman of the ElectoralCommission, Dr. Afari Gyansays the numerous calls for averification system of the pro-posed biometric compilation ofthe voters register will not bethe panacea to curbing electoralfraud in Ghana.He believes appropriate vigi-lance and proper policing atpolling stations on the day ofelection is the key to curtailsome of the electoral irregulari-ties that have characterized na-tional elections since 1992.He added that the EC has nointention of introducing a bio-metric voter system.According to Dr. Afari Gyan,the EC is not contemplating abiometric voting system butwhat it hopes to do is to com-pile a biometric voter’s regis-tration.He explained that there was nological relationship between abiometric voter’s register andbiometric voting, hence theneed for campaigners of theverification mechanism to stopmisconstruing the process.

The EC Boss dropped the hintat the International ConferenceCentre during the opening cere-mony of the first InternationalConference on Peace and GoodGovernance organized by theWest Africa ParliamentaryPress Corps.In a speech read on his behalf,Vice President John DramaniMahama challenged theGhanaian media to showcourage and determination inexposing warmongers and in-stitutions issuing threats thatare likely to endanger the peace

and stability of the nation.He also expected the media tohighlight the wanton abuse ofthe fundamental human rightsand freedoms of some Ghana-ians which have remained veri-table threats to the nation’sinternal peace and security.Mr. John Mahama further chal-lenged the leadership of all po-litical parties in Ghana toconduct themselves in a man-ner that will preserve the na-tion’s peace before, during andafter the 2012 elections.Source: Citifmonline

Electoral Commissioner Kwadwo Afari Gyan

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Malemaverdict: Guilty,guiltyNICKOLAUS BAUER |JOHANNESBURG, SOUTHAFRICA

Derek Hanekom, the deputyscience and technology minis-ter and A�C national discipli-nary committee chairperson,explained in minute detail tothe media on Thursday howand why the committee hadsanctioned youth league leaderJulius Malema and his cohorts.The committee's findings wereas follows:

The group chargeThe ANC Youth League lead-ership -- president JuliusMalema, deputy presidentRonald Lamola, treasurer gen-eral Pule Mabe, secretary gen-eral Sindiso Magaqa anddeputy secretary generalKenetswe Mosenogi -- wastaken to task for disrupting ahigh-level ANC meeting.The charge was of contraven-ing rule 25,5 (q) and (o) of theANC constitution by deliber-ately disrupting a meeting ofthe party's national office-hold-ers on August 9 and, in doingso, undermining the authorityof ANC secretary generalGwede Mantashe.The group was found guilty be-cause it was "untenable" toenter a high-level meeting,which included the presidentand deputy president of SouthAfrica and the ANC, uninvited.The committee found that thedisruption undermined the ef-fectiveness of the party anddisobeyed a directive by Man-tashe. It noted that the groupmay have been frustrated, butthat "ill-discipline was not acure for frustration".All of those charged had theirANC membership suspendedfor two years, a sanction sus-pended for three years pro-vided none of themundermined the party's consti-tution or code of ethics in that

period.Individual chargesJulius MalemaThree charges were levelledagainst Malema in his individ-ual capacity: Contravening rule25.5 (i) of the ANC constitu-tion by sowing divisions in theparty by comparing the leader-ship style of former presidentThabo Mbeki to that of Presi-dent Jacob Zuma.Flouting rule 25.5 (c) of theANC constitution by bringingthe organisation into disreputethrough his statement that theBotswana government was a"threat to Africa" and the youthleague would set up a"Botswana command team" tobring about regime change inthat country.Infringing section 25.5 (d) ofthe ANC constitution by propa-gating racism or political intol-erance, because he told anelection rally in Galeshewe inMay this year that whitesshould be treated as criminalsfor stealing land from blackpeople.The youth leader was foundguilty of sowing division in theruling party, because his lead-ership comparison portrayed"the current government and itsleadership under President[Jacob] Zuma in a negativelight and therefore had the po-tential to sow division and dis-unity".He was found guilty of bring-ing the ANC into disrepute onthe basis that the statementswere "reckless and baseless"and "not part or within the pa-rameters of ANC policy".He was, however, cleared ofpromulgating racism, becausethis charge was not proved on abalance of probabilities.Malema's ANC membershipwas suspended for two yearsbecause he had contravened thesuspended sentence he re-ceived at his first disciplinaryhearing in 2010. He received afurther five-year suspension forcharges relating to this discipli-nary hearing. Both sentenceswill run concurrently until2016.Sindiso Magaqa, secretary gen-eralMagaqa was charged with in-fringing rule 25,5 (o) of the

ANC constitution because heprejudiced the integrity of theorganisation and created divi-sions in it by making deroga-tory remarks about nationalexecutive committee memberand Public Works MinisterMalusi Gigaba on August 2.Magaqa's remarks were con-tained in a statement in whichhe accused Gigaba of "pleasingimperialists" by saying the na-tionalisation debate was hurt-ing foreign investment in SouthAfrica.Magaqa was found guilty be-cause his statement under-mined the effectiveness of theANC as a ruling party and Gi-gaba's position as minister.His ANC membership was sus-pended for 18 months, a sanc-tion suspended for three years.Floyd Shivambu, spokespersonShivambu was charged with:Infringing rule 25.5 (o) of theANC constitution by prejudic-ing the party's integrity, imped-ing party activities and creatingdivisions in party ranks andamong members. This breachrelated to his swearing atJacques Dommisse, a Media24investigative reporter, in Julyand the issuing of a press state-ment accusing the Botswanagovernment of "embracing im-perialism" and calling forregime change in that country.Breaching section 25,5 (i) ofthe ruling party's constitutionthrough provoking a break-down of unity in the ANC byissuing a press statement onAugust 2 relating to Botswana,which discounted a correspon-ding statement issued by ANCspokesperson JacksonMthembu, thus driving awedge between the spokesper-son and party officials.Shivambu was found guilty ascharged for the foul languagehe directed at the journalist andhis issuing of press statementsrelating to the league's stanceon Botswana.He was, however, cleared onthe charge of provoking divi-sion because this overlappedwith the other charge.

Shivambu's ANC membershipwas suspended for three years.


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African NewsNigeria: One-Month Old Baby Received a Salary

Hilversum —A one-month old baby,said to hold a diploma, was on theNigerian government payroll, officialshave discovered, exposing the levels towhich corruption runs in Africa's mostpopulous country.The name of the infant was recentlyfound on the payment voucher of alocal government council in northernNigeria during an exercise to fish outghost employees from a bloated work-force, Garba Gajam, justice commis-sioner for Zamfara State told AFP lateWednesday."In the on-going verification exerciseof the payrolls ... in the state we dis-covered that a month-old baby wasamong the employees of one localgovernment who is paid a salary,"

Gajam said."What is even more astonishing is thatit was indicated in the payroll that theinfant holds an ordinary nationaldiploma," said Gajam, revealing thatthe discovery is a "widespread trend inthe local government service wheresenior officials stuff payrolls with thenames of their wives and children".In August the name of a five-month-old baby was found on the payroll ofanother local municipality, promptingan investigation."And we have been receiving amazingrevelations which point to the rot andabysmal level of corruption at the localgovernment level," Gajam said.Perpetrators will have to refund the si-phoned funds and face prosecution for

misappropriating public funds.Zamfara is one of the 12 predomi-nantly Muslim states in northern Nige-ria that adopted the sharia law whichimposes amputation of a wrist fortheft.So far no-one has been tried for cor-ruption in a sharia court in the statesince the re-introduction of the penalcode in 1999.In 2001, two cattle rustlers had theirright wrists amputated in separate sen-tences, drawing local and internationaloutrage. - ANP/AFP

Source: Radio Netherlands World-wide/allAfrica.com

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Sudan: Rebel Groups Agree to Work Together for Regime Change in CountryKhartoum — Four rebel groups agreedFriday to overthrow the government ofthe National Congress Party (NCP)and to establish a democratic statebased on the voluntary unity and neu-trality of religion on political matters.Justice and Equality Movement (JEM),the two main factions of the SudanLiberation Movement led by AbdelWahid Al-Nur (SLM-AW) and MinniMinnawi (SLM-MM) and the SudanPeople's Liberation Movement - North(SPLM-N) announced the establish-ment of a new alliance called the Rev-olutionary Forces Front (RFF).The statement said that RFF is re-solved to bring down the regime of theNational Congress Party (NCP)through popular and military means.They also announced their determina-tion to fight the regime in all theSudan's regions including the capitalKhartoum.The 11 November text is signed byAbul Gassim Al-Haj for the SLM-AW,Ahmed Tugud for the JEM, Al-RayahMahmoud representing the SLM-MMand Yasir Arman for the SPLM-N in-stead of Ramadan Hassan Nimir whoinked a 7 August deal.In August, JEM deputy chairmanAhmed Adam Bakheit who repre-sented his group at the talks did notsign the deal but said the group re-

mained committed to the process. Atthe time, JEM voiced some reservesover the wording of the document onthe issue of separation between reli-gion and politics.However, November's version of thedeal seems similar to what the SLMgroups and SPLM-N announced on 8September.Sources close to the talks said the par-ties felt the need to finalize the politi-cal agreement before to engaging injoint military operations. The differ-ence over the language of the textshould not hinder the activation of thedeal particularly the future Sudaneseconstitution would be decided in futuretalks, the sources said.The joint statement released after thesigning of the deal says the four repre-sentatives of the rebel groups are themembers of a political committee. Itwas also announced that a militarycommittee is formed to lead the al-liance forces but no name was dis-closed.The rebels further said the leaders oftheir groups will meet soon to endorseformally the institutions of the new al-liance and to complete the appoint-ments of the political and militarypositions.The Sudanese army recently seizedKurmuk town, last SPLM-N strong-

hold in southern Blue Nile state wherehostilities started last September. Thearmy also repelled yesterday an attackcarried out by the rebel group in SouthKordofan. It was reported that the reg-ular forces inflicted huge loses on theassailants led by SPLM-N deputychairman Abdel Aziz el-Hilu.The situation in Darfur has remainedcalm for several months. The only de-velopment was the return of JEM

leader Khalil Ibrahim from Libyawhere he was for more than a year.The government says the rebel leaderreceived military and financial supportfrom Gaddafi before the fall of hisregime.The alliance members called on theSudanese opposition forces to "rejectthe partial settlements and to adopt acomprehensive perspective to changethe center of power in Khartoum".

They also said they will contact "theSudanese forces of change that work tooverthrow the regime including politi-cal forces and civil society organiza-tions to reach a common platform anda national consensus" for the post-Bashir's regime.The main opposition forces remainedinsensible to the calls of the rebelgroups for military action against thegovernment. However, the ruling partyaccused the Popular Congress Party ofHassan al-Turabi of supporting therebel groups.International community called on thegovernment and rebel groups to nego-tiate a peaceful solution to the con-flicts. The South Kordofan and BlueNile conflicts and the eight year war inDarfur might cause a new war betweenthe north and South Sudan which hasbeen independent since July.Khartoum accuses Juba of supportingthe rebel groups in a proxy war overthe control of Abyei area and other dis-puted border regions. On the otherhand Juba accuses Khartoum of back-ing the rebel groups in the SouthSudan to undermine the political sta-bility in the newly independent repub-lic and to re-annex it to the northagain.Source: Sudan Tribune/allAfrica.com

East Africa:Ethiopia InvitesEgypt and Sudan toDiscuss Nile DamTesfa-Alem Tekle

Addis Ababa — Ethiopia has officiallyinvited Egypt and Sudan for talks overa controversial dam project the horn ofAfrica country intends to build on theBlue Nile river.The invitation on Tuesday comes fewweeks after Sudan has agreed to joinEthiopia and Egypt for the establish-ment of a tripartite technical commit-tee that will assess to concerns raisedfrom downstream countries that con-struction of the massive dam projectwill reduce water flow.The ministers responsible for watermanagement in Egypt and Sudan havebeen invited to Addis Ababa thismonth for further consultation on waysof jointly fostering future cooperationbased on common interest.According to the Egypt State Informa-tion Service the joint meeting "aims todiscuss ways of overcoming the crisisbetween the Nile Basin countries andto restore dialogue and negotiations onpoints of contention in the Frameworkthe agreement of countries around theNile".The tripartite technical committeecomprises of experts drawn from thethree countries as well as internationalexperts.

The Addis Ababa meeting is expectedto arrange and decide how and whenthe joint technical committee begins itsresearch over the impacts of EthiopiaGrand Millennium Dam.Ethiopia says it has the right to executedevelopment projects on the Blue Nileand further argues that construction ofthe dam will benefit Egypt and Sudan,who under a colonial treaty have con-trol over most of the Nile's water re-sources and are able to veto theexecution of dam and irrigation proj-ects in upstream countries.Ethiopian experts say construction ofthe dam will benefit Sudan and Egyptas it will regulate the flow of water,thus reducing the situation that threat-ens their dams and controls possibleflood risks.The 4.8 billion dollar project was offi-cially launched on April, 2011 andupon completion Ethiopia has plans toexport electricity to Sudan, Egypt,Kenya, South Sudan and other coun-tries in the region. The country has re-cently begun exporting power toneighboring Djibouti.South Sudan seeks membership ofNile Basin InitiativeIn September the newly independentRepublic of South Sudan announced itwas seeking full membership of theNile Basin Initiative (NBI) two monthsafter it became independent on 9 July.The acting minister of Information,Madut Biar Yel, said South Sudan hadalready been enjoying an observer sta-tus in the organization as a semi-au-tonomous region before independence,under the umbrella of the then nationalgovernment in Khartoum.

NBI is an inter-governmental organi-zation dedicated to equitable and sus-tainable management and developmentof the shared water resources of theNile Basin. Its member states includeBurundi, Democratic Republic ofCongo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya,Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Ugandawith Eritrea also as an observer.It was established on February 22,1999 in Dar es Salaam, by ministersresponsible for water affairs of each ofthe nine member states. Its objectivesinclude developing the Nile Basin'swater resources in a sustainable andequitable way to ensure prosperity, se-curity, and peace for all its peoples.Source: Sudan Tribune/allAfrica.com

Pope to makesecond trip toAfricaBy Francis X. Rocca| Religion NewsService

VATICAN CITY— Pope BenedictXVI will make his second papal trip toAfrica on Friday (Nov. 18), visiting theWest African country of Benin forthree days, where he is likely to ad-dress economic justice, peace-buildingand interfaith dialogue.During Mass at a stadium in the city ofCotonou on Sunday, Benedict willpresent Catholic bishops from acrossAfrica with an authoritative papal doc-ument about the church’s efforts to

promote “reconciliation, justice andpeace.”The document is based on a three-week synod of African bishops held atthe Vatican in October 2009. Thatmeeting ended with an unusuallystrong official statement that blamedviolent conflict in Africa on “greed forpower and wealth at the expense of thepeople and nation,” and called on po-litical leaders to “clean the continent ofcorruption.”Benedict will also speak to Benin’s po-litical, religious, business and culturalleaders at the presidential palace inCotonou on Saturday. The Rev. Fed-erico Lombardi, the chief Vaticanspokesman, said the speech will touchon issues of concern to all of Africa.While Catholics make up little morethan a quarter of Benin’s population,the country has long been a regional

hub of missionary work,Lombardi said. A seminaryin the city of Ouidah,which Benedict will visiton Saturday, has been asource of priests fornearby countries, includingGhana, Nigeria and Niger.Ouidah is also an interna-tional center for the in-digenous religion ofVodoun, or Voodoo, whichis practiced by more than17 percent of Beninese.Catholicism’s relationshipwith traditional African re-ligions is of particular con-cern to Benedict, who haswarned against the dangerof melding faiths in non-

Catholic cultures.Late last month at the Vatican, Bene-dict lamented to bishops visiting fromAngola and Sao Tome and Principethat African converts to Catholicismoften persist in “practices that are in-compatible with adherence to Christ,”including the “marginalization andeven murder of children and elderlypeople, condemned by the false diktatsof witchcraft.”

Pope Benedict XVI

In a flat countrya hillock thinks

itself amountain. -- ATurkish saying

President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan


Photo Report

First Presbyterian Church at Irvington organized a special welcome home for thestudents

These young schoolers from the new settlement at Bui share a local game with aDrew student

Drew Students listen to explanation from an official 12 Drew students with a host

Mrs. Alice Boakye (2nd left) and other parishioners All seemed to take in the fun

Dr. William Rockson ( middle) and dad Mr. Rockson First Church is divided into Communities. Here, a Community gracefully dances to theoffertory

A number of students from Drew University traveled to Ghana with Rev. Dr. E. Obiri Addo, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church at Irvington (FPC) and associate professor at Drew. Thechurch held a welcome-home reception for the students as seen in the photos below. We also bring you photos of the 19th annual harvest held by FPC on October 30.


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Op-ed

By U.K. Uwadinobi

In the aviation world, air-craft manufacturing giantBoeing recently deliveredits first 787 commercial jet-liner dubbed Dreamliner, toits Japanese customer AllNippon Airways. At a pricetag of $200 million, theDreamliner, replete with allthe trappings of luxury inmodern day air travel, isBoeing’s solution to recap-turing its lead in the globalaerospace market from itsrival Airbus.In the political world, theRepublican nominationrace has taken a disquietingturn, with the candidatesshooting themselves in thefoot trying to knock each other downin order to win the nomination. Thefriendly fire episode early on tookdown former Minnesota Governor TimPawlenty who dropped out of the race.Congresswoman Michele Bachmann,whose Iowa straw poll victory put herat the top tier, has dropped signifi-cantly in the polls and is now at thebottom of the pack. Texas GovernorRick Perry, who stepped into the ringbelatedly but took over Mitt Romneyas front-runner, has taken a nosedivetoo. Gov. Perry’s dramatic fall was os-tensibly aided by his lackluster per-formance way below expectation inrecent debates. It is believed that Mr.Perry’s tumble from the top has largelyfueled the prolonged political ballroomdance between the New Jersey“whether you like it or not, you’restuck with me” Governor ChrisChristie and deep-pocketed Republi-can donors courting the NJ rising polit-ical star in the GOP to run.Meanwhile Herman Cain, the formerGodfather’s Pizza CEO and presiden-tial hopeful, seems to be the only can-didate unscathed. He has seized theopportunity presented by the friendlyfire attacks among the well-knowncandidates to hone his campaign mes-sage, gain some visibility and tractionand surged to the leading position asrecent polls indicate.As America begins to take a closerlook at Herman Cain, many are nowwondering if he is the GOP hammerand cane to beat Obama in 2012. Inother words, is he the embodiment ofPilot and Dreamliner that the GOPhopes could deliver the votes and carryit down the presidential runway ofPennsylvania Avenue to the WhiteHouse in January 2013?According to conventional wisdom,party primaries are usually base-dri-ven. The candidate who most reflectsthe core principles and beliefs of theparty usually is the one favored to bethe nominee. Unless, of course, elitemembers of the party establishmentwith substantial influence think other-wise and can galvanize support of

deep-pocketed donors to back the can-didate they want to be the nominee. Aglaring example of this unsettling di-chotomy is evident at the moment inthe GOP nomination race. On onehand is Herman Cain, who has cata-pulted himself to the leading positionby preaching to the choir and strikingthe right notes that appeal to the baseand corralling their support. On theother hand is Mitt Romney, not well-embraced by the base ostensibly be-cause of his history of flip-flops onpolicy issues that are dear to Tea Partyconservatives, but whom the elite partyestablishment feels is the best choicethey have to challenge PresidentObama.In an election critics on both sides ofthe political aisle are saying looks likethe GOP’s to lose, given how badlyvoters are feeling about the troublingeconomy, the intriguing question nolonger being whispered is, Why theburgeoning schism in the Republicannomination race, which threatens tospill into the general election andblight the party’s chances of winningback the White House?Using the megaphone of the right wingmedia, Republicans for several monthshave been blaring, with resounding re-frain, that the current state of the econ-omy is their ticket to reclaimingmajority status in the United StatesSenate, and ultimately, the WhiteHouse. Most conservative punditshave expressed that one would bedelusional to believe or even think,that with a persistent unemploymentrate of 9.1 percent; Obama stands anychance of getting reelected. Pushingthe GOP’s notion that Obama is not re-electable, Conservative Talk RadioKing Rush Limbaugh, among others,has pontificated numerous times on hisradio show almost with orgasmic de-light that Obama is “landslideable!”But in recent weeks, Mr. Limbaughseems to be toning down his partisanrhetoric and sounds not so sureabout the prospects of a GOPWhiteHouse win. In part because of becom-ing perplexed by what the elite party

bureaucrats are doing to see that MittRomney, a non-hard core conservativeconjoineat the hip with Obama (a la“Obamney Care as Tim Pawlentycoined it), becomes the nominee theDemocrats would love to have as O’sopponent.With regard to Rick Perry, the high ex-pectations in himseem to be dissipating and have be-come psychological setbacks not help-ing the right wing media megaphonesas effective drum beat to promote hiscandidacy. As has been noted in his de-bate performances so far, he is charm-ing and likeable but doesn’t seem tohave the intellectual sophistication anddebating skills to deliver killer punch

lines that can floor his opponents andexcite the audience. The revelation ofnot having a specifically laid out planfor how he intends to nurse the econ-omy back to recovery and get Ameri-cans back to work again, has beendisappointing. Rush Limbaugh him-self has even noted that Rick Perrytalking about Texas all the time has be-

come gratuitous. The Talk Radio Kingis right. Perry’s incessant talk aboutTexas and being its Governor, makes itsound like it will be the most conse-quential thing ever in his political life,and that he hopes his holding that of-fice will enable him to get electedPresident and if so will “work every-day to make Washington, D.C., as in-consequential in your life as I can.”Nonetheless, the Perry campaign isholding out hope that their candidatewill recover from his stumbles. Thecampaign reportedly plans to unleash aflurry of campaign ads designed tohelp Mr. Perry regain his lost momen-tum.Meanwhile, new front-runner Hermain

Cain is starting to come under intensescrutiny as economic and financial ex-perts pore over the details of his (9-9-9flat tax proposal), which he touts as apractical solution to fixing the nation’sbroken economy. Some of the re-views have elicited mixed reactionsfrom economic and financial analysts,with some suggesting that the plan is

more complicated thanhe claims “it’s very sim-ple,” while others say itwill disproportionatelyfavor those at the highincome bracket and cor-porations at the expenseof hampering the federalgovernment’s ability tosufficiently generate rev-enue. Critics also saythat the 9 per cent salestax component of theplan would add moreburden onto the poor.Some observers havecomplained that watch-ing Mr. Cain on televi-sion trying to explainhow the plan would workin terms of tax-de-ductible expenses for

business entities and individuals wasno less confusing and perplexing.Assuming Mr. Cain successfullymakes it past the primaries and be-comes the nominee, he would facesome major hurdles in the generalelection. In the plurality of the elec-torate, no candidate, Democrat or Re-publican, ever wins the generalelection without the Hispanic andAfrican American votes. Those are keyvoting blocs a candidate should not ig-nore. Herman Cain’s stance on immi-gration would determine which wayLatino vote will swing. Already hisrecent comment that, for years “theBlack Community has been brain-washed into voting for the DemocraticParty,” has frayed nerves amongAfrican Americans and may steervotes away from him to Obama. Likea Nigerian native proverb says: “nomatter how you feel about yourmother’s meal, you do not come out inpublic and say how horrible it tastes!”Nonetheless, whatever one may thinkof the author of “This is Herman Cain:My Journey to the White House” andhis “9-9-9” economic emergency hot-line, his run for the White House – winor lose – has added another glowingfeather on the nation’s hat. Whowould have thought that just a littleunder four years, after Barack Obamabecame the first Black President of theUnited States, another Black candidatewould follow on his heels with adream to occupy the White House? Asthe late former President Ronald Rea-gan famously referred to America as“the world’s beacon of hope…a shin-ning city on the hill,” Herman Cain’srace to the White House shows onceagain, howAmerica has come a longway from the racial lines, which in thepast, were symbols of institutionalizedimpediments to how high America’sminority could dream.It is indeed a fitting image to salutethe dedication of the Martin LutherKing Jr. Memorial on the NationalMall in Washington, D.C.!

Is Herman Cain the Dreamliner for the GOP to the White House?

I’m sick and tired of the RNC (Republican Neutralized Committee) for not firing back in defense of Herman Cain!

Libya: ThreeDead As MilitiasClashThree fighters in a militia from Za-wiyah, in western Libya, werekilled in clashes with rival gunmenfrom another town, a local officialsaid on Saturday.Nureddin Nussi said the fightingon Friday pitted Zawiyah fightersagainst a militia from Wershefana,which lies between that town andTripoli.On Saturday, sporadic gunfire washeard in Al-Maya region, 27 kilo-metres (16 miles) west of the capi-tal, AFP correspondents said.Fighters from Zawiyah, 15 kilome-tres from Wershefana, had taken uppositions on the coastal road,armed with Kalashknikov assaultrifles, rocket-propelled grenadesand anti-aircraft guns.Nussi told AFP armed tribesmenfromWershefana had on Thursdayset up checkpoints on the road toZawiyah, blocking off access toresidents and making about 15 ar-

rests.Three Zawiyah fighters were killedwhen they intervened, he said.Nussi said the Wershefana fighterswere supporters of the oustedregime of Libya's slain leaderMoamer Kadhafi and added thatlocal leaders from Zawiyah hadopened negotiations to avoid fur-ther bloodshed.The official said armed men fromBani Walid, southeast of Tripoliand one of the last holdouts of pro-Kadhafi fighters before their defeatby rebels last month, were tryingto join up with the Wershefanagunmen."We arrested two of them," he said.But a member of the Wershefanagroup said the clashes were forcontrol of a former barracks ofBattalion 22, which was led byKadhafi's son Khamis. "We've heldit since the liberation. Now the Za-wiyah rebels want to take it."Tensions between former rebelgroups which toppled the Kadhafiregime have raised fears of a newcivil war, with Libya's transitionalleaders setting the disarmament ofmilitias and formation of a nationalarmy as key priorities. - ANP/AFP

Amandla Vol. 10 Issue 10 Oct. 15 - Nov. 16

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Why Teachers Must Become Community Organizers and Justice FightersMark Naison

There is a long history of Teacher Ac-tivism in the United States. In NewYork City, the tradition goes back tothe late 1930s when teachers associ-ated with the Communist Party and theNew York City Teachers Union foughtto have Negro History Month honoredin the NYC Public schools, to force thereplacement or reassignment of racistteachers and to challenge the place-ment of Black students in the lowesttracks and most decayed schools in ahighly tracked school system. Thislegacy of anti-racist activism, alwaysdone in collaboration with civil rightsorganizations and community groups,lasted into the late 50’s when many ofthe most effective teacher activistswere pushed out of the New Yorkschool system during the Cold War.This forgotten tradition is described indepth in Clarence Taylor’s new book"Reds and the Black Board: Commu-nism, Civil Rights and the New YorkCity Teachers Union "After the old Teachers Union fadedfrom the scene, another group ofteacher activists, drawing upon a broadcoalition of liberals, Socialists andmoderate trade unionists,, won recog-

nition for the United Federation ofTeachers as official bargaining agentfor New York City School teachers,winning them decent salaries , job se-curity, and some level of freedom ofexpression inside and outside theirschools. The UFT from its outsetworked to improve conditions inschools for all students and supportedthe non-violent civil rights struggle inthe South and the North. Unfortunatelyin 1968, the UFT found itself engagedin a conflict with some communityleaders in Harlem and Ocean HillBrownsville during a series of brutalstrikes challenging community controlof school policies in those neighbor-hoods. These strikes not only created afissure between UFT and civil rightsorganizations, it created fissures withinthe UFT between supporters and oppo-nents of the strike that left a legacy ofbitterness that lasted for years to come.In the wake of that strike the UFTproved powerless to resist a devastat-ing attack on the New York City Publicschools orchestrated by bankers whodominated the Emergency FinancialBoard which took the city into finan-cial receivership following the FiscalCrisis of 1975. The Board of Educa-tion was forced by this unelected body

to make budget cuts which closeddown the world class music programsin the city’s junior high schools (mostjunior high schools had upwards of200 musical instruments which werelent out free of charge to anyone whohad made their bands or orchestras)and ended the after school programsand night centers which were a fixtureof every public school in the city in the1940’s 1950’s and 1960’s. These pro-grams were never fully replaced, leav-ing children in the city’s schools, fromthe late 1970s on, with far less in theway of arts and sports and after schoolmentoring than their parents’ genera-tion had enjoyed in those very sameschoolsNearly 40 years have passed since theFiscal Crisis budget cuts and our pub-lic schools now face a challenge moreinsidious and perhaps, more formida-ble. All across the nation, a poisonouscoalition of multi billionaire businessleaders, test and technology compa-nies, charitable foundations andelected officials are pushing a nation-wide education agenda that involvesthe introduction of high stakes testingat all grade levels, evaluation of teach-ers and schools based on student testscores, and the introduction of “com-

petition” into public education by thecreation of independently managedcharter schools given special advan-tages in funding and recruitment.This Education Reform agenda, em-braced by both the Bush and ObamaAdministrations and embodied in NoChild Left Behind and Race to theTop, represents a formidable assault onteachers hard won collective bargain-ing rights as well as their classroomautonomy and freedom of expression,but it also represents a devastating at-tack on children in America’s workingclass and poor communities at a timewhen our nation is experiencing a re-distribution of wealth upward and asharp increase in poverty levels. Notonly does corporate education reformreduce schooling in the nation’s poorcommunities to test prep and obedi-ence training , squeezing out criticalthinking and the arts, it divides thosecommunities against themselves bytransforming charter schools into privi-leged enclaves which promise passageout of the neighborhood to a few luckychildren and view the remaining publicschools, and their students, with aver-sion and contempt.Given the complex challenge corporateeducation reform poses, today’s

teacher activists cannot just have astrategy which is solely school orteacher centered. They must becomecommunity organizers who fightschool closings, the proliferation oftests, and the weakening of teacherbargaining rights as attacks on the abil-ity of working class people and peopleof color to fight for better opportuni-ties for themselves and their children.In this setting, Teacher Activists mustput forth a vision of Radical Democ-racy which envisions an educationwhich empowers students as criticalthinkers and agents of historicalchange, not just as obedient test takersand which envisions schools playing acentral role in neighborhoods unitedand mobilized to get a fair share of thenation’s resources. Occupy Wall Streethas provided a language and an exam-ple to put that model of RadicalDemocracy into practice. But it cannotwork unless teachers link their ownfate to that of the students they workwith and the people in the communi-ties where their schools are located.Unless Teacher activists become com-munity organizers and justice fightersin the broadest sense, they will lose thebattle to defend their classrooms fromthe incursions of corporate interests..

South Africanfarmer killed bypet hippopotamu

Marius Els, 41, was attacked byHumphrey on Saturday night.The farmer’s mutilated body was dis-covered submerged in a river runningthrough his 400 acre in rural SouthAfrica.Earlier this year Mr. Els was picturedhappily riding on his pet bull hippo’sback.“Humphrey’s like a son to me, he’sjust like a human,’ he said at the time.“There’s a relationship between me

and Humphrey and that’s what somepeople don’t understand.“They think you can only have a rela-tionship with dogs, cats and domesticanimals.“But I have a relationship with themost dangerous animal in Africa.”Mr. Els kept 20 different species of ex-otic animals including giraffe andrhino on his farm near Klerksdorp inSouth Africa’s north west.But he developed a special fondnessfor Humphrey, whom he bought agedjust five months and for whom evenbuilt a special lake.Humphrey was aged six and weighedmore than a metric ton when he at-tacked Mr. Els.Hippos are considered to one of theworld’s most dangerous animals. They

are, by nature, very aggressive – espe-cially when young calves are present.They commonly attack humans withno apparent provocation, usually usingtheir enormous canine teeth to gougetheir victims.They can weigh up to three tons andcan travel at speeds of up to 30mph.

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He who sleepswith a blindman will wakeup cross-eyed. --A Turkish saying


EnvironmentLesotho: Dam-Building Continues Despite Controversy

Maseru — The Lesotho Highlands De-velopment Authority (LHDA) is build-ing a third major dam, despiteconcerns about the welfare of thou-sands of villagers who lost their homesor land after the first dams were builtin return for what many feel is inade-quate compensation."Lesotho continues to sell natural re-sources that their own people need,"said Mabusetsa Lenka, head of thewater, justice and environmental pro-grammes at Transformation ResourceCentre (TRC) a human rights and so-cial justice NGO based in the capital,Maseru."These people lived off the water andland by the river for a long time untilsuddenly the LHDA took it away fromthem and gave them a small amount ofcash. Now [contrary to promisesmade] they lack running water andelectricity and they aren't even allowedto touch the water in the man-madelakes that are right next to their vil-lages."The agreement to build Polihali Dam,signed in August 2011 by the Lesothoand South African governments, for-mally kicks off the second phase of theLesotho Highlands Water Project.It is an ambitious 30-year, US$16 bil-lion bilateral venture that envisionsbuilding five or six large dams inLesotho to supply neighboring SouthAfrica's rapidly increasing industrialdemand for water and electricity. Thelargest water infrastructure project onthe African continent, when completedit will transfer over 70 cubic meters ofwater per second to South Africa.The first two dams - Katse, completedin 1998, followed by Mohale in 2002 -yielded a profit of $64 million toLesotho's government in the past year,and $340 million between 1998 and2009, but civil society organizationspoint out that the over 27,000 villagersdirectly affected by construction of thedams have experienced more lossesthan benefits."No more dams should even be on thedrawing board until the social and en-vironmental problems created by thefirst dams are resolved," said Lori Pot-tinger, an African specialist at Interna-tional Rivers (IR), an environmentaland human rights NGO based inBerkeley, CaliforniaDestroyed livelihoodsSeveral villages were partially or com-pletely submerged when the Katse andMohale dams were built on the Sen-qunyane River in southern Lesotho'sThabaputsoa mountain range, forcingthe resettlement of 467 households.However, many more households wereaffected by the damage or loss of

arable and grazing lands. Villagerswithin a two to five kilometer radius ofthe dams were given new houses, acommunal water tap, pit latrines, andannual compensation averaging $650per household, which they are sup-posed to receive for the next 50 years.But the villagers IRIN spoke to saidthe soil of the land where they were re-settled, higher up in the mountains, ismuch poorer than where they farmedbefore, the plots they were given aremuch smaller, and the compensationmoney is not enough to live on. Al-though they were given some choiceabout where to resettle, Lenka said theoptions were limited and ill-informed"and in some instances, the choice wasinfluenced by LHDA officials".The LHDAChief Executive Officer,Peter Makuta, insists that the compen-sation has been more than fair, andclaims that the bigger problems are thedependency the payments have createdamong the farmers, and their inabilityto adapt."The rates that we've compensatedthem are some of the best in the world,I promise you. The big problem is thatour policy replaces their livestock andland with hard cash, and these farmersare not used to living off money. We'veintroduced these people to a com-pletely different way of life," he toldIRIN.Phakiso Hlotsi, 34, who lived in Haral-ifate, a village that now lies beneaththe water of the Mohale dam, said hewould prefer good land to an insuffi-cient handout."Life is more difficult now than it usedto be when we were along the river,"he told IRIN. "I used to be able to sup-port my whole family farming maize,wheat and vegetables on a plot of landthree times the size of what we havenow."Hlotsi, his wife and two children wereresettled in 1996 at Ha-Tsiu, a villageon the side of a mountain.Hlotsi's sister has since passed away,so they now care for her three childrenas well. "If I had good land then Iwould be able to feed my family andsell my extra produce for cash...I can'tlast the entire year on 5,000 maloti($650)."A community leader from Likalanengvillage, a few kilometers from thedam, who gave her name only asMpeoane, agreed that the resettlementpackage had not been enough to com-pensate villagers for the loss of theirland."The houses are good quality and thesanitation and communal water sourcehave been positive, but just gettingmoney that isn't enough to live off,

while not having land to produce foodisn't a good situation," she said.The LHDA did not reveal the totalamount it has spent on compensation,but its annual report shows that in2006, the most recent year for whichfigures are available $859,000 waspaid to 2,237 affected households ascash compensation and $950,000 wenton lump sum payments for the loss ofarable land.CorruptionAllegations of corruption and embez-zlement have dogged the compensa-tion process.Villages receive communal compensa-tion annually, based on how manyhouseholds have resettled there as a re-sult of the dams. Locally selected com-mittees are supposed to invest themoney in projects that benefit thewhole community, but many villagerssaid they have never seen any of themoneyThe latest report by the LHWP Panelof Experts examining the communitiesaffected by the Katse Dam, notes thatthere has been an "increasing rate ofembezzlement of communal compen-sation" by local committees."We were supposed to buy medicinalplants, like aloe, that everyone in thevillage could use. But the committeejust pocketed that money," said Hlotsi."Every time we confront the commit-tees there are fights but there's nothingwe can do."Many villagers also say that the indi-vidual annual compensation they re-ceived was "inconsistent and often

delayed", while others say they havenever received compensation from theLHDA for land they lost during the re-settlement."The agreement we signed was for 50years, but sometimes the money does-n't come, so a lot of us don't reallytrust them," said one of the resettledvillagers.The TRC is planning to take severalcases of non-payment of compensationto court. "We hope to have our firstcase in court next month," said LeratoRabatho, a TRC lawyer. "Our expecta-tion is that a positive ruling in this casewould have an effect on all the othercompensation cases that we have wait-ing."Lessons learned?A 2010 paper published in AfricanStudy Monographs that examined thesuccess of resettlement caused by theMohale Dam concluded that whilesupport to resettlers for income-gener-ating and agricultural activities waswell-intentioned and well-funded,"with few exceptions it was ineffec-tual"."The majority of the project-affectedpeople who were resettled or relocatedhave had a portion of their livelihoodsrestored through compensation butfrom their own perspectives largely areworse off they were before the projectbegan," write the authors.Phase II of the Lesotho HighlandsWater Project, which is expected to becompleted by 2018 at an estimatedtotal cost of $1.9 billion, will displace17 villages and affect the grazing land

of 72 more, impacting the livelihoodsof roughly 4,000 households.Construction of the road system, a38km uunderground tunnel, andtelecommunications infrastructureneeded to build the 163.5m wall of thePolihali Dam are already underway,but water experts and rights activistsare questioning whether lessons havebeen learned from Phase I, andwhether building more dams will ben-efit Lesotho's economic development.The completed project will divert 40percent of the water in the SenqunyaneRiver Basin to South Africa's AshRiver. International Rivers warns thatthe long-term effects of such a drasticenvironmental shift are not yet fullyunderstood."The impacts of the dams, socially andenvironmentally, are much more far-reaching than the 60 kilometers down-stream that they [LHDA] look at," saidPottinger.Opposition to the Polihali project hasemerged during community consulta-tions, but the Lesotho Highlands WaterCommission argues that it will benefitthe local economy by creating thou-sands of jobs for local communitiesand generating profits from tourism."The way we are implementing PhaseII will be different from previous ap-proaches," Makuta said, although hedid not specify how.

[ This report does not necessarily re-flect the views of the United Nations ]

Katse Dam in Lesotho

Nigeria: ShellReports Fresh Spillin SouthernNigeriaAnglo-Dutch oil giant Shell on Sundayreported a fresh spill from a key deliv-ery pipeline in southern Nigeria, butsaid it has contained the leak."SPDC (Shell Petroleum DevelopmentCompany) contained a spill inAdibawa delivery line which was re-ported yesterday (Saturday)," Shell'sNigerian joint venture said in a state-ment."We had dispatched our spill contain-ment team to the site as soon as we re-ceived the reports and the personnelsucceeded in containing the leak," itsaid.Shell, which announced a productioncut from the same facility last week,said it was investigating the incident todetermine the cause and impact."The delivery line is part of the Okor-dia-Rumuekpe line, which SPDC shutdown following a leak on November 8and subsequent fire incident," it said,

blaming last week's incident on sabo-tage."A joint investigation visit found that

the spill was caused by hacksaw cuts,"it said, adding that there had been sev-eral hacksaw cuts on the Adibawa de-

livery line this year.But Environmental Rights Action(ERA)/Friends of the Earth Nigeria

(FoEN), which visited the site, ruledout sabotage in a statement Sunday."Anybody who visits this spill site canattest to the fact that this is a case ofequipment failure," the environmentalgroup said."From experience gained in the field,this is one of the most obvious casesthat points to that fact: no signs of anyclearing around the spill site, no signsof any digging," it said."This is the 12th oil spill that has oc-curred between August and November2011 in Ikarama community environ-ment," ERA said, adding that Shellshould visit the area, clean up the spilland compensate the affected residents."Adequate compensation should bepaid for damages to crops, impactedfarmlands and general damages in-curred by the victims of this latestspill," it said.Oil spills occur regularly in Nigeria,Africa's largest oil producer, and areoften caused by oil thieves seeking tosteal crude for sale on the lucrativeblack market. - ANP/AFP

Oil spill

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THE ZACHARY YAMBA FAMILYANNOUNCES THE FINAL FUNERAL

RITESOF THEIR BELOVED SON

ZACHARY F. YAMBA, JNR.(AGED 44)

WHOSE DEATH OCCURRED INBROOKLYN, NEW YORK OCTOBER

10, 2011

PLACE: ESSEX COUNTY COLLEGE,PHYSICAL EDUCATION BUILDING @NEWARK, NJ

DATE: DECEMBER 10, 2011

TIME: 7:00 P.M. TO 12:00 A.M. PROMPT

For further information, please contact:

Dr. Zachary Yamba 973-763-0495 Soukania Yamba-Barnes 973-534-5776Lae Morris-Hutcheson 973-803-1411 Mailissa Yamba-Butler 973-610-0126Matilda Abavana 973-429-1489 Margaret Abiro 973-336-8903Patricia Azure-Parker-856 616-0099 Rev. Dr. E. Obiri Addo 973-981-4451Paul Tandoh 862-234-1782 John & Celestina Apwah 973-691-5575Alhaji IbrahimAdams 201-341-3554 Kwabena Opong 973-419 0073Mr. & Mrs. Abu Ibrahim 732-297-9121 Willie Asobayire 732-669-7329Nana Akyaa II 973-652-1893 Jacklyn Kendona 973-997-2402Kofi Ayim 973-731-1339 Ustarz Ahmed 973-374-9676Mr. & Mrs. Norbert Aminzia 973-678-6239 Mr. & Mrs. Rashid Agwedicham 973-388-9765

Artcultainment

Antoine-GuillaumeAmo (a.k.a.Anthony WilliamAmo, Anton WilhelmAmo)by Kofi Ayim

Antoine-Guillame Amo was born in 1703 ata small fishing village near Axim in what isnow the Western Region of Ghana. He ar-rived in Amsterdam, the Netherlands not asa slave, but with the consent of his parentsthrough the Netherlands African Companyand the preacher Johannes van der Star. InAmsterdam at age 4, he was presented as agift to the reigning Duke of Brumswick-Wolfenbuttel, who in turn entrusted littleAmo to his son, Augustus William. He wasbaptized on July 29, 1708 at the SaltzthalCastle Chapel through the sponsorship oftwo noble Dukes, Anton Ulrich and his sonAugustus William and assumed the namesAntoine-Guillaume .Antoine-Guillaume Amo was put throughschool by his adopted father and family inWolfenbuttel and was admitted to the Pruss-ian University as a student of Philosophyand Jurisprudence. He matriculated on June9, 1727 under the Chancellorship of Profes-sor of Medicine, Michael Albertini. Amo isalso believed to have attended the Univer-sity of Helmstedt (the Brumswick StateUniversity). He became a motivationalspeaker and gave public lectures on compli-cated and controversial issues in the Greek,Latin, French, Dutch, Hebrew, and Germanlanguages.He defended his thesis De Jure Maurorumin Europa in 1729 at a public disputationwith the Chancellor of the University, Pro-fessor Johanna Peter von Ludwig at theUniversity of Halle. The latter became veryinfluential and role model in the former’slife. After his thesis, Amo was promoted tothe academic degree of a Candidate of theLaws.Professor Antoine-Guillaume Amo obtaineda Master’s degree in Philosophy and theLiberal Arts in 1730 at the University ofWittenberg while Immanuel Kant was asmall boy. He obtained a Doctorate in Phi-losophy few years later. Professor Amotaught and influenced Kant who was to be-come one of the greatest philosophers of alltime. Amo was chosen to lead a procession(like a proud Senior Marshal in contempo-rary college graduation) when EmperorFrederick of Prussia visited Halle in 1733.He published two solo dissertations in 1734,one between the borderline of medicine andpsychology, (logic, metaphysics, physiol-ogy, geomancy, astronomy, theory of codes,and palmistry) which earned him the envi-ous and prestigious spot a university lec-turer. He also argued that sensation was nota mental faculty. Amo was a rationalistphilosopher after Leibnitz, whom as a boyhe had met at the Duke of Brunswick’s.His magnum opus believed to have coveredthe entire field of Logic (theory of knowl-edge, metaphysics, etc.) was developed be-tween 1734 and 1737 and published thefollowing year. In the 1739 - 40 academicyear, Amo lectured at the Faculty of Philos-ophy at the University of Jena. (He had ear-lier done same at the Universities ofWittenberg and Halle). His success in Ger-many propelled him to be nominated andappointed Councilor at Court of the Pruss-ian King on or about 1740.In 1753 Amo returned to his native home ofAxim, in then Gold Coast. He retreated intoseclusion at Shama, about 52 miles east ofAxim and developed interest in the art ofgoldsmith. He learned on arrival that hisbrother had been sold into slavery and sentto what is now Surinam. Amo died onMarch 3, 1756, allegedly of boredom.

Sources: The Mind of Africa by W.E. Abra-hamGallery of Gold Coast Celebrities by Dr..I.S. Ephson

History CornerAmbolley tolecture inSpainRapper, singer and saxist Gyedu BlayAmbolley, leaves Accra next Mon-day, November 14 for Madrid, Spainto give a lecture at this year’s RedBull Music Academy (RBMA).The RBMA is an annual internationalmusic event where up-and-comingproducers, singers, arrangers, DJsand musicians get the opportunity tolearn from top industry professionals.Ambolley will deliver his lecture on

the connections between Africanmusic and its links with Europeanand American popular music onWednesday, November 16.Sponsored by energy boosting bever-age manufacturer Red Bull, RBMAwas started in 1998 and has been heldeach year in a different location.Cities that have hosted RBMA overthe years include Berlin, Dublin,London, Cape Town, Rome andToronto.Some past lecturers include Ameri-can saxist Gary Bartz, South Africantrumpeter Hugh Masekela and Britishdisc jockey/ music producer Jazzie B.“I'm happy to share my experienceand knowledge with people fromother cultures. That's what makesmusic such a beautiful internationalcommodity,” the Simigwa man said.

AsamoahGyanpromotesGhana'sTourism atWTM 2011Ghana's leading and Al Hin strikerAsamoah Gyan on Wednesday madea surprise appearance at this year'sWorld Travel Market 2011, in Lon-don.Asamoah Gyan who made a surpriseloan move from Sunderland to AlHin in the United Arab Emirates wasspotted at the Ghana stand of the ex-hibition in London.His presence at the Ghana stand at-tracted huge attention from travel ex-perts, exhibitors, and the generalpublic who were eager to receive au-tographs from the Ghanaian striker.The Ghanaian stand was packed aseveryone was excited and dancing in-cluding Asamoah himself to sometraditional Ghanaian beats trying tohelp promote Ghana's tourism.With buzz generated after the displayat the Ghana stand, fellow Africanexhibitors Tanzania invited the strikerto their stand where he was awardedwith a carving made by a Tanzanianartist and a bottle of red wine.It will be recalled the Ghanaianstriker shot to fame during the 2010world cup tournament in SouthAfrica after scoring three goals andmissing a penalty in the last minuteof extra time in Ghana's quarter finalcapitulation to Uruguay.--ghp

Ghana FashionAwards Slated ForDecember 9, 2011Fashion Xpo an organization based inthe capital of Ghana, will on Decem-ber 9th 2011 inside Mplaza Hotel –

North Ridge host the first ever GhanaFashion awards to celebrate andboost the morale of fashion industrystake holders.For some time now the art of under-standing what to wear, what to buyand how to spend has become theorder of the day when you attend dis-tinguished events in town but notmany know the names of our local orin-house designers who put fabricstogether to give us the best that wesee at such venues.Also the fashion industry has forsome time now again been left out ofthe discussion box when it comes totalking about the whole entertain-ment thing that is why Fashion Xpohas taken it upon themselves to firstcreate the necessary respect thatcomes with fashion and also awardthe loyal designers, models, photog-raphers and all those who can befound in the fashion box.Currently the Ghana fashion awardhas open nominations till 14th No

vember 2011.There are 13 categories.The event coordinator, Mr. PhilipHoppey revealed that the companyFashion Xpo is all ready to thrill allfashion lovers in the country to aspectacular show.This event will become an annualevent in Ghana and we trust that itwill be accepted by all and will begiven the necessary support nextyear.Finally the head of organization forthe first ever Ghana fashion Awardsis hopeful that Ghanaians will re-spond to the call to boost the fashionindustry and also made known thatall necessary other details will becommunicated soon to the public.For now it’s the first ever industryGhana fashion awards, lets embraceit and make it our own as without adress or a hairstyle or a sneaker orheel one cannot go out his /her house.GHP

Gyedu Blay Ambulley

Asamoah Gyan



SportSouth Africa rallyto share spoilsELEPHANTS HELD: The resultmeant top-ranked African sideIvory Coast surrendered a perfectrecord this year having beatenBenin twice, Rwanda, Burundi,Mali and IsraelAFP, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Katlego Mphela maintained his scor-ing rate of a goal every two games forSouth Africa as they came from behindto draw 1-1 with Ivory Coast on Satur-day in the Nelson Mandela Challenge.Top-ranked African national side IvoryCoast took a fortunate lead after 36minutes in the Indian Ocean city ofPort Elizabeth when defender SibonisoGaxa headed into his net after a mis-communication with goalkeeper Mon-eeb Josephs.Striker Mphela made it 22 goals from44 international appearances by level-ing eight minutes after halftime beforea 22,500 crowd as his free-kick from30m drifted over the wall and into thecorner of the net past motionlessBoubacar Barry.Bafana Bafana and the Elephants hadchances to win a lively, combativefriendly as they displayed good ball re-tention and were always seeking op-portunities to attack in partly cloudyconditions.It was the fifth match since 1994 be-tween nations ranked first and eighthin Africa and four have been drawn,with South Africa winning the othernarrowly.The result meant Ivory Coast surren-dered a perfect record this year havingbeaten Benin twice, Rwanda and Bu-rundi in Africa Cup of Nations quali-

fiers and Mali and Israel in friendlieson neutral territory.“We need someone to score goals,”lamented South Africa coach and for-mer national team striker Pitso Mosi-mane. “We created four good chances,but did not take any of them.”Ivory Coast coach Francois Zahouisaid: “It was a very exciting game,with both sides prepared to attack.Now we must study the video tape andlearn from it ahead of the Cup of Na-tions.”Mosimane and his players went someway toward redeeming themselvesafter an Africa Cup of Nations qualify-ing debacle against Sierra Leone lastmonth which saw them content todraw a game they actually needed towin.The coach believed that goal-differ-ence determined the final places on thetable and when he heard rivals Nigerwere losing heavily in Egypt, madesubstitutions to ensure a goalless draw,while some players feigned injury towaste time.Captain Siphiwe Tshabalala and histeammates celebrated by dancing afterthe final whistle and only later did theydiscover that the head-to-head rule ap-plied and Niger had qualified for thetournament in Gabon and EquatorialGuinea in January.While Ivory Coast are preparing forAfrica Cup of Nations Group B fix-tures against Angola, Burkina Fasoand Sudan in January, South Africamust prepare for World Cup qualifierswith Botswana, the Central AfricanRepublic and Ethiopia or Somalia.The Nelson Mandela Challenge hasbeen staged annually bar one yearsince the first democratic elections inSouth Africa in 1994, with BafanaBafana winning seven matches, losingseven and drawing three.

South Africa’s Bafana Bafana

Hearts to honor 53 during centenary anniversary

Accra, Nov. 10, GNA –Accra Heartsof Oak SC has named 53 individuals,corporate institutions and supportersgroups for honors as part of activitiesto mark the centenary celebrations ofthe Club.The oldest exiting football Club in thecountry will climax their 100th birth-day with a dinner on Saturday, No-vember 12 at the Banquet Hall, StateHouse, Accra under the distinguishedpatronage Vice President John Dra-mani MahamaThree players from each group of thevictorious teams of 1958, 1977, 1979,2000/01 and 2004 would also be sym-bolically honored during recess of theinternational friendly match on Sun-day between Hearts/Enugu Rangers.A statement issued and signed by Ash-ford Tettey Oku, Secretary of the Cen-tenary Planning Committee copied toGNA Sports on Thursday said the seg-ment of the celebrations dubbed, “He-roes Weekend” under the theme, “TheHearts of Oak Legacy, the Spirit that

Never Dies”, will see former players,administrators, supporters and corpo-rate institutions receiving specialawards for their support towards therise of the Club during the last cen-tury.The statement said the flagship awardwill be presented to President JohnEvans Atta Mills, a former Chairmanand Director of the Club for his distin-guished services to the Club.It named the late Christopher Brand-ford Nettey (also known as AsafoatseNettey) as the other recipient of theLeadership Awards alongside Presi-dent Mills.

The Patrons to be honored include thelate General Joseph Arthur Ankrah,Oyeeman Wereko Ampem II, HarryRomulus Sawyerr, John Saka Addo,Daniel Sackey Quarcoome andGeorge Adjei Osekere.The Directors include the late JamesKwaku Moffat, Henry PlangeNyemitei, the late Seth Tetteh Nettey,

Ato Ahwoi, Ernest Adote Thompsonand Togbe Afede XIV, with the Man-agement members made up of the lateTommy Thompson, the late WilliamFrank Ekundayor Sawyerr, Dr. NyahoNyaho-Tamakloe, Harry Zakkour andNii Ayi Bonte (Gbese Mantse).Coach “Sir” Cecil Jones At-tququayefio leads the pack for theTechnical awardees which also in-cludes Stephen Akwetey, the late Em-manuel Ofei Ansah, Alhaji BraimahSulemana (Alhaji Hearts), RobertAmoo Dodoo and Akwei Addo withLawrence Amaaku Adjaidoo, the lateJoe Aplerh Lartey, Ashford Tettey Okuand the late Clement Kwashie Doku asthe persons to be honored in the Ad-ministration division.The players include Lawrence AduDarko, Nana Kumi Gyamfi, the lateMama Acquah, Robert Hammond,Jacob Nettey and Amankwah Mirekuwhilst the Supporters' category hasE.C. Quaye, Alhaji Awudu Iddrisu,Chapter 'O'-Nima, Chapter 9-Kumasi,Chapter 13-Takoradi, Chapter 27-Tamale, Hearts Ladies and MadamRose Klorkor Okine (alias WomanTokyo).Former Board Member, Ernest Bedi-ako, Frank Nelson and Isaac Tetteh arethe Individual benefactors to be deco-rated for their contributions towardsthe Club's success whilst SidalcoGhana Limited, Frandesco WestAfrica Limited, Arab Contractors,Cairo; Mobile TelecommunicationsNetwork (MTN), Tullow Oil andOsam Petroleum Ghana Limited arethe Corporate beneficiaries.The centenary celebrations will be cli-maxed with an international friendlymatch against Enugu Rangers Interna-tional of Nigeria at the Accra SportsStadium on Sunday, November 13.

GNA

Accra Hearts of Oak

KP Boateng dumps Ghana's Black Stars

Ghana Black Stars midfielder, KevinPrince Boateng has called time on hisinternational career citing personalreasons.The GNA Sports can confirm that theAC Milan player has written to theGhana Football Association (GFA)highlighting his decision to resignfrom the national TeamA side.In a communiqué to the GFA, Boatengsaid the physical demands of playingfor both club and country at high lev-els are taking a toll on his health.Boateng explained that after consult-ing his doctors and family, he has de-cided to call it quit in order to remainhealthy and stay off injuries.The player, born to a Ghanaian fatherand a German mother, claimed he is

on a special train-ing that could beinterrupted by na-tional invitations;hence his decisionto call it quits.The news has beenreceived withshock followingthe player's pledgeto the Black Stars'course barely fourweeks ago.Boateng's pledgecame in the wakeof President KwesiNyantakyie and theassistant BlackStars coach, KwesiAppiah's visit toMilan last monthto speak to theplayer on the wayforward followingan alleged frostyrelationship withGhana's coach,Goran Stevanovicthat had kept theplayer out of theteam for months.Boateng was gifted

the opportunity to play for Ghana dur-ing the build up to the 2010 SouthAfrica World Cup where the BlackStars reached the quarter finals on sec-ond attempt.

GNA

Kevin Prince Boateng

Sir Cecil Attuquayefioto be on Hearts' Cente-nary bench againstRangers

The only Sir in Ghana football, SirCecil Jones Attuquayefio has prom-ised to be on the bench for the Pho-bians as they take on Nigerian sideRangers, Sunday.This was confirmed, Saturday, by theBoard Chairman of Accra Hearts ofOak Commodore Mensah in an inter-view on Joy Sports.The match is in commemoration of theCentenary celebrations of AccraHearts of Oak.

Mr. Mensah was responding to acaller's petition that the Phobians haddeserted its most successful coach at atime he needed them most.Sir Cecil Jones Attuquayefio has beenrecuperating, albeit slowly, fromthroat cancer which has kept him outof public domain and away from hisfavorite job of coaching.Allegations have been rife about thecoach 'dying slowly' because he hasnot enough funds for full recuperation.But the Board Chairman of the Clubsaid that is not true. He said the man-agement of Hearts has been in con-stant touch with the former coach andonly six weeks ago paid him a visit athis residence.He said Jones Attuquayefio made a

humble request with management tohave him sit on the bench when Heartsplay Rangers on Sunday, a requestwhich has been granted."So whoever wants to see At-tuquayefio on the bench must come tothe Accra Sports Stadium tomorrow,"he stated.He (Attuquayefio) would not havemade this request if his relationshipwith the club is bad, Mensah added.The 2000 Champions League andSuper Cup winner is to be awarded atan Awards Night later today.

Story by Ghana/NathanGadugah/Myjoyonline.com

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