Ghanaians assured of better Telecom system
GCPP selects Yusif to contest bye-election
Move to oust Kumasi mayor - the inside story
External firm to audit Education Services, accountants not in favour
Prisons, Police disagree on responsibility towards prisoners health
Five months old baby ‘serves’ jail term
Cape
Coast (Central Region) 28 February 2002 - Workers have begun enjoying tax
reliefs in respect of child education and marriage benefits. Under the tax system
introduced by the government, income earners who have spouses, and dependants
in school are paid reliefs without the drudgery of completing a tax assessment
form.
The
reliefs have reflected in the monthly take-home pay of workers who submitted
their application forms very early. The new policy requires that reliefs are
computed on ¢300,000 per spouse and ¢240,000 per child covering maximum of
three children per an employee.
The
Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Mrs Janet Opoku-Ackyeampong,
announced this when she addressed the opening ceremony of a seminar for
management staff of the service drawn from the Central, Western, Greater Accra,
Volta and the Eastern regions at Ho on Wednesday.
The
three-day seminar, under the theme, “Creating Healthy Relations with Taxpayers
to Enhance Revenue Mobilisation,” is aimed at reviewing performance for last
year and mapping out strategies for the realization of the revenue target set
for this year.
Mrs
Opoku-Agyemang disclosed that the service has projected to collect ¢2.772
trillion this year, with a component of ¢185 billion as National Reconstruction
Levy, adding that “the target for the year is an increment of 33 per cent of
the actual collection of ¢2.1237 trillion collected last year.”
She
announced that the Ministry of Finance has approved a three per cent retention
from total revenue collected to cover the cost of collection, stating, however,
that “salary negotiation will no longer pass through the Central Management
Board.” “What we should bear in mind is that the harder we work by collecting
more tax revenues, the brighter our chances of enjoying good salaries and other
conditions of service,” she stressed.
In
an address, the Chairman of Revenue Agencies Governing Board (RAGB), Mr Yaw
Manu Sarpong, announced that 30 computers have been procured for the
computerization of the service, with all district offices in Accra and the
research department benefiting under the first phase of the programme.
He
said the new facility will help update the taxpayer register and make it
possible for the service to know, at any given time, the true and correct tax
position of each tax payer and the necessary follow-up actions to be pursued in
order to forestall further loss in tax revenue.
In
a keynote address to open the seminar, the Volta Regional Minister, Mr Kwasi
Owusu Yeboah, underscored the crucial role of revenue collection agencies
towards the realization of the developmental objectives of the government. He,
therefore, charged the IRS to generate vital information on the taxpayer so as
to build and enhance individual taxpayer partnership, adding that, “taxpayer
fulfillment and support must be constantly examined and monitored to ensure
absolute satisfaction on the part of the partner.”
Mr
Owusu-Yeboah advised tax collectors to handle information on taxpayers with
confidentiality, since any information unwittingly divulged for purposes other
than taxation is the quickest way to destroy a relationship because the
taxpayer’s trust would have been broken. He also called on tax officials to
demonstrate integrity and even-handedness in the execution of their function,
adding “in this way, voluntary tax mobilisation is enhanced through an
efficient and equitable administration of taxes.”
The
Principal of Ho Polytechnic, Dr George Afeti, who chaired the opening ceremony,
lauded the initiative of the IRS in pursuing a friendly approach in tax
collection, stating that it is clear from the theme that the service is moving
away from the coercive strategies of tax collection to a more participatory
approach to revenue mobilisation. - Daily Graphic
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Accra (Greater Accra) 28
February 2002 - The Minister of Communications and Technology, Hon Felix Owusu
Adjapong, has stated that Ghanaians would enjoy better telecommunication
services under the current NPP.
He pointed out that
government took over the management of the Ghana Telecommunications Company
Limited (Ghana Telecom) following the expiry of the technical and consultancy
services agreement between the Ghana government and Telecom Malaysia purposely
to remove the exclusivity right and allow for competition in the sector.
Felix Owusu Adjapong
disclosed this in an exclusive interview with the Crusading Guide at his office
in Accra. The Minister noted that since competition ensures efficiency and
quality on the part of service providers, it was wrong for Ghana Telecom to
have the sole monopoly over the sector. He stated that government was working
hard to woo investors who could develop the minimum of 400,000 fixed lines in
the country.
Mr Owusu Adjapong explained
that Ghanaians need more telephone lines to transact business, adding that
government was working around the clock to offer such services. He hinted that
Government was working to empower the national Communication Authority (NCA) to
perform its constitutional duty judiciously. According to him, plans were
underway to recruit more personnel and train them to ease the congestion
problems facing the telecommunication sector.
Readers will recall that the
Government of Ghana did not renew its contract with Telecom Malaysia, operators
of Ghana telecommunication company Limited on 19th February 2002 due
to their inability to fulfill the contract terms. - The Crusading Guide.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 28
February 2002 - The first Ghana Banking Awards scheme aimed at rewarding
excellence in the services and products offered by financial institutions in
the country has been launched in Accra. The annual awards scheme is also meant
to encourage a healthy competition among the banks as well as offer the public
the opportunity to recognize excellence in the financial sector.
Four organizations - the
Corporate Initiative Ghana (CIG), the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI),
the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and KPMG - are the
organizers of the scheme.
A financial Director of Ghana
Cement Works (Ghacem) Limited, Mr Terje Kulseng, who chaired the function,
noted that the financial sector in Ghana has gone through several changes to
improve upon its performance. However, as consumer of financial products and
services, the public expects more improvement in service delivery, pricing,
product innovation, applied technology and the sector must accept the challenge.
He said a more efficient
financial sector will place corporate bodies in Ghana at a better position to
face the competition that the Ghanaian industry has to deal with because of
deregulation and globalisation. It would also make Ghana the financial hub in
the sub-region, strengthening its bid to become the gateway to West Africa.
Mr Kelseng noted that there
is the need to inject greater efficiency and discipline in the system, finance
and marketing operations so as to obtain competitive edge in the West African
region by helping to develop a unique, efficient, flexible and innovative
financial sector in the country.
“This will be to the good of
commerce, industry, the financial sector itself, and the nation at large.” He observed
what financial services and instruments corporate bodies in Ghana put premium
on, and what support they expect from the financial sector for a more efficient
operation of their businesses.
Performing the launching, the
Minister of Private Sector Development, Mr Kwamena Bartels, commended CIG and
its partners for their laudable
initiative, adding that the institution of the award will propel financial
institution to greater heights. This, he said, will lead to an improvement in
financial products and services offered by these institutions. - Daily Graphic.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 28
February 2002 - The Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) has picked Mr
Abdulai Yusif to contest on the party’s ticket in the forthcoming Bimbilla
parliamentary bye-elections. Mr Yusif, aged 27, who works at the Bimbilla
assembly, was selected by consensus at a meeting of party functionaries in the
constituency, at Bimbilla.
The leader of the GCPP, Mr
Dan Lartey, who said this in an interview in Accra on Wednesday, added that the
choice of Mr Yusif was due to his immense popularity among the rank and file in
the constituency. “Our candidate has over the years endeared himself to the
vast majority of people in the area and will definitely be the obvious choice
of the electorate in the forthcoming bye-election at Bimbilla,” he said.
According to Mr Lartey,
functionaries of the party are spending sleepless night working to convince the
people in the constituency to vote massively for the GCCP parliamentary
candidate in the bye-election. “The GCPP is going all out to ensure that our
candidate emerges the clear winner in the March 14 bye-election, which promises
to be exciting and nerve-wracking,” the GCPP leader said.
He said the electorates in
the constituency who have accepted and understood the party’s concept of
domestication have promised not to fail its activists, who have since the last
two weeks embarked on a house-to-house-campaign. Mr Lartey said the party’s
activists, have defied the logistical constraints the party faces at the moment
and have put their shoulders to the wheel to ensure that the GCPP put the other
parties contesting it in the bye-election to rest.
The GCPP leader advised other
parties taking part in the elections not to waste their energy and resources to
contest it since they will suffer a humiliating defeat at the hands of the
party. – Daily Graphic.
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Move to oust Kumasi mayor - the inside story
Kumasi
(Ashanti Region) 28 February 2002 - The fate of Mr Maxwell Kofi Jumah, Kumasi
Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) Chief Executive, will be decided at 2.00 pm on
Monday, next week, at the Prempeh Assembly Hall, as the assembly will be
holding a general meeting to pass a vote of no confidence on the KMA boss.
The
meeting has become necessary as one-third of the 86-member assembly this week
fired a petition to the Presiding Member (PM) for a no confidence meeting to be
convened since, according to them, they have lost confidence in the man with
whom the destiny of the Kumasi metropolis has been entrusted. In line with the
rules governing the district assemblies, Nana Nsiah-Awuah, the presiding
member, has no option but to accede to the demand of the grumbling petitioners
and call for the meeting.
He
straight away fired a circular: “Pursuant to part 2, article 4 (b) and part 4
article 17, section 1,2 and 3 of the model standing orders, members are hereby
invited to attend a general meeting requested by one-third (1/3) of members of
the assembly as per the list attached,”
the KMA PM wrote in his invitation to the members for the meeting. The
invitation letter for the meeting, which was copied to the Local Government and
Rural Development Minister, has a Vote of No Confidence in the Metropolitan
Chief Executive as its main agenda.
When
the Chronicle contacted Jumah, he confirmed the upcoming crucial meeting, but
downplayed it, saying the meeting would fizzle out because this was not the
first time that they have called for his removal. “This is the fourth time that
such an incident is happening, but all the previous ones fizzled out,” he told
Chronicle. He further said KMA was not broke as some people want the world to
believe.
“We
are not broke as some people are saying. I can assure you that we have about
¢900 million in our reserves, so how can people say we have no money or our
accounts are in red,” he stated. On why some of the cheques issued out by KMA
for the payment of oil they purchased were dishonoured, he explained that KMA
operates several accounts but the officer who wrote the cheques did not do any
due diligence to find out whether there were enough funds on the particular
account he was issuing out the cheques for the payment.
“In
fact when it was reported to us that our cheques had bounced we quickly rectified
it to avoid any trouble. It was not that we did not have money in our account,”
he told Chronicle. The KMA boss, also popularly called Kofi Ghana, did not draw
the lines between the emergency meetings held previously and the impending one,
with no confidence vote as it agenda.
The
action of the Assembly Members, Chronicle learnt, is the fallout from what they
called the careless attitude and entrenched position adopted by the KMA boss in
addressing a number of thorny issues affecting the assembly since he took over
a year ago. The straw, which seemed to have broken the camel’s back was the
attempt by the KMA boss to assault Nana Kusi Obodum, an Assembly member for
Bantama, last week.
Before
this final “blow” by the 30 Assembly members to get Jumah removed, Chronicle
can report that there had been more behind the scene meetings between a section
of the Assembly members and top government officials, including the President,
over the management and direction of the KMA by the chief executive.
Chronicle
sources at the said meetings indicated that the Assembly members made their
supplications known and requested that the KMA boss was called to order. After
such meetings, the authority did not sleep over the issues raised by the
members. At a certain stage, the KMS boss was summoned to Accra where he was
taken through some good lessons, Chronicle has learnt.
Instead
of amending his ways Jumah, it was learnt, rather adopted vindictive attitude
towards some of the members he later learnt had made complaints to higher
authorities. Before his commotion with the Bantama Assembly man, there was a
similar attack on Mr George Foli Drah of Subin and the Santase Assembly man,
whom he accused of being part of clique that had complained about his “ways and
means” to higher authorities.
In
a related development, residents of the metropolis have condemned the move by
the group to oust Jumah. Caller upon caller on radio programmes particularly on
LUV FM described the protesting assembly members’ agitation as anti-development
and suggested dialogue for ironing out their differences with the KMA boss. –
The Chronicle.
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Cape
Coast (Central Region) 28 February 2002 - The Central Regional Accountant of
the Ghana Education Service (GES), Mr G.M.K. Dzeble, has announced that from
March 1, a private consultancy auditing firm will audit the accounts of the GES
instead of the service’s own auditors.
Addressing
a workshop of accountants of the GES at Aggrey Memorial A.M.E. Zion Secondary
School, in Cape Coast last week, Dzeble, who hinted that the directives to that
effect were issued by the headquarters of the GES, said as a result,
accountants who have already prepared their accounts for the year 2001 should
not send copies of the accounts to the office of the Auditor-General’s Department.
He
advised the participants to reject personnel from the Auditor-General’s
Department who report to their offices for audit purposes other than those on
special investigations. Dzeble noted that the Financial Controller of the GES,
who is a member of the GES Consultants (Global Auditors) Company, issued the
directive.
Some
participants that Chronicle talked to criticised the new system saying the
number of inspections with its attendant conflicting reports would compound at
the expense of the GES and also to the detriment of the government’s zero
tolerance and positive change. They contend that as an MDA, the GES is
statutorily bound to be audited by the A-G’s Department and its audited
accounts submitted to Parliament, stressing that where the Accountant-General’s
Department feels it cannot for some reasons audit an MDA, it will rather engage
private auditors to audit same on its behalf and report to it.
The
participants wanted to know why the Financial Controller of the GES should
engage the services of private auditors and inform accountants of the GES not
to present the accounts they had prepared for last year (2001) to the A-G’s
representative but to the private auditors.
The
aggrieved accountants are also not happy that the A-G’s staff who are on the
pay roll of government should be sidelined in favour of private auditors who
would attract extra fees. Still interacting with the Chronicle, the
participants asked how much the exercise is going to cost the GES, the taxpayer
and those responsible for the payment of the extra cost, stressing that the
whole exercise is a duplication of work and a waste of resources.
They,
therefore, called on the sector Minister of Education, Prof Christopher
Ameyaw-Akumfi, to have a second look at the whole exercise because over the
years district internal auditors of the GES had been auditing the very accounts
yearly with regional monitoring teams also doing periodic checks and,
therefore, see no reason why millions of cedis should be wasted on consultancy and private auditors describing
the whole exercise as a conflicting directive. – The Chronicle.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 28 February 2002 - There is conflict over who takes the
responsibility of the health needs of prisoners as far the issue of sending
them to hospital is concerned. While the Police Service is of the opinion that
it is the responsibility of the Prison authorities to send sick remand
prisoners to hospital, the Prison authorities think otherwise.
This
issue came to light at a consultation workshop on ‘Justice sector reforms’ in
Accra last Thursday. Mr P.K. Agblor, a Superintendent of Police at the Legal
Department, who made the disclosure, said the prison authorities often send
remand prisoners to the police investigations to send them to hospital. He also
disclosed that the Police Administration is faced with the problem of some
unscrupulous policemen colluding with prison officers to obtain remand warrant
without following the due process.
The
Superintendent listed other problems that undermine the work of the police and
mentioned lack of personnel, lack of office and residential accommodation,
infrequent in-service training, lack of communication equipment and inadequacy
of transport. He said the strength of the service is 16,000 and this includes
professionals like doctors, nurses, architects, secretaries and artisans. Mr
Agblor said the problem could however have been addressed if more men were
recruited but this too, has not been met because of the lack of office and
residential accommodation.
On
communication, he said most police stations are without telephone facilities
and even where these are available, “they have been disconnected as a result of
the inability of the service to pay accumulated bills.” In spite of the
problem, Mr Agblor mentioned that the Police Service has played its traditional
role of maintaining law and order in the society.
The
Deputy Director of Prisons in charge of Legal and Welfare, Mr H.O. Korney,
commented on the inter-relationships that exist between agencies in the
criminal justice system and said the agencies had not yet become coordinated
and “do not operate as a true system”. “Though their common objective is crime
control, because of their functional and administrative independence, each
agency uses different, sometimes conflicting methods resulting in consistent
objectives,” he said.
Mr
Korney noted for example, while the police might be focusing on removing
pick-pockets from the streets, overcrowded prisons and early release of
offenders might be focusing the minds of prison officers. In view of these
cross-cutting scenarios, the prisons officer cautioned that the criminal
justice system cannot simply function when its components work needlessly at
cross-purposes.
Mr
Korney also observed that rivalries and petty jealousies had weakened the
agencies and this he said was the result of unequal attention that government
had given to the security agencies. To address the problems of the criminal
justice system, he suggested a coordination among the agencies through the
machinery of a National Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee comprising all
agencies.
Another
presenter, Mr Justice Charles Quist, spoke on “establishing linkages in the
criminal justice system, for effective crime control the role of the
judiciary.” He said whilst the public demands harsher court sentences for armed
robbers, rapists and narcotics peddlers, little consideration is being given to
juveniles who offend and law. – The Evening News
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Accra (Greater Accra) 28 February
2002 - A 28-year-old female patient, Atswei Pat, has placed the whole township
of Teshie, a suburb of Accra, into a state of fear. Minutes before her death
last week, she disclosed to her family that she had infected about 39 men with
the AIDS virus.
The disclosure came after all
efforts to heal her of the suspected spiritual sickness proved vain. The
shocking news of Atswei’s spread of the virus seemed to rob most men in the
‘Bukoeshie’ area where she used to live, of their happiness; this was evident
in the manner in which they wore pale faces after the news broke out.
Sources close to the family
told the ‘Times’ that Atswei’s boylover, Adjei, had even fled the town to avoid
being stigmatized by the townsfolk. His parents are said to be angry because
they had advised him against his relationship with Atswei.
The family sources disclosed
that Atswei, a fishmonger, used to bleach her skin to attract more men. They
said about nine years ago, Atswei was diagnosed of the disease after a medical
examination at the Korle-Bu Teaching hospital, but failed to disclose the news to them.
However, they started to
suspect her of AIDS when her condition started deteriorating in January this
year, but since there was no proof from any medical source, they eventually
gave up on it. They rather blamed the failing condition of their relative on
witchcraft. The source revealed also some time last year, two of Atswei’s
children died mysteriously. They were born after their mother had contracted
the disease.
She is survived by one child,
who she had before getting infected with the virus. A close confidante of hers
who pleaded anonymity, told the ‘Times’ that while Atswei was alive, she used
to tell her that a man had offended her so she was also going to stage a massive
revenge on men. She said that from the first time Atswei made that utterance
eight years ago, she had been “carelessly going to bed” with virtually everyman
who proposed love to her.
“Most of these men are big
men who have as many as three or more girl friends, who also do not stick to
one partner.” The family source said that harm caused by their relative in the
vicinity “Will be too much to quantify” because of the promiscuous lifestyle of
the people in the area. The deceased has since been buried. - The Ghanaian
Times.
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Bimbilla
(Northern Region) 28 February 2002 - Incumbency is very, very sweet and when one
has one’s back to the wall one tends to pull all tricks in the bag to make sure
that even the much hated advantage of incumbency is exploited to the fullest.
After
luring Dominic Nitiwul to defect from PNC to stand on the ticket of the NPP in
the forth-coming Bimbilla bye-election, the NPP has summoned all Assemblymen
who are constitutionally non-partisan to a “crisis meeting” at Bimbilla to
strategize on the forth coming-bye-election.
A
letter on the NPP Letter Head-dated, 4th February 2002 reads: “I am
directed by the National Executive of the NPP to invite you to a meeting on 6th
March in Bimbilla. Venue, Teachers Hall. Time 11.00 a.m. prompt. Please treat
this very urgent.
Counting
on your usual co-operation.” Yours faithfully, Secretary.”
This
letter, which carries a Private Mail Bag, Bimbilla, has been given to all
Assemblymen in the Bimbilla Constituency. In the normal circumstances his
letter should not raise eyebrows. In fact if the Assemblymen were invited by
the District Chief Executive (DCE) or the Presiding Member, this letter would
not have shaken the hornet’s nerves.
But
looking at the high stakes in the constituency now and the fact that monies are
being lavished indiscriminately to win the seat by foul, free or fairness, the
latest up-front to the constitution which makes it clear that political parties
do not dabble in the District Assembly
Elections is sending worrisome signals to the other parties which are competing
for the Bimbilla seat.
In
spite of the illegal exploitation of the incumbency, the electorates are
prepared to give NPP a run for their money. According to an Assemblyman who
broke this news to the “Ghanaian Voice” man at Bimbilla, the desperation of the
NPP is quite understandable since they have no doubt that probably winning the
Bimbilla seat is an impossible adventure. Certainly, the seat is up for grabs
by any of the parties: GCPP, PNC, NPP and the NDC which is much favoured to
retain the seat.
Already,
Dan Lartey, the Leader of GCPP spent last weekend on a campaign tour of the
constituency. On one of his programme rallies Mr Dan Lartey who met the
Ghanaian Voice at Bimbilla told the paper that some supporters of the NPP
attempted to disrupt a GCPP rally but the Police prevented them. Dr Edward
Mahama, the Leader of the third strongest party in Parliament (the PNC) with
three seats is organizing a whistle-stop tour in the constituency.
The
NDC has moved its winning campaign machine led by Dr Obed Asamoah, the Chairman
of the Re-organisation Committee, Alhaji Huudu Yahaya the General Secretary,
and other leading members to the constituency. It will be a do or die affair.
–The Ghanaian Voice
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Five months old baby ‘serves’ jail term
Tamale
(Northern Region) 28 February 2002 - Kwame Addah, a four-and-half month old
baby, is serving prison sentence at the Tamale Prisons through no fault of his.
He was delivered inside the Prison by his teenage mother, Monica Addah, who
is serving five years sentence for a
narcotic offence. Monica is never willing to allow the child to go to anybody
and prefers to be with in the prisons.
Monica
was sentenced by the Bolgatanga Public tribunal eight months ago when she was
five months pregnant. According to Prisons sources, Monica was arrested when
she attempted to take Indian hemp to her husband Kojo Addah who was on remand
at the Navrongo prisons for stealing.
Monica
acknowledged the crime but explained that she was asked by her husband to bring
along the polythene bag which was hanged in his room the next time she brought
food for him. The bag was tied at the mouth and she did not check its content
before putting in the bag containing the food for her husband. When she got to
the Prisons gate, an officer opened the polythene bag and found the leaves.
Even
though Monica’s case has come to the attention of the Minister of the Interior
and the Commission on Human Right and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) both seem
to be helpless because the laws of the country do not make provision for pardon
for narcotic offenders. –The Ghanaian Times
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 28 February 2002 - The top positions on the Ghana music scene
is changing; the recently released list of initial nominees for 2001 awards say
so. The big names that virtually monopolised the nominees last year and the
year before that are out this year. Kojo Antwi, Amakye Dede, Cindy Thompson,
Nat Brew and other big stars are all out of contention this year.
While
the absence of the big guns may be due to the fact that they did not release
any song within the appointed time frame required for qualifying for awards,
many observers may see the situation as a strong pointer that the musical
landscape is changing and the shift is in favour of hiplife.
According
to the pre-nomination list released by Charter House Productions, the
organisers, there are 20 categories up for contentions this year, out of which
five are non-competitive and which, will be determined by a special constituted
selection committee.
The
competitive categories are Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Recording
Artiste of the Year, Best Male Vocal Performance, Best Female Vocal Performance
of the Year, Hiplife Song of the Year, Hiplife Rap of the Year and Highlife
Song of the Year. The rest are Reggae Song of the Year, Contemporary Highlife
Song of the Year, Gospel Song of the Year, Gospel Album of the Year, New
Artiste of the Year and Traditional Song of the Year.
The
five non-competitive categories are: Song Writer of the year, Video Music
Directing of the Year, Technical Producer of the Year, Fontonfrom Music Merit
of the Year and Recording label of the Year. According to the organisers, the
process of this year’s awards has begun with the publication of six nominees in
each category. This list is a short list based on nominations from people and
organisations including the media related to the music and arts industry.
The
public is expected to vote their choice of per category and the results would
be presented to the event statisticians who will present the top four choices
per category to a selection committee for final voting. Taking the master list
for Song of the Year, it is extremely difficult to tell which four will make it
to the finals but one sure thing is that Lord Kenya’s Medo, Daasebre Gyamena
‘U’ can’t Touch me, Gospel All Stars’s W’aseda Nie have got a great chance.
No
one really knows what will turn up in the finals but it is a widely proclaimed
view that Daddy Lumba’s Mato Odo Mu cannot make it to the finals with big
competitors like Nana Fynn’s Odo Handkerchief and Lord Kenya’s Yesom Sika.
Incidentally,
Nana Quame who was a part of the nomination for last year for best Male Voice
Performance has also been nominated this year along with Daasebre Gyamena,
Ofori Amponsah and Kofi B. Your guess is as good as mine for this category,
they are all equally good and no one can be written off without a fight. It
appears that this selection would be done on the one who has more following.
A
number of questions have been raised as to how some nominees for certain
categories were selected. A typical example is the Reggae Song of the Year. It
is clear that there were almost no new releases except for K.K. Kabobo’s Mede
Ama Jah but then in the nominations are Bullet Man’s Righteous Colours and other
questionable nominees.
Then
there is the confusion of Highlife Song of the Year and Contemporary Highlife
of the Year. In the current nomination, Oheneba Kissi’s Ama Frema and Nana
Quame’s Me Nko Meda are highlife while Daddy Lumba’s Twime and Ofori Amponsah’s
Asew are listed under contemporary highlife. Though the two are highly
contested, it’s a little difficult to tell what qualifies what for each
category.
Looking
at nominations for Gospel Song of the Year, it is easy to see that Jane and Bernice’s
Se Enye Yesu Mogya, Gospel All Stars W’aseda Nie, Suzzy and Matt’s Kyere Me
will make it to the finals. The rest is anybody’s guess. In all, the closest
competition will be observed in the area of hiplife, Hiplife Song of the Year,
and Hiplife Album of the Year and News Artiste of the year which saw four
hiplife entries and one gospel entry.
The
category of Traditional Song has four master nominees meaning that they
automatically make it to the finals, what a hot pursuit it would be for
Akatekyie’s Kente, Rex Omar’s Maba, Osuani Afrifa’s Doctor A’declare Wo and
Nkasie’s Ekoma Mo. They are all really good traditional songs, though Ekoma Mo
really stands out and then again so does Maba.
All
indications are that this year would see a really interesting Music Award that
will represent the true Ghanaian music scene. Fans of artistes who have made it
into the master list should keep their figures crossed for there are a lot of
surprises in the making. – Graphic Showbiz
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