Former Ghana Football Association (GFA) Chairman Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe has backed Asamoah Gyan’s 2022 World Cup bid, claiming that the veteran striker can be useful in Qatar if in good form. Gyan recently expressed his desire to be a part of Ghana’s World Cup squad despite being out of action for over a year. However, the majority of Ghanaians believe Gyan is past his prime and should not be considered even if he returns to full fitness, as he has begun training. However, the Hearts of Oak board member disagrees. “Asamoah Gyan has made an incredible mark in Ghana football. He is a good footballer and if he has the stamina, why not?” he said as quoted by Graphic Sports. Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe said those criticizing Gyan for his age should consider what Cameroon legend Roger Milla did for his country at the 1994 World Cup at the age of 38, as well as England’s Stanley Matthews in the 1950s. “Roger Milla opted to play in the World Cup at an old age and did well. We can also talk about Stanley Matthews of England who was a key figure in the team and was known as the tactical magician. “He was later invited to Ghana by Ken Harrison, who was then General Manager of Hearts of Oak in the 1950s,” he recalled. The former GFA boss, however, stressed that though the decision to play at the World Cup rested on Black Stars coach Otto Addo if Gyan was mentally strong and physically fit, he saw no reason why he should be overlooked because Gyan still had something to offer the nation. “If he can train with the present team and the coach finds him fit, he should be invited because I strongly believe if he can match the tempo at training and the physique, he should be able to play. “I think Gyan has the skill because when he is running with the ball, defenders fear to come near him. He has the skills and tactics but the strength to play is the problem. If he can work on that, he will be a fantastic addition to the World Cup,” he added. No player has scored more goals for Ghana than Gyan, who has 51 in a record 109 appearances. Source: 3news.com

Manchester United have confirmed they have reached agreement to sign Brazil winger Antony from Ajax. The deal is for an initial fee of 95m euros (£81.3m) – which will be the fourth most expensive signing in Premier League history. It is subject to a medical, personal terms being finalised and international clearance. Antony, 22, scored 24 goals and provided 22 assists in 82 appearances for Ajax. He joined the Dutch champions from Sao Paulo in 2020 and played for them under Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag’s management. The deal includes a potential 5m euros (£4.27m) of add-ons – making him United’s second most expensive signing, ahead of the £80m paid for defender Harry Maguire. The £89m paid for Paul Pogba remains the club’s record. Antony, who contributed to seven goals in his 11 Champions League appearances for Ajax, made his international debut for Brazil in October 2021 and has two goals in nine appearances. United travel to Leicester City in their next Premier League fixture on Thursday, but Antony would need to receive a work permit before making an appearance. With the transfer deadline looming, speculation remains as to whether Cristiano Ronaldo will stay at the club following concerns about how the 37-year-old’s mood is affecting morale in the camp. Source: BBC

Leader of BHIM Nation, one of the largest fanbases in Ghana, has revealed his retirement date in an exclusive with 3FM Urban Blend. Stonebwoy disclosed that music is not going to be his forever as he will resign when his account hits $1,000,000,000,000. Stonebwoy believes he has more to offer and bigger markets to conquer before he hangs his boots. “I believe I have been ready, and I can get way further than this because I’m exposed to bigger heights, bigger outlooks, and I believe that just in a matter of time, we are going to hit that pinnacle where I will come back here on the radio and tell you, Yo mapo)n (I’ve ended).” Stonebwoy further noted the day he ceases to be part of the music business. “I will be very honest with you guys. If I make like 1 trillion dollars, I will come back here and say it’s done. “I tell you. I’m done!” WATCH VIDEO BELOW: Credit: 3news.com

Lyrical Joe has finally spoken about the genesis of his beef with Amerado in an exclusive with TV3 on the New Day show. He clarified that his first enquiry was to the award scheme, but Amerado chose to reply with a diss song. Lyrical Joe and Amerado have been involved in a rap battle since last year. The two have amassed a huge fanbase as they exercise their lyrical prowess with thinly veiled insults thrown at each other. Today, Lyrical Joe revealed how the ‘beef’ started. “Let me tell you how it went on my side. We were both nominated last year for EP of the Year and Rapper of the Year on 3Music. So he won EP of the Year and Rapper of the Year. So the EP of the Year, I didn’t have any problem with it. But the Rapper of the Year, that’s where I had a problem. I had a problem, not with him. I had a problem with the award scheme, and so I did a song.” According to Lyrical Joe, the song was targeted at 3Music. He believes they did shoddy work in that category. For Lyrical Joe, the 5 edition of his 5 August body of work checked all the boxes. He said, “That song wasn’t a diss song. It was questioning because I was like, you guys said your theme is Beyond the Music. Are you looking at views because the song had views? You said beat dexterity. It had one rap song that had like four different beats in it. So the qualities and everything that they stated they were looking for as an award scheme the song had it." “On top of it, it had views. Yeah, voting went on as well. And we had other people in that category that if it depended on Ghanaians voting, neither I nor he will take that award. Let’s be honest,” Lyrical Joe explained why he strongly believed Amerado did not deserve that award. “I did a short freestyle. About 1 min 20 secs. And I questioned 3Music, not him. Even in that freestyle, I told him, bro, you know I love you, but this field is mine,” Lyrical Joe concluded. Check out Lyrical Joe’s new single, Superman, with Mr Drew. Credit: 3news

Tamale North Member of Parliament Alhassan Suhuyini has said he has problems with the decision of the justices who have been captured in the Auditor General’s report for ‘unlawful’ purchase of cars. He wondered whether the Justices need those cars given the condition of service they enjoy. The 2021 Auditor General’s Report noted that between 2016 and 2021, the Judicial Service granted loans to 99 officers totalling GH¢303,709.94 and recovered a total amount of GH¢145,006.58 leaving an outstanding amount of GH¢158,703.36 as at 31 December 2021. 728. “We recommended that the Judicial Secretary should liaise with the Controller and Accountant General to have the loans deducted from the salaries of the staff involved. Auction of official vehicles without authority – GH¢1,023,507.00 729,” it said. Regulation 158 of Public Financial Management Regulations, 2019 (L.I. 2378) states that, the Principal Spending Officer of a covered entity shall obtain the prior written approval of the Minister for the transfer, exchange, sale, donation, contribution-in-kind, trust and any other disposal of any vehicles of the covered entity. Also, Regulation 158 states that, any disposal, lease and other action referred to in Sub-regulation 1 that is made without the written approval of the Minister, is void. 730. Our examination of records of the Transport Unit for 2021 revealed that 19 official vehicles were auctioned by the Service for GH¢1,023,507.96 without approval from the Minister of Finance. “In the absence of approval from the Minister for Finance, we recommended that the auction should be nullified, and the vehicles recovered,” the report said. Commenting on this development on TV3’s New Day show with Johnnie Hughes on Wednesday August 31, Suhuyini said he has problem with the procedure for the purchase of the vehicles. “It is important that the justices themselves also exercise judgement that do not contribute to the negative image of the judiciary,” he said. He added “I was trying to link the need to make the offer to this justices or the justices themselves to apply for the cars given the conditions of service they enjoy. “I have a problem with the procedure and have problem with the judgement of the judges in accepting the offer.” Credit: 3news.com

The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has clarified that the 27.15 percent tariff review adjustment announced by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) is on energy consumption only. The country’s major power distribution company, therefore, indicated the addition of statutory levies and other fixed charges will increase the average percentage announced by the Commission. “In effect, individual customers’ tariff percentage increase will depend on customer classification and consumption category,” the Company said in a statement issued by Managing Director Samuel Dubik Mahama on Tuesday, August 30. The statement was to announce the readiness of the Company to implement the approved adjustments from Thursday, September 1. ECG says lifeline customers will enjoy power up to 30kWh, according to its new band for residential customers. “ECG has catalogued all unit consumption and the expected cost in a ‘Reckoner’ which clearly explains how the tariff is applied and billed,” the statement said. “This will be displayed at all our districts and customer service centers nationwide to guide customers on their electricity purchases.” ECG assured customers and stakeholders that it is committed to ensuring “a smooth implementation of the new tariff”. It said customer help desks will be set up at all districts and customer service centres to “assist, explain and reconcile any challenge”. Credit: 3news.com

Trouble seems to be staring at the Accountant of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly’s (AMA) Urban Roads Department following some interesting revelations by the 2021 Auditor-General’s report. According to the 2021 Auditor-General’s report, the Accountant of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly’s (AMA) Urban Roads Department made some payments without supporting documents. The 2021 A-G's report further revealed that the amount involved totaled GH¢61,732.00 72. The report said “Our audit disclosed that between January and December 2020, the Accountant paid GH¢61,731.80 with 83 payment vouchers without supporting them with the requisite expenditure documents”. The A-G has, therefore, reminded the Head of the Department and the Accountant to pay back the over GH¢60K. Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Former Member of Parliament for Tema East, Daniel Titus-Glover has said the Justices who have been captured in the Auditor General’s report for ‘unlawful’ purchase of vehicles did no wrong because it was an offer that was extended to them which they accepted. He also wondered whether those Justices were given the opportunity to respond to the findings of the Auditor General prior to the release of the report. The 2021 report noted that between 2016 and 2021, the Judicial Service granted loans to 99 officers totalling GH¢303,709.94 and recovered a total amount of GH¢145,006.58 leaving an outstanding amount of GH¢158,703.36 as at 31 December 2021. 728. “We recommended that the Judicial Secretary should liaise with the Controller and Accountant General to have the loans deducted from the salaries of the staff involved. Auction of official vehicles without authority – GH¢1,023,507.00 729,” it said. Regulation 158 of Public Financial Management Regulations, 2019 (L.I. 2378) states that, the Principal Spending Officer of a covered entity shall obtain the prior written approval of the Minister for the transfer, exchange, sale, donation, contribution-in-kind, trust and any other disposal of any vehicles of the covered entity. Also, Regulation 158 states that, any disposal, lease and other action referred to in Sub-regulation 1 that is made without the written approval of the Minister, is void. 730. “Our examination of records of the Transport Unit for 2021 revealed that 19 official vehicles were auctioned by the Service for GH¢1,023,507.96 without approval from the Minister of Finance.” “In the absence of approval from the Minister for Finance, we recommended that the auction should be nullified, and the vehicles recovered,” the report said. Speaking on this matter on TV3’s New Day show with Johnnie Hughes on Wednesday August 31, Mr Titus-Glover said “The judges have not done anything wrong.” “The Auditor General must tell us, was there any communication between the justices and those who matters? Let us not conclude that the judges are corrupt,” he added. Credit: 3news.com

Work on the National Cathedral Project has been suspended, 3news.com can confirm. According to reports, this is due to financial constraints. Letters sighted by 3news.com and issued to workers by contractors Ribade Company Limited said “lack of payment from the National Cathedral of Ghana” has resulted in the suspension of the project. “In compliance with such an obligation under the contract, RIBADE COMPANY LTD has no option but to issue this letter of notice terminating the agreement between RIBADE COMPANY LTD and you as per the provisions of your employment agreement,” a termination letter to one of the workers noted. The notice of termination took effect on Monday, March 14. Meanwhile, Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who has been leading a crusade for accountability on the project, has alleged that withdrawals were still made by the National Cathedral Secretariat till Thursday, March 31 “without the contractors returning to site” He said the lead contractors has even removed the project from its list of global projects on their website. Separately, the Executive Director of the Secretariat, Dr Paul Opoku-Mensah, is hoping funds will be raised from among Ghanaians to get the work re-started. Source: 3news.com

The Auditor General has revealed that Ministry of Finance (MoF) paid three persons a total of GH¢1,112,895.96 as salaries for the period January 2020 to December 2021 although they were not staff of the Ministry. Regulation 86 of the Public Financial Management Regulations, 2019 (L.I. 2378) states that, a Principal Spending Officer of a covered entity shall ensure that only the names of personnel who are eligible to receive payment for work done are kept on the payment voucher and keep records of the nominal roll of the covered entity in a manner that ensures that the correct amount of emolument is paid. But the Auditor General in his audit report for the year 2021 noted that he could not trace the personal files and names of the three persons who received salaries for a year on the nominal roll of the Ministry. The A-G has recommended that the amount of GH¢1,112,895.96 should be recovered from the Chief Director and the payroll validators of Ministry. Source: Classfmonline.com

Top Judges in Ghana have been cited in the 2021 Auditor General’s report for unlawful purchase of vehicles. The Report noted that between 2016 and 2021, the Judicial Service granted loans to 99 officers totalling GH¢303,709.94 and recovered a total amount of GH¢145,006.58 leaving an outstanding amount of GH¢158,703.36 as at 31 December 2021. 728. “We recommended that the Judicial Secretary should liaise with the Controller and Accountant General to have the loans deducted from the salaries of the staff involved. Auction of official vehicles without authority – GH¢1,023,507.00 729,” it said. Regulation 158 of Public Financial Management Regulations, 2019 (L.I. 2378) states that, the Principal Spending Officer of a covered entity shall obtain the prior written approval of the Minister for the transfer, exchange, sale, donation, contribution-in-kind, trust and any other disposal of any vehicles of the covered entity. Also, Regulation 158 states that, any disposal, lease and other action referred to in Sub-regulation 1 that is made without the written approval of the Minister, is void. 730. Our examination of records of the Transport Unit for 2021 revealed that 19 official vehicles were auctioned by the Service for GH¢1,023,507.96 without approval from the Minister of Finance. “In the absence of approval from the Minister for Finance, we recommended that the auction should be nullified, and the vehicles recovered,” the report said. Credit: 3news.com

Tinash Enterprise and Amag Cold stores, all located in the Teshie Tebibiano enclave, have been surcharged GH¢90,000 for disconnecting two faces in their three-face prepaid meters. This deliberate act was intended to reduce meter billing by 80%, according to officials of the Electricity Company of Ghana. Owner of Amag Cold store admitted to the nefarious act, saying he took the decision because he couldn’t cover his cost of operations. “I admit I did the wrong thing, but it was just three months ago. The usual bills that come are too much and I couldn’t keep up,” he said in a telephone call pleading with the ECG national taskforce team. The Tinash Enterprise owned by Faustina Boafo, a worker at the Lands Commission, on her part laid the blame on the manager of the enterprise and some ECG staff. She alleged the ECG staff on two occasions replaced her meter when she complained about high consumption. “I paid them [ECG staff] GH¢6,000 for the installation of this pole and subsequently paid GH¢2,000 in cash for the replacement of this meter.” “The manager of my shop also brought in another ECG staff to do something I’m not aware of, but I realized GH¢3,000 was deducted from my account. If there are any suspicions, the manager should be arrested.” Efforts to have the ECG officers to be lenient with her proved futile. She was subsequently surcharged almost GH¢46,000 for meter tampering for a 12-month period. Credit: Citinewsroom