Leader of Ebenezer Miracle Worship Center Opambour

On Sunday, January 19, 2025, President John Dramani Mahama made a special visit to the leader of Ebenezer Miracle Worship Center, Rev. Ebenezer Adarkwa Yiadom, also known as Opambour.

In a video circulating on social media, Opambour, dressed in an all-white suit, was seen making a grand entrance to his church premises before the president’s arrival.

Before entering the church auditorium, Opambour lifted his hands to the sky in what appeared to be a prayerful gesture.

Following the prayer, the pastor proceeded into the church auditorium, where excited congregants welcomed him with great enthusiasm.

Opambour then went to the altar, knelt down to pray, and church members could be heard chanting his name.

The pastor was also captured praying for some of his church executives who knelt before him.

John Dramani Mahama’s visit to the Ebenezer Miracle Worship Center was part of his trip to Kumasi, where he also paid a courtesy call on Otumfuo Osei Tutu II at the Manhyia Palace.

Watch the video below:

Meanwhile, watch as Empress Gifty weeps uncontrollably as she pays last respects to her mother:

JHM/MA

Teddy died at Apple Tree Care Home in London, where he had been resident for the past five years due to illness.

“We are deeply saddened by the death of our dear client and friend, Teddy Osei,” a statement from Osibisa management reads. “Known the world over as the leader and founder of Osibisa, the groundbreaking Afro-Rock band, he was a talented and passionate man, musician, and mentor to many.

“As a talented saxophone player, drummer and vocalist, Teddy found success but also fulfilment with his bands, most notably Osibisa. He was an important voice in music and culture, and will be missed, but not forgotten.”

Since the announcement of his passing, tributes have been pouring in on social media from people from all walks of life, including former colleagues and fans who have been touched by Osibisa’s music in some way.

Born Francis Teddy Osei on 1 December 1937, in Kumasi, Ghana’s second-largest city. He arrived in England in the 1960s on a government scholarship from Ghana’s first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, to study music. By 1969, he had persuaded his brother Mac Tonto and Sol Amarfio, both deceased, who had previously played together in the Star Gazers and the Comets bands in Ghana, to join him in London to form Osibisa.

The original line-up included three Ghanaians: Teddy Osei, Mac Tonto, and Sol Amarfio, along with Antiguan Wendell (Dell) Richardson (lead guitar and lead vocalist), Nigerian Lasisi Amao (percussionist and tenor saxophonist), Grenadian Roger Bedeau, also known as Spartacus R (bass), and Trinidadian Robert Bailey (keyboards). Later replacements included Nigerians Fred Coker and Mike Odumosu (bass).

Osibisa became the most successful and longest-lived African-heritage band in the UK, pioneering a new sound that blended European, American, and African influences, creating an early form of what would become recognized as World Music. With their fusion of tribal percussion, soulful horns, and joyful, timeless African singing, the band spent much of the 1970s touring the world, playing to large audiences in Japan, Australasia, India, and Africa, bringing their “criss-cross rhythms that explode with happiness” to audiences worldwide.

During this time, Paul Golly (guitar) and Ghanaians Daku Adams (percussion) and Kiki Gyan (keyboards) were also members of the band. In January 1976, their single ‘Sunshine Day’ reached number 17 on the UK singles chart. Their next single release, ‘Dance the Body Music’, peaked at number 31 in the same listing.

In 1980, Osibisa performed at a special Zimbabwean independence celebration, and in 1983, they were filmed onstage at the Marquee Club in London. The band released a further eight albums during the 1970s, with additional studio albums and live releases following through the 1980s and up to the New Dawn album release in 2021.

In November last year, UK label Cherry Records released a double CD featuring 18 remastered tracks from Osibisa’s 1974 and 1975 albums, sourced from Warner Brothers’ archives. 

Wamkele Mene with Dr. Bawumia interacting during the visit

The Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Wamkele Mene, has paid a courtesy call on Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, expressing gratitude for his support to the AfCFTA Secretariat during his tenure as Vice President of Ghana.

During the visit, Mene acknowledged Dr. Bawumia’s contributions to advancing the AfCFTA’s agenda, particularly in the areas of trade facilitation and digital integration.

“Your Excellency, I am here today to express my sincere gratitude for the support you extended to the AfCFTA Secretariat during your tenure as Vice President of the Republic,” he stated.

The discussions also touched on the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol, with a particular focus on Cross-Border Digital Payments, a key initiative aimed at enhancing trade efficiency across the continent.

Additionally, the Secretary-General commended Dr. Bawumia for his statesmanship in conceding defeat less than 24 hours after the December 2024 presidential elections, describing it as a move that further solidified Ghana’s democratic credentials.

“Ghana’s democratic credentials were further strengthened when you conceded defeat so swiftly.

You have indeed shown that you love your country and its people,” Mene remarked.

The AfCFTA leadership further encouraged Dr. Bawumia to continue offering his expertise and leadership in national and continental development efforts.

The Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) H.E Wamkele Mene paid a courtesy visit to my residence on Friday, 17 January 2025.

This was to express his sincere appreciation to me for the support extended to the AfCFTA Secretariat during my tenure as… pic.twitter.com/1vplUzBP1i

— Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia (@MBawumia) January 19, 2025

Also watch as Ato Forson says he saved the nation $358 million through tax exemptions

Ghana has been without a national airline since the collapse of Ghana International Airlines in 2010

Despite the announcement that Ghana Airlines would commence commercial flights by July 2023, this did not happen.

Ashanti Airlines and its financial partner, Zotus Group, led by former footballer Emile Heskey, have yet to launch their logo and make tickets available for sale.

Read the full story originally published on July 25, 2023 by aviationghana.com.

Ghana Airlines, a public-private initiative by the Government of Ghana to operationalize a home-based carrier, is still not ready to fly despite initial assurances that the airline would start selling tickets in April and May and commence commercial flights by June-July 2023.

Ashanti Airlines and its financial partner, Zotus Group, won the tender to commence business last year and earnestly began processes to acquire the requisite certification from the aviation sector regulator, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).

Ashanti Airlines, which already had an Air Carrier License (ACL) before the award of the tender, filed its documentation with the GCAA for an Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) — the second such certification mandated by law before an airline is fully established and can start commercial scheduled and non-scheduled flights.

“My information from them is that by the end of May, they will start selling their tickets, and by June/July, we will see Ghana Airlines flying in the sky,” the GNA quoted the Transport Minister, Mr Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, in a story published on March 30, 2023.

Ashanti Airlines and its financial partner, Zotus Group, led by former footballer Emile Heskey, have yet to launch their logo and make tickets available for sale.

Information obtained by AviationGhana.com indicates that Ashanti Airlines and its partner are yet to complete the required processes to obtain an AOC and yet to acquire aircraft.

Ashanti Airlines is backed by Ghanaian business mogul and co-founder of the Despite Group of Companies, Osei Kwame Despite, and his partner, Ernest Ofori Sarpong.

Ghana has been without a national airline since the collapse of Ghana International Airlines in 2010, following the demise of Ghana Airways in 2004. Attempts to establish a new home-based carrier have led to the signing of MoUs with Ethiopian Airlines and EgyptAir, respectively, with no clear outcome.

This led to the establishment of a new committee to vet all proposals after the erstwhile Ministry of Aviation was subsumed into the Ministry of Transport.

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No nation achieves economic development while sidelining its own people. For sustained growth to be achieved, citizens must always be at the forefront of economic activities happening within their country. Sadly, there seems to be this long-standing, endemic failure by us to accept this fact. And the failure to acknowledge this truth has left many a Ghanaian and African nation struggling economically.

Consider the world’s leading industries, such as mining, telecommunications, construction, manufacturing, etc. What do we see prevailing in the Ghanaian ecosystem? Regrettably, these sectors are often dominated by foreign entities, while Ghanaians are relegated to the margins, competing for very limited opportunities. In our very own home.

This disparity is not coincidental; it reflects a broader pattern of economic empowerment in one nation versus marginalisation in another. The American system is very aptly built with the American business in mind. The system is built to see, not only to the success of American businesses, but their lasting success. Sadly, the same cannot be said of our country, Ghana.

The Ghanaian business has the misfortune of always being on tenuous grounds. It is very difficult for a Ghanaian to build and sustain a business in their very own country. And this cuts across all sectors and classes of businesses. The Ghanaian businessman and woman’s woes starts from the poor capital market, to the drowning tax regime, to the comparatively limited market, to the bias of ‘inferiority’ they suffer in these markets (their own home markets), to the unfair competition from foreign counterparts.

Their foreign counterparts, on the other hand, have the benefit of their home countries providing them access to affordable capital, enabling tax regimes in their home countries (and oftentimes the host countries also), they have access to a wider market, and the benefit of favourable perceptions strategically sowed in the minds of people worldwide of their products and services… All these factors enable them to offer competitive pricing, hence completely obliterating their Ghanaian competitors out of their own home market.

Yet each time one sees fellow Ghanaian businesses—after years of toiling behind the curtains—finally getting their moment in the sun, finally succeeding, against all odds, one cannot help but still harbour some level of fear for their impending orchestrated downfall.

Let’s take the case of Springfield Ghana, for example, and the strategic targeting they have received from ACEP Ghana in the past years over the ENI case.

Springfield v. Eni & Vitol

By the year 2017, Eni (along with its partners Vitol and GNPC) had started production in the nation’s Sankofa field. Springfield, on the other hand, acquired interest to prospect and operate the Afina field. By 2018, Springfield had completed a 3D seismic data valuation of the field and had found oil in commercial quantities.

It was also found that the Afina field was connected to Eni’s Sankofa field. Hence, following an assessment by the GNPC, the Ministry in 2020 issued a directive under requiring a unitisation of Eni’s Sankofa field with Springfield’s Afina. Eni refused to comply—even after a second directive issued by the Ministry. They insisted that the two fields were not connected; and that Springfield’s finding at Afina wasn’t even in commercial quantities; hence a unitisation directive was unreasonable. All these claims were dismissed by the nation’s courts, and Eni ordered to perform its part under said directive.

So, what is this whole tussle with ACEP? Well, ACEP has been very vocal throughout this whole brouhaha—mostly in favour of the foreign entities (Eni and Vitol). Recently, a report by a news website, ‘Norvan Reports’ quoted the Executive Director of ACEP to have accused Springfield of issuing an inaccurate appraisal report—a report of which formed the basis for the so-called ‘unjust’ directive of unitisation as issued by the Ministry.

During the latter part of October this year, Springfield’s CEO, Kevin Okyere issued a rebuttal, and required Ben Boakye to apologise for this false statement, noting that following due process, Springfield, having undertaken an ‘appraisal programme’, was yet to submit an ‘appraisal report’. Hence, couldn’t possibly be said to have submitted a report when said report wasn’t even done yet. ACEP responded, noting that a mistake had been committed on the part of the news website, Norvan Report, and that what his organisation had meant was an ‘appraisal programme’ not an ‘appraisal report.

All this back and forth has, of course, an obvious underlying issue—for the Ghanaian to contend with. And it is whether the Ministry of Energy, in so issuing a directive that the two fields of the two companies Eni and Springfield be unitised, did so unjustly. Of course, the courts have ruled that this directive of the Ministry was in the right direction. But you have individuals and an entity like ACEP which still maintains that this ruling wasn’t in the right direction.

And this brings me to the second issue—this time around, a latent yet prominent issue. And it is the fact that, through one’s readings of the official communiques issued by ACEP on this matter, one finds as a central theme: the streamlining and amping of our markets—of our laws, enforcement mechanisms, our scientific processes, etc., towards the creation of a fertile soil for… FOREIGN INVESTMENTS—foreign companies!

On the face of it, this does not sound too far-fetched, does it? Of course, every country must have so good a business climate that it not only attracts foreign investments, but also helps maintain these investments—and curb investor flight. Even far-advanced economies like the USA have this as a top priority.

But the problem with this same position religiously taken by ACEP is that ACEP gives no cognisance to this even more important economic imperative—i.e., the creation of conducive environments for the flourishing and sustenance of local businesses.

This is an even much bigger national objective! All nations of the world—all level-headed, forward-thinking nations of the world—have as their topmost priority, the building of local capacity. At all times, citizens and local businesses must be given the needed boost to render them, not only incredibly competitive in their own home markets, but in international markets also. Foreign direct investments (FDIs) are merely additional ingredients needed in the nation-building process—they are not meant to replace the former.

But hearing the crust of ACEP’s argument since this whole matter commenced, one cannot help but be sad at the sheer amount of pro-foreign-business attitude on wild display, masked by concerns of reducing the ‘nation’s investor confidence’. Take this paragraph out of its June 2021 communique for example:

“The negative press associated with these issues has the potential to undermine the progress made over the years to encourage investments into Ghana’s upstream petroleum sector. This is further worsened by the current global context of the energy transition, which is engineering a significant shift from fossil fuel investment to low carbon energy sources. The positive response of major oil producers and investors to the transition is promoting alternative energy sources that are significantly suppressing the demand growth for fossil fuels.

A scan of the strategy of major oil producers shows a clear transition path to becoming energy companies through extensive Research and Development (R&D). The shift is shrinking the available capital for investments in new exploration activities in the oil industry and generating extreme competition for limited exploration funds. Attracting investment, therefore, requires a positive, assuring and less risky political environment.”

Again, on the face of it, this seems like a normal thing the average person could piece together. But this thinking right here, is what separates great nations apart from floundering ones.

I must tell you, I looked at this paragraph with bewilderment. It was the very first argument ACEP chose to make in this communique of theirs. I was shocked at its almost colonial blatantness because, on the issue of the global energy transition movement—a movement which is resulting and is projected to further result in a global shift of investments from the fossil fuel industries across the world—ACEP takes the view that what this shift will result in is reduced investments in Ghana’s fossil fuel industry in the near future, hence, the government of Ghana must be careful not to quicken this process—must do all it can to coax these foreign companies—to, if you will, have mercy upon us, and keep considering us for their investments.

I repeat, this sentiment right here is what separates floundering nations like ours from great ones like the USA. Because do you know what a great country’s response to this threat of energy transition and consequent investment shift would be? It sure won’t be to first and foremost figure out a way to make external forces (foreign investors) happy—so as to have mercy on them.

Rather, the topmost priority of great nations always is: how do we empower local ownership and production? How do we empower our local businesses to take on this challenge—so that we are not at the beck and call of outsiders (foreign investors)? How do we ensure that we are able to much more effectively orchestrate our national journey? Sadly, this is not what ACEP advises that the government of Ghana does.

At no point in their many communiques is the local business ever treated as a central character—the main or even a prominent economic tool to lead the socioeconomic advancement of the nation. Throughout it all, the sentiment of ACEP is: foreign businesses first. And this is a sentiment that many Ghanaians, sadly, tend to share—often subconsciously.

The Kwadaso Wood Market in Kumasi, known for its vibrant trade in timber and wood products, has been struck by a catastrophic fire for the second time in two weeks.

The latest blaze erupted on the night of Sunday, January 19, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake and further compounding the woes of traders who were still recovering from the earlier fire.

Eyewitness accounts and footage from the scene depict a chaotic and heart-wrenching night as flames engulfed numerous stalls and shops, consuming everything in their path.

In the video, desperate traders can be seen battling to save their wares from the raging inferno while simultaneously calling out for assistance.

The fire, which broke out under unclear circumstances, spread rapidly due to the highly flammable materials predominant in the market, such as wood, sawdust, and chemicals used in timber processing.

Emergency services were alerted, but the intensity of the fire posed significant challenges for firefighters, who struggled to bring the situation under control.

This tragic incident comes just two weeks after another devastating fire swept through the same market on Saturday, January 4.

That initial blaze destroyed several sections of the market, leaving traders reeling from the loss of goods, tools, and structures essential to their livelihoods.

In the aftermath of the January 4 fire, market authorities and city officials had begun discussions on implementing safety protocols, including the installation of fire hydrants, regular safety inspections, and the creation of fire breaks within the market.

However, these measures were still in the planning stages when the second fire struck, underscoring the urgency of action to prevent further calamities.

Read Also…

Devastating fire ravages Kwadaso wood market in Kumasi

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President John Dramani Mahama and Otumfuo Osei Tutu II

President John Dramani Mahama says he will call on the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, in his efforts to address Ghana’s prevailing economic challenges.

According to President Mahama, the Asantehene was helpful during his past administration in dealing with economic challenges. He disclosed this at the first Akwasidae celebration at the Manhyia Palace on January 19, 2025.

“Our nation, Ghana, is facing a dire economic crisis. While this is not the first time we have been in such a crisis, this particular one is characterised by a high rate of inflation, macroeconomic instability, a depreciating currency, and a debt default which has shut us out of the international credit market.

“It’s a more daunting challenge than we have ever experienced in our history. Your Royal Majesty, as a former president between 2013 and 2017, we faced macroeconomic instability, and I remember some of the obstacles we encountered in our efforts to bring stability to our economy and restore economic growth.

“I had the privilege of calling on you to use your influence and diplomacy to smooth the path towards prosperity and progress. Anytime I called on you, you didn’t hesitate. I would like to thank you for the cooperation I enjoyed with you at that time,” President Mahama stated.

He continued: “As we have inherited a difficult economic situation, I will be calling on you again from time to time. I know that anytime I call on you, you will not hesitate to work together to put our nation back on its feet.”

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, said he trusted President Mahama would not disappoint them.

“We would like you to please remember always the undertakings and promises you have made. I implore you to fulfil all your promises to us in the great Asante Kingdom.

“We have absolute trust in you that you shall not let us down. All ongoing developmental projects within the kingdom and across all kingdoms, you will fulfil them,” the Paramount Chief of the Mampong Traditional Area, Dasebre Osei Bonsu II, spoke on behalf of the Asantehene.