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COCOA SECTOR COLLAPSING …..Cocoa Syndicated loan diverted, Board Chair and CEO fighting!

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The sustainability of the Ghana’s Cocoa sector is highly threatened, as for the first time in the contemporary history of this country, COCOABOD does not have funds available to procure Cocoa beans from farmers and for export,  The Horizon  has learnt. COCOABOD CEO, Joseph Boahen Aidoo Very reliable sources within COCOABOD reveal that part of the $1.3 billion Cocoa syndicated loan sourced for 2017/2018 crop season purchases had been diverted  to fund free SHS hence rendering the entity handicapped, culminating in the difficulty to buy outright produce from farmers. They say due to non-availability of funds, Cocoa farmers across the Cocoa growing areas of the country are being begged to sell their produce on credit. The diversion of the loan, according to  The Horizon  sources has the tendency to damage COCOABOD’s hard earned reputation and the goodwill always enjoyed in the international financial market as a very credit worthy entity and that likely to bring in its wa
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ASAMANI, THE FIRST AFRICAN GOVERNOR OF THE CHRISTIANBURG CASTLE (1693-1694)

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Introduction I first heard about Asamani in primary school history, as the man who conquered the Christiansburg (Osu) Castle from the Danes in 1673 and served as its Governor for a year. I do not know of any major monument that has been named after him, and he is definitely not as popular in Ghanaian folklore as, for instance, Asante Kings.  The writings about him appear fractured and various writers give different accounts of what he achieved. It is from a few of these sources that I have pieced this together. Nana Kwadwo Asamani, Chief of Akwamu [Descendant of warrior, Nana Asamani] Who was Asamani? Asamani was from Akwamu. In one version of the history, he was employed as a cook in the English forts in Accra and spent a lot of time learning the ways of the Europeans. Soon, he became an established trader in Accra, and was a broker for Akwamu traders who came to Accra to trade with the Danes, who owned and operated from the Castle. His rise as a businessman coinc
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BIRD OF THE NIGHT (Part III)

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I hear the hoot of the Great Horned Owl, the Bubo Virginianus! Alamisi, where are you running to? Did you think I had forgotten about you? It is unacceptable for a card-bearing member of a Political Party to be appointed as a Special Prosecutor. It goes against the expectations of ‘independence’ that attend the office. President Akufo-Addo must insist that you officially give up your membership of any Political Party before he appoints you as Special Prosecutor. That is, if the Supreme Court will allow him to appoint you at sixty-six years old. Dr Valerie Sawyerr, former Deputy Chief of Staff Let’s break it down to basics: The 1992 Constitution provides that the retirement age for public officers is 60 years; The 1992 Constitution provides options for extending the retirement age for an extra five years; The 1992 Constitution provides that an Appeal Court Judge should vacate his post when he/she is 70 years old; The 1992 Constitution equates the terms a
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BIRD OF THE NIGHT (Part II)

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No rest for the weary, as the hooting sounds of the Bird of the Night fill the dark skies! The Barn Owl (Tyto Alba) does not hoot like other owls. It lets out a long harsh screech that lasts about two seconds. The Flammulated Owl (Psiloscops Flammeolus) has a relatively deep woop with ventriloquial effect repeated at regular intervals of about two to three seconds. Did you hear the cacophony of sounds over the recent illness of Mr. Arrest the Cedi that sent him doing the hopscotch (tuumatu) on the streets of London without his bodyguards? The rabid spread of those horrible rumours definitely did not come from the NDC. Your Excellency Mr. Vice President, please do not let anybody convince you that the NDC is waiting for your demise. You must look within your own camp to find the bomb-throwers. They are watching you with the eyes of hawks, waiting to swoop. But I think you know that already. Dr Valerie Sawyer, former Deputy Chief of Staff  I suspect your little jig
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BIRD OF THE NIGHT (Part I)

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Vilified even in death, Professor Mills stands taller than the vilifier! Lied about even in death, Professor Mills stands higher than the liar!! Indeed, he who God has blessed, no man can curse!!! In Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Caesar’, Casca said in Act 1 Scene III ‘And yesterday the bird of the night did sit Even at noon-day upon the marketplace Hooting and shrieking’. On the evening of February 13, 2018, the day of Martin Amidu’s Parliamentary vetting, I lay down to sleep. I tossed and turned! Then I prayed: Dr Valerie Sawyer, former Deputy Chief of Staff “God, the Bible says you are no respecter of persons. I know that you allow mortals to get away with so many things because of your mercy and your grace. But I also know that when the time is right in your estimation, you mesmerise and confound us with your wisdom in exposing what should be exposed for the betterment of mankind. Your will is supreme Lord – may it be done according to your wisdom knowledge and
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DRAMA AS ALL FIVE DAUGHTERS OF LATE COACH HERBERT ADDO ARRESTED AND DETAINED BY ADENTA POLICE

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"I need to make a formal complaint about the manner in which my nieces’ were detained overnight at the Adenta Police Station cells on the night of 2nd February, 2018. My problem is who to send it to? Is it the IGP, the Chief Justice or the Attorney General? Is it to CHRAJ? Coach Herbert Addo [late] and his 5 embattled daughters Who can act to correct this on-going injustice with speed? Are we so powerless when it gets to these issues and should resign ourselves to our fate in Ghana? I am at a total loss this morning. My nieces are the daughters of the late Coach Herbert Addo. Since his demise, the children have had an on-going problem with their stepmother who married their father a few months before he died. A physical fight with her a few weeks resulted in them being arraigned before the Adenta Magistrate Court yesterday. The Judge advised that the case be settled within the family and both sides apparently agreed to appear on the 14th of March, 2018 to report
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"PLANTING FOR FOOD AND JOBS": MR PRESIDENT, YOU NEED TO SCRUTINIZE THE PROGRAM

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Currently, the sector Minister's statement that the said program has created about seven hundred and forty thousand jobs (740, 000) received sharp reaction to the contrary from key players in the farming sector. Indeed, I agree with this disagreement to some extent and would like to add my voice; not to downplay the program but to tap the shoulders of the President to pay key attention to the program and if possible to ensure that he asks for a decentralized briefing from the grassroots through the Information Ministry that can be provided by the Information Services Department (ISD) offices on the ground and not to be left only to the Agric Ministry. Prez Akufo Addo Indeed, I am convinced that if the President focuses his eyes on the said program and make it attractive to attract young graduates from our universities, the unemployment rate may drastically reduce as we increase our food stock. Now, the facts; What is misleading currently about this program as fa
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