A few well-known players competed in the 3M Open, which got underway earlier this week at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota.
The two players near the top of the leaderboard this weekend are Tony Finau and Sungjae Im, two of the best in the competition. However, they will take a brief break this afternoon.
Golfers on Saturday, June 23, began their rounds with unusually early tee times in an effort to complete as many holes as they could before bad weather started. Despite their best efforts, the severe weather ultimately prevailed.
According to the PGA Tour, inclement weather has caused the 3M Open to be postponed.
Round 3 has been suspended due to inclement weather @3MOpen.
Check the Weather Hub presented by @Travelers for the latest.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden underwent a Convid-19 test. His outcomes turned out to be favorable. President Biden has confined himself to the White House to recover from what appear to be minor symptoms. His doctor stated that since he is completely immunized and has received coronavirus booster shots, he should respond well to therapy.
The Pfizer antiviral medication Paxlovid has been initiated by the president. In a statement revealing his diagnosis, Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House communications secretary, remarked. Mr. Biden tested positive for the coronavirus for the first time that is known to have happened.
He will be required to isolate himself at the White House in accordance with the rules, but he will continue to perform all of his duties in full during that time, she said.
This morning, he spoke on the phone with members of the White House staff. He will participate in his scheduled meetings at the White House via phone and Zoom while confined.
President Biden had recently undergone a COVID-19 screening on Tuesday, with the results coming back negative.
On Thursday morning in Delaware, the First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, likewise tested negative for COVID-19.
According to Prof. Kwasi Opoku Amankwah, Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), the government is now evaluating its policy on free senior high schools (Free SHS).
According to Prof. Opoku Amankwah, the evaluation will determine which Free SHS benefits the government will give up and charge parents for, according to myjoyonline.com.
“…we can conduct the investigation and then declare that, yes, Raymond will need to pay this much for an excellent education. These are the goods included in that cost.
“Then we will all put it out there and say this item, we can make do of it, and it will not affect quality, this item, I think we can get parents to pay,” he told the host of JoyNews Upfront programme, Raymond Acquah.
Teachers and headmasters are among the stakeholders in Ghana’s educational system that have urged a reassessment of the program, but the government has resisted.
In spite of the government seeking a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Ministry of Finance stated earlier this month that the Free SHS policy will not be changed.
“Free SHS, the School Feeding programme, among others, are good social intervention programmes and it is the lack of financing and unsustainable debt burdens that could constrain a government’s ability to maintain its level of spending, including social or investment spending.
“In our situation, the IMF may ask Ghana to consider curtailing lower priority or non- productive spending (such as “white elephant” projects) as part of its fiscal adjustment but to preserve priority social spending, including on health and education,” parts of the statement said.
Mr. Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, the Western Regional Minister, avoided an impending protest by irate commercial drivers in the Amenfi East, Central, and West Municipalities.
As the Regional Minister visits the 3 Amenfi Districts from Thursday, July 21 to Saturday, drivers threatened to block the road.
Drivers reportedly wanted to welcome him with a demonstration because of the road’s terrible condition, which is a major concern to them because it adversely impacts their companies.
According to information that reached skyypowerfm.com, the Regional Minister boarded a helicopter to travel to his destination in order to avoid the traffic jam after learning about the plot firsthand.
The lack of a meeting between the drivers and the minister frustrated the drivers, who wished to voice their complaints and express hope that the road would soon be fixed.
They stated that they would fix the road because it was long overdue and because they were sick of hearing empty promises.
A driver claimed that because they spend so much on vehicle maintenance at the conclusion of the day’s work and because the poor condition of the road uses so much fuel, their firm does not turn a profit.
Additionally, they have frequently petitioned the MCEs of Amenfi East, West, and Central but have not received a response.
According to additional information, the Minister would meet with executives of Ghana Private Road Transport (GPRTU) in the Amenfi areas to discuss a fix for the road issue before departing.
Senegal’s star forward Sadio Mane has been named Africa’s Men’s Player of the Year at the CAF Awards 2022, after leading the Teranga Lions to its maiden Africa Cup of Nations title, while Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala set a new record when she walked away with her fifth Women’s Player of the Year award.
It was a highly successful night for Senegal who were also named National Team of the Year, while their coach Aliou Cisse was named Africa’s Coach of the Year at a glittering function in the Moroccan capital of Rabat.
Mane retains the CAF African Player of the Year title, having also won the 2019 edition: the previous edition. He has recently left England’s Liverpool after a trophy-laden spell with the Reds, becoming the German Bundesliga’s marquee player after signing for Bayern Munich.
Oshoala now overtakes her compatriot Perpetua Nkwocha, to stand alone as a record five-time winner of the African Player of the Year accolade.
South Africa’s national women’s head coach Desiree Ellis, who will lead Banyana Banyana into Saturday’s final of the 2022 TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations against hosts Morocco, was named Africa’s Coach of the Year in the women’s football category.
To top off a huge night for the Teranga Lions, Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Pape Matar Sarr, who made his international debut as an 18-year-old and was part of Senegal’s AFCON 2021 winning team, was named Africa’s Young Player of the Year.
The awards were held at Morocco’s impressive Mohamed VI Technical Centre in Sale, Rabat and attended by a gathering of Africa’s top football personalities and football stars.
Morocco’s Wydad Athletic Club were rewarded for their TotalEnergies CAF Champions League 2022 win by being named Africa’s Club of the Year in the men’s section.
South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns FC were named Africa’s women’s Club of the Year after winning their domestic league and the inaugural TotalEnergies Women’s Champions League in Egypt in 2021.
Ghana’s Evelyn Badu scooped a double on the night as she won the women’s Interclub Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards, after leading Hasaacas Ladies all the way to the final of the inaugural TotalEnergies Women’s Champions League and winning the tournament’s Golden Boot.
The men’s Interclub Player of the Year was won by legendary Al Ahly and Egypt goalkeeper and captain, Mohamed El Shenawy.
It was another Senegalese player in Simba’s Pape Ousmane Sakho who won CAF’s Goal of the Year in the mixed category for men and women for his spectacular overhead strike for Simba against Asec Mimosa in a TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup group game.
The women’s National Team of the Year will be named after Saturday’s TotalEnergies Women’s Cup of Nations final between hosts Morocco and South Africa at the Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.
The Full List of Winners:
Player of the Year (Men)
Sadio Mane (Senegal and Bayern Munich)
Player of the Year (Women)
Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria and FC Barcelona)
Interclub Player of the Year (Women)
Evelyn Badu (Ghana & Sekondi Hasaacas Ladies/Alvaldsnes)
Interclub Player of the Year (Men)
Mohamed El Shenawy (Egypt & Al Ahly)
Young Player of the Year (Women)
Evelyn Badu (Ghana & Sekondi Hasaacas Ladies/Alvaldsnes)
Young Player of the Year (Men)
Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal and Tottenham Hotspur)
Coach of the Year (Women)
Desiree Ellis (South Africa)
Coach of the Year (Men)
Aliou Cisse (Senegal)
Club of the Year (Women)
Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)
Club of the Year (Men)
Wydad Athletic Club (Morocco)
National Team of the Year (Men)
Senegal
National Team of the Year (Women)
Due to the absence of a major women’s competition during the period under review, the Organising Team for the CAF Awards 2022 has reviewed the selection process for this important category. The TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco will be factored as one of the criterion in deciding a winner befitting of the status of the award and women’s football in general. The winner will be announced on 23 July 2022 during the final match of the Women’s AFCON.
Only Ghanaian candidates are left to write the West African Senior High School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), scheduled from August 1 to September 27, 2022.
This is because the other four-member countries of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) — Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia — have returned to the May/June calendar and had administered the WASSCE for their school candidates from May 9 to June 24, this year.
The four countries have had their academic calendars streamlined to enable them to write the examination in May/June, as Ghana sticks to the ‘new normal’ calendar occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Notwithstanding the late sitting, Ghanaian candidates will still compete for the National Distinction Award and the WAEC Excellence Award with candidates from those countries.
“Our candidates will still compete for the National Distinction Award and the WAEC Excellence Award, which is normally competed for by all candidates in the five-member countries,” the Head of the Ghana National Office of WAEC, Wendy Enyonam Addy-Lamptey, said.
A registered nurse assistant is crying for help after staying home three years without a job.
Ms. Rose Adu Gyamfi said she has been jobless since graduating from nursing training school in 2019.
Mr. Gyamfi, who spoke to JoyNews said life has been unbearable without a job.
“I have completed school for three good years now and I am still in the house. How do I survive? Instead of the government posting us they will say today, tomorrow so what should we do?
“When you go to the private sector they will tell you, you have clearance so there is no need to employ you. They cannot absorb us into their system so how are we going to feed ourselves and our children,” she wondered.
Meanwhile, a statement from the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association on July 20 said over ten thousand nurse assistant clinical and nurse assistant preventive, belonging to the 2019 batch have not been posted although they have been registered on the recruitment portal of the Ministry of Health.
General Secretary of the Association, David Tenkorang-Twum said his outfit has demanded that government pays heed to their cry.
“I cannot understand why the nurse assistant clinical and nurse assistant preventive batch of 2019, including the referrals have not been employed. These are some of the challenges that we are facing and it is not that we have just waded in, we have been pursuing this from time to time…we are not happy at all, we ask the government to do the needful so we can move on with our lives,” he stated.
Mr. Joe Jackson, a financial analyst and chief operating officer at Dalex Finance, is arguing against increased government spending on several programs, particularly the free Senior High School (SHS) program’s feeding component. In his opinion, economic managers need to make tough decisions to look for methods to reduce spending because times are tough and the nation is broke.
Prior to Monday’s presentation of the mid-year budget review by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, he made this statement in an interview with TV3.
“It is time for us to look at all the expenditure cuts, it is time for us to look and wonder, do wo we want to spend this much on feeding and boarding in the SHS regime?
“Is this what we want to spend our money in the such difficult times on? These are hard times, there are hard decisions to be taken and one of the things we must realize is that Ghana is broke.”
Ghana’s economy is currently facing significant difficulties, which has compelled it to request assistance from the International Monetary Fund.
In order to interact with the Ghanaian administration, a staff delegation led by Carlo Sdralevich came in Ghana on July 6. On Wednesday, July 13, the team finished its preliminary work.
The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, and the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Ernest Addison, all met with the IMF delegation.
In order to discuss social spending, they also met with the Finance Committee of the Parliament, civil society groups, and development partners including UNICEF and the World Bank.
Following the expedition, Mr. Sdralevich made the following remark, stating that Ghana is dealing with a terrible economic and social crisis in a setting that is becoming more complex on a global scale.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a dramatic worsening of the financial and debt crisis. Investors’ worries have also led to credit rating downgrades, capital outflows, a loss of access to external markets, and an increase in domestic borrowing prices.
Furthermore, Ghana is experiencing a restricted amount of leeway for maneuvering as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic shock and the global economic shock brought on by the conflict in Ukraine. These unfavorable events have contributed to a slowdown in economic growth, an increase in unpaid bills, a significant depreciation of the exchange rate, and a rise in inflation.
“The IMF team held initial discussions on a comprehensive reform package to restore macroeconomic stability and anchor debt sustainability. The team made progress in assessing the economic situation and identifying policy priorities in the near term,” the IMF said.
It added “The discussions focused on improving fiscal balances in a sustainable way while protecting the vulnerable and poor; ensuring credibility of the monetary policy and exchange rate regimes; preserving financial sector stability; and designing reforms to enhance growth, create jobs, and strengthen governance.
“IMF staff will continue to monitor the economic and social situation closely and engage in the coming weeks with the authorities on the formulation of their Enhanced Domestic Program that could be supported by an IMF arrangement and with broad stakeholders’ consultation
“We reaffirm our commitment to support Ghana at this difficult time, consistent with the IMF’s policies.
“Staff express their gratitude to the authorities, civil society, and development partners for their constructive engagement and support during the mission.”
On Friday, July 1, the Ghanaian government declared that it was requesting assistance from the IMF.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Information, this came after a phone call between the President and Miss Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF Managing Director, in which the President informed her of Ghana’s decision to work with the Fund.
A man in Osun State, Bolu Bamidele, who died after he was allegedly set ablaze by his wife, Ifeoluwa, over allegations of having an extramarital affair, has been buried.
Bamidele, popularly known as Teebam, was said to have returned to Osogbo, the capital of Osun State from Cairo, Egypt, to give his wife a nice treat on her birthday.
The wife, according to findings, discovered that Bamidele had cheated on her and even had a child outside their union.
Ifeoluwa was said to have gone through her husband’s telephone and discovered the messages the deceased allegedly exchanged with another woman on WhatsApp. After confronting him with the information, an argument ensued.
The lady was said to have angrily written on her WhatsApp stories that she would be taking drastic action.
She had said that her man has “pushed her to the edge” and that people would weep over the two of them before daybreak.
Bolu was reportedly set ablaze in his home at Koka village on Sunday, with all his belongings destroyed.
He was rushed to the hospital and died days later. The deceased was buried amid tears on Wednesday in Osogbo in the presence of family and loved ones.
The spokesperson for the state police command, SP Yemisi Opalola, said the police had declared Ifeoluwa Bamidele wanted.
The Attorney General’s Department wrote to the Health and Finance Ministries urging them to proceed with the execution of the contract for the supply of ambulances with Big Sea LLC of Dubai, according to information provided by the Minister of Health, Kweku Agyeman-Manu.
The AG’s Department requested in a letter to the Ministers of Health and Finance that they carry out the contract because it was “legally enforceable” through the then-Deputy Attorney General, Dr. Dominic Ayini.
Reading extensively from the AG’s letter, Mr. Agyeman Manu revealed that it stated that, in the AG’s opinion, there was no basis for either party’s claim that they may withdraw from the agreement because they were obligated by its terms.
Mr. Agyeman Manu further revealed that the AG had said that if Big Sea filed a lawsuit, it would be “difficult for the government to put up a case” if the government didn’t fulfill its contract responsibilities.
The minister revealed this to Justice Afia Serwaa Asare Botchwey’s Financial and Economic Court in Accra.
The AG reportedly said that after looking through the paperwork provided by Lawyers for Big Sea, he was certain that “all governmental clearances had been secured,” which was necessary for the contract’s execution.
The former Minister of Health, Sherry Aryeetey, wrote back to the AG after receiving the AG’s letter and expressed concern over the absence of a financing agreement between the Ministry of Finance and Stanbic Bank for a loan to pay for the purchase of the 200 ambulances, according to information provided by the Minister of Health to the court.
Asked what transpired after Sherry Aryeetey’s letter, Attorney General Godfred Dame said: “A letter was then addressed by the second accused to the Bank of Ghana asking the establishment of letters of credit in favor of Big Sea.” Mr. Agyeman Manu responded in the affirmative.
The letter asking for the LC was written “without recourse to the Ministry of Health,” according to Mr. Agyeman-Manu.
He further informed the court that the Controller and Accountant General received a second letter around four days later approving the transfer of GHS 806,688.75 to the Ministry of Health as payment for the creation of the letters of credit and other associated costs.
He claimed that after paying Big Sea, the then-minister of health directed the National Ambulance Service’s chief executive to inspect the ambulances that had been imported.
According to him, the Ambulance Service’s inspection found various flaws, which the Ministry brought to Big Sea’s attention.
He claimed that Big Sea responded in writing acknowledging the flaws and expressing their desire to fix them.
`In relation to the importation of 30 ambulances that were a portion of a consignment of 200 under a contract signed between the Ministry of Health and Dubai-based company, Big Sea Limited, in 2012, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, a former deputy minister of finance, Dr. Sylvester Anemana, a former chief director of the ministry of health, and businessman Richard Jakpa have all been charged with causing financial loss to the state.
