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13th African Games: Ghana is ready!
• One of the new tennis courts at Borteyman
In less than a week from today, Ghanaian sports fans would witness live the biggest continental sporting spectacle – 13th Africa Games kick-off on Friday at the University of Ghana Sports Complex in Accra.
It is expected to be opened with a colourful and outstanding opening ceremony which for the first time would see the facility filled to its brim.
It is historic in the annals of Ghana sports because it will be the first on the soil but it is also historic in the competition’s own history as the edition to have suffered a lot of setbacks.
The buildup and preparations witnessed several glitches ranging from stalling of works, the slow pace of work, misunderstanding between the owners of the Games and requiring Ghana government interventions at certain times plus many others.
In the midst of that storm, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) led by its Executive Chairman, Dr Kwaku Ofosu Asare kept assuring Ghanaians the Games would come on.
Possibly, some of those assurances began to sound like a rhetoric in the ears of pessimists, considering the evidence available and maybe, forced the LOC to look for ‘further and better particulars’ to convince them.
That may be the rationale behind the LOC’s tactic of associating with every local sporting event in the last days to use the platforms to assure Ghanaians about the readiness to host one of the finest games in the history of the competition.
But Tuesday’s assurance from the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in his message to Parliament on the State of the Nation address (SONA) appears to have calmed nerves about the true state of readiness.
Indeed, it is an event every Ghanaian must be excited about because of the long term gains and impact it will have on sports development and promotion in Ghana.
For the first time in over two decades, Ghana will boast of a world-class athletics oval and open our territory to hosting international championships.
Indoor events would also not be left out as their respective federations are set to benefit from the world-class venues constructed for the Games.
The University of Ghana would be a major beneficiary with its seemingly
abandoned sports complex undergoing refurbishment and installation of the needed logistics to make it ready to host international games.
In all, the Games would attract over 7,000 athletes and officials from the member states and participate in 29 sporting disciplines categorised into Olympic qualifiers, non-Olympic qualifiers and demonstration sports.
The Olympic sports qualifiers include athletics, badminton, cycling, swimming, table tennis, tennis, triathlon and wrestling.
Categorised under non-Olympic sports are arm-wrestling, beach volley, basketball 3×3, boxing, chess, cricket, football, handball, hockey, judo, karate-do, rugby, taekwondo, volleyball, and weightlifting.
E-sports, mixed martial arts, pickle ball, sambo, scrabble and speech ball will serve as demonstration sports.
Interestingly, what is missing in the preparation of Team Ghana towards the Games is the popular ‘Host and Win’ cliché that often characterises meetings of this nature.
Had it been a football championship, this axiom would have flown everywhere but why it has vanished from the lips of local athletes and officials should clearly send a certain signal to fellow Ghanaian fans to be modest in their expectation.
Just like the Olympic Games, Ghana is not an established force in such events, always identifying disciplines with competitive advantage to seek honours.
That status would not change drastically but an increase in her medal haul would justify the huge expenditure made on the Games as we look into the future with hope.
By Andrew Nortey
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NHIA set to boost its cybersecurity and IT Infrastructure
The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), in partnership with a leading private cybersecurity solutions provider in Ghana, CyberHawk Limited, is advancing the Authority’s digital infrastructure to ensure seamless operations.
This is to safeguard the Authority’s digital technologies and maintain the trust of active members of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
In this context, the NHIA Management Information System (MIS) Directorate in the Head Office, on February 11, 2024, launched a three-day brainstorming session on the organization’s cybersecurity enhancement agenda.
The MIS Directorate Ag. Director, Mr. Daniel Blankson explained that the collaborative meeting aimed to scrutinize the NHIA’s Information Technology architecture, identifying potential risks and gapsto enhance its cybersecurity posture.
“By leveraging CyberHawk Limited’s expertise, the NHIA seeks to fortify its defenses against cyber threats, protecting sensitive information and maintaining the trust of its members.”
Mr. Blankson applauded the synergy between the two organizations and underscored the Authority’s commitment to embracing cutting-edge technologies and innovative solutions to drive its mission forward.
The Head of Information Security and Standards Unit, in the MIS Directorate, Mr. Ebenezer Hooper, highlighted the Authority’s significant milestone on the digital transformation journey.
According to him, the NHIA is actively engaged in fully adopting and implementing modern digital systems to improve its operations.
He said, “The three-day brainstorming meeting will culminate in the development of a robust IT infrastructure, as well as strategic plans to translate security implementations into tangible IT cost savings for the organization.”
“There is the need to form a steering committee or IT advisory committee, operated under the Board, so that they can pay more attention in protecting the huge IT investment while ensuring cyber security-related policies are well protected,” he added.
The Project Manager of CyberHawk Limited, Mr. Chetan Narayana Murthy, lauded the collaboration and anticipated that it would empower the NHIA to implement comprehensive cybersecurity measures.
According to him, “This is a huge project that will greatly benefit the NHIA by implementing robust cybersecurity measures, safeguarding their systems, and ultimately protecting the sensitive information of NHIA members and healthcare providers.”
A Senior Manager of IT infrastructure, Mr. David Asare Addo, and his colleague, a Senior Manager of Applications, Mr. Enock Afanyi, with the MIS Directorate, gave an overview of the NHIA’s current technological landscape.
Present at the meeting were representatives from the Claims, Membership and Regional Operations (MRO), Research, Policy, Monitoring, and Evaluation (RPME), Corporate Affairs, the Audit, Administration, and Human Resource Directorates.
Story By : Vivian Arthur
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Swedru All Blacks back to winning ways, Roshan humble King Faisal
Sekondi Rospak FC made it eight wins in eight successive home games after three second-half goals from John Amoah, Joseph Ntow and Stephen Anthony Kofi. John Amoah opened the scoring in the 55th minute after a barren first half. Joseph Ntow added to the tally in the 56th minute before Stephen Anthony Kofi rounded things up in the 74th minute to give Rospak a 3-0 win over former Premier League side King Faisal.
Elsewhere at Swedru – leaders Swedru All Blacks humbled PAC Academy in an emphatic 2-0 win. Zayat Bubakari scored first for Swedru All Blacks in the 27th minute before Rudolf Junior Nana Kwasi Mensah made it 2-0 in the 34th minute. Swedru All Blacks are top of the table with 36 points – 4 points ahead of second placed Rospak FC.
Meanwhile, Former Premier League side Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs recorded their fourth successive home victory after beaten New Edubiase United 2-1 at the Robert Mensah Park. Enoch Odoom struck first for Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs in the 19th minute but Steven Asante equalized for New Edubiase United before halftime. After the interval, Godfred Eshun scored from distance in the 65th minute to help Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs secure all the points.
Here are the results in Zone Two
