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Focus on your goals, not your fear. Focus like a laser beam on your goals. ― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
Managing the senior national football team (Black Stars), is perhaps, one of the most hard-to-please undertakings one can ever imagine.
It is certainly not a job for the weakling. You have got to develop a thick skin (apologies to ex-Ghana FA boss Nana Sam Brew-Butler) to be able to survive the inexorable pressure that comes with the job.
Last week, head coach of the Black Stars, Charles Kwabla Akonnor held a news conference to announce a squad for a couple of friendlies where he virtually ‘badgered’ on the media to tone down on the attacks or stave off criticizing the team negatively.
“I’m pleading with you to stop the negativity. The negativity around this team is too much,” Akonnor lamented.
During my playing days, we used to receive a lot of encouragement from the fans and journalists. These days, things have changed. We need the support, so please tone down on the negativity.”
Indeed, the Stars have over the last few years come under an avalanche of criticism as regards their performance – Ghanaian fans not really enthused by the team’s failure to annex any trophy in close to four decades.
Much as one sympathises with the Stars’ coach, advice to him is to remain focused and rather keep his eyes on the ball. He must keep his eyes peeled and invite players who are in fine fettle and ready to serve the country.
As for criticisms, they would come in droves. They will come in all shapes and sizes. Some will be positive and negative; others downright ruthless. You cannot stop them. Even when you appeal to the sensibilities of the fans, some would still be at your neck – all-too ready to tear you apart at the slightest faux pas.
The good thing is that when the team starts churning out the desired results, the praises and laudations would flow in torrents. That is how football is; that is the nature and spirit of the game.
Akonnor should be guided by the above-mentionedpersuasion, work his socks off, pluck the results and he would surely get the fans behind him.
Last time the Stars clinched the Nations Cup Holy Grail was in 1982 – some 39 years ago when most of today’s youth were either not born or were too young to know what was happening.
It is the reason some of the youth easily get nettled even when the name of the Stars is mentioned. This is no joke. It is something serious we must not joke with. For many of them, they think the Stars have been over-pampered over the years with nothing to show in continental glory. That for them is a huge bother.
So, Akonnor must bear in mind that the criticism will continue to flow – some in horrifying taste; and he better psyche himself for the challenges ahead. What he desperately needs now is focus, focus and focus!
A philosopher once said, to conquer frustration, one must remain intensely focused on the outcome, not the obstacles. Over to you, C.K Akonnor!
PlainTalk with JOHN VIGAH
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GEXIM deepens relations with US EXIM Bank
A management team of the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) led by the Acting Chief Executive, Sylvester Mensah met with the leadership of the Export–Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) on Wednesday April 23, 2025 in Washington DC, United States of America.
The Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM, Mr. James C. Cruse and Vice President, International Relations, Ms. Isabel Galdiz received the GEXIM delegation, which included Deputy CEO for Banking, Mr. Moses Klu Mensah and Head of International Cooperation, Mr. Jonathan Christopher Koney at the headquarters of US EXIM.
The meeting offered the GEXIM team the opportunity to share the strategic direction of the Bank in line with the resetting agenda of the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama for the repositioning of the Ghanaian economy into an export-led one by providing the requisite investment to Ghanaian businesses.
Mr. James C. Cruse expressed US EXIM’s eagerness to deepen its existing relations with GEXIM and proposed the signing of a new Cooperative Framework Agreement following the expiration of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 to utilize US EXIM’s medium term loan guarantees to procure machinery by GEXIM for qualified Ghanaian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Mr.Sylvester Mensah thanked the Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM for hosting the GEXIM delegation and reaffirmed the Ghanaian government’s commitment to strengthening trade and investment between Ghana and its global partners for economic transformation of Ghana with GEXIM playing a pivotal role.
The two teams will be meeting on the sidelines of the 2025 US EXIM Annual Conference on 29th and April 30, 2025 to explore possible areas of collaboration and matching Ghanaian businesses to American companies. The meeting ended with an exchange of gifts.
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Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation –Pres.Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has expressed concern over the misuse of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) for personal financial gain by individuals in leadership positions.
Speaking during a meeting with Chief Executives of specified entities under the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) on Thursday, March 13, the President directly attributed the dire state of SOEs to their leadership, accusing chief executives, management teams, and governing boards of prioritising personal enrichment over organisational efficiency.
He pointed to bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures as factors draining public funds while SOEs continue to rely on government bailouts.
“Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation by appointees. The chief executives, management, and boards of these enterprises are responsible for this situation. Some SOEs have become perennial loss-makers, draining public funds with bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures while relying on government bailouts as if entitled to them. Many of these entities are at their lowest point in the entire history of the Fourth Republic,” he said.
President Mahama further noted that many SOEs have been plagued by inefficiencies, corruption, and mismanagement, leading to consistent financial losses. He cited the 2023 State Ownership Report by the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), which highlighted systemic inefficiencies and wasteful expenditures within these entities.
He therefore reaffirmed his commitment to reforming under-performing SOEs and ensuring they serve national interests.
He warned that loss-making SOEs will no longer be tolerated and will either be merged, privatised, or closed.
“I will assess you based on your performance. If you do not align with the pace of the reset agenda, you may be asked to step aside. If that adds to the horror movie, so be it,” he added.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
