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I Felt Betrayed – C.K. Akonnor On Brief Black Stars Coaching Job
Former Black Stars skipper and Fomrer Black Stars Coach, Charles Kwablah Akonnor has admitted that there were challenges that hindered him from effectively achieving his goal as Coach during his stint with the Black Stars which ended a year ago.
“At a point, I felt that I needed to talk to somebody, not necessarily to teach me what to do. I did not get certain things right because there was too much talk about what I was doing”, he said on Soccer Chat with Fiifi Banson.
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Charles Akonnor who captained Ghana’s Black Stars at the 2000 AFCON even believes he was betrayed by certain individuals within the Ghana Football Association during his brief time in charge as Ghana’s Head Coach.
“Sometimes I was not too sure who I was talking to. I spoke to certain people to help me and I later heard the content of our discussion from other people”, he revealed.
Background
In 2020, the Ghana Football Association appointed Charles Kwablah Akonnor as Head Coach to be assisted by David Duncan.
This was after James Kwasi Appiah’s contract had expired and was not renewed due to poor performance.
No sooner had C.K. Akonnor set to work, than the deadly Corona virus struck. Consequently, C.K Akonnor never had the full complement of the Black Stars team due to Covid 19 restrictions and injuries.
That notwithstanding, C.K Akonnor managed to qualify Ghana to the AFCON 2021 tournament.
Charles Akonnor’s problems begun in the World Cup Qualifiers.
CK Akonnor had a tumultuous and turbulent stint with the Black Stars amidst media reports of an alleged frosty relationship with the GFA President Kurt Okraku who also happened to be his former boss at Dreams FC.
He was fired in September 2021 after managing 10 games where he won 4 matches, drew 4 times and lost twice.
TOXIC ENVIRONMENT
The former Ghana International and former Black Stars Coach confirmed that the atmosphere around the Black Stars during his time was not the best and was not conducive for success.
He further explained that ” a lot of the things that happened during my stint were wrong. Later on, the information I got tells me that a lot went wrong.”
“What I experienced with the Black Stars was not good but I’m not the only one who suffered that treatment”, C.K. Akonnor said as it appeared that he did not want to go into details on what really transpired during his brief spell with the Black Stars.
However, Charles Kwablah Akonnor is of the view that all Ghanaians must let go of their grievances towards the Black Stars and help support the team as Ghana heads to the World Cup.
“I will let go of what happened in the past. Right now, we’re in a position where we’re going to the World Cup and we all need to be positive and support the team”
“Otto Addo did a very good job by recognizing me which I really appreciate. That’s enough for me. He is my colleague and I will give him the necessary support he needs.
The Former Wolfsburg and Black Stars skipper says he will rectify a lot of errors if given the chance to Coach the national team again.
“I let myself go through things that weren’t necessary and rather won’t happen again if I get the chance to Coach the team again”, he asserted.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
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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
