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Pursuing a shinning legacy: Building fresh sets of Black Satellites
Barely two months after their gold medal winning feat at the 2023 Africa Games hosted by Ghana, a team of Technical Handlers, led by gold medal winning Coach Desmond Offei, have commenced an intensive and wide ranging search for the next stock of footballing talent.
They are expected to take up the mantle from their illustrious predecessors who have, over the last three years, consistently won laurels and lifted the flag of Ghana high.
This first phase of the search for more talented footballers effectively started on May 1st, 2024, and will run all the way through till 16th June, 2024.
A generation of Ghana’s Black Satellites won the 2021 WAFU Zone B Championship, and the U20 AFCON thus qualifying for the U20 World Cup. That World Cup tournament was cancelled by FIFA due to Covid-19. The next generation of Black Satellites won the gold medal at the 2023 Africa Games.
Whilst the nation continues to bask in the glorious feats of the Black Satellites, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) in its pursuit of consistent high levels of performance by the national teams, commissioned Coaches Desmond Ofei, Nii Odartey Lamptey, Salifu Fatawu and Isaac Amoako to scout for more talents that would augment the current crop of Under 20 players.
The ongoing scouting activity has been necessitated by the fact that a number of the current squad are ready for promotion to the Black Meteors (National U23). In addition to this, the Technical team are looking to further strengthen the squad and deepen the pool of available talent.
The scouting team shall observe several matches in the Division One and Premier Leagues with the net being cast all over the country.
Additionally, three Mini-Tournaments involving selected players shall be organised in three zones, as follows:
Northern Zone: Upper East, Upper West, Northern, North East Middle Zone: Bono, Bono East, Ahafo, Ashanti, Savanna, Oti Southern Zone: Greater Accra, Western, Western North, Central, Eastern, Volta.
By the end of this phase of scouting for the national Under 20 team, a number of top talents would have been selected for further assessment ahead of putting together Ghana’s next generation of Black Satellites.
With this approach, underpinned by identification of talents best suited to Ghana’s football philosophy (DNA), the needed foundation for continuing success would have been laid.
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Youth urged to take proactive stance on ozone depletion
•Mr Joseph Amankwah, first counting from, some officials from EPA and UNDP in group picture with the student
Mr Joseph Amankwah, the Director of Ozone Layer and Climate Change at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has urged the youth to take a proactive stance on issues related to ozone depletion, emphasising that their future would be most affected by its consequences.
Speaking during a student engagement event at the Ghana Secondary School (GHANASS) in Koforidua, he highlighted the critical role young people played in tackling climate-related challenges.
Mr Amankwah explained that human activities, such as the use of certain chemicals, were significantly contributing to the depletion of the ozone layer and driving climate change.
He said it was important to educate the youth on these issues, encouraging them to share this knowledge with their families to foster a broader understanding and active participation in climate action.
He urged the education sector to integrate lessons on the ozone layer, the causes of its depletion, and its links to climate change into the curriculum.
The event, organised by the EPA in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), was designed to foster environmental awareness and promote a sense of responsibility among young people.
Mr Amankwah noted that ozone layer depletion was affecting everyone, including children, as it alters weather patterns and threatens the natural environment.
He highlighted the need for young people to develop ‘green skills’ to adapt to the challenges of climate change and to understand ways to combat it.
He added that World Ozone Day, observed every September, would focus on youth engagement in environmental issues, to help them understand the long-term consequences of ozone depletion and climate change.
Mr Amankwah also discussed the harmful impact of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), a major chemical contributor to ozone depletion.
He explained that household appliances such as refrigerators and air conditioners were common sources of CFC emissions in Ghana.
Many uncertified technicians work on these appliances, often releasing harmful chemicals into the atmosphere due to improper handling, he noted.
To address this, he urged appliance repairers to obtain proper certification and training, emphasising that unqualified repairs not only harm the environment but also endangered public health.
From Ama Tekyiwaa Ampadu Agyeman,
Koforidua
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Small-scale miners schooled on health hazards of mining with mercury
Mr Lovelace Sarpong (right) addressing the participants
Some Artisanal and Small-Scale Miners in the Ashanti and Central regions have been sensitised on the potential health dangers humans are exposed to with the use of mercury in gold processing.
The sensitisation which was organised by PlanetGOLD Ghana project was to raise awareness about the negative impacts on the use of mercury in mining activities.
According to the PlanetGOLD Ghana Project Coordinator, Mr Lovelace Sarpong, the use of mercury in artisanal small-scale mining pose health challenges that affects the nervous, digestive and immune systems, lungs and kidneys; and may be fatal.
Some Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) that benefited from the exercise were Amansie Central, Asante Akim North, Amansie South, Amansie West, Bekwai, and Adansi North in the Ashanti Region, and Upper Denkyira East (Dunkwa-on-Offin) and Upper Denkyira West (Diaso) in the Central Region.
Additionally, he said inorganic salts of mercury were corrosive to the skin, eyes and gastrointestinal tract, and may induce kidney toxicity if ingested.
He stated that the PlanetGOLD Project has conducted several initiatives to raise awareness on reducing mercury exposure among artisanal and small-scale gold mining actors in the country.
It was to promote mercury-free mining practices in line with Ghana’s obligations under the Minamata Convention on Mercury, support the formalisation of the ASGM sector while advocating the adoption of the CRAFT Code and responsible supply chains, and raise awareness on the availability of mercury-free alternatives.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Area Head for Konongo, Mr Dawood Abbas, underscored the importance of government’s environmental regulations and EPA’s role in ensuring compliance within the ASGM sector.
He encouraged miners to prioritise environmental stewardship to gain community trust and secure a Social License to Operate (SLO) and reaffirmed the Agency’s commitment to enforce its commitments under the Minamata Convention.
BY Cecilia Lagba Yada