News
Ransford Antwi, set to upset the apple-cart in Sunyani East
Mr Antwi
The race for the Sunyani East Constituency parliamentary seat has become keener and hotter following the decision by Mr Ransford Antwi, an Independent Candidate to join the race for the December general election.
Mr Antwi, a Sunyani based businessman and philanthropist, has pledged to challenge the longstanding dominance of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate in the forthcoming general election.
It has traditionally been a stronghold of the NPP since 1996, however, Mr Antwi seem undeterred by NPP’s strength, vowing to upset the apple-cart.
His reason for that belief is simple – the NPP and their candidate have failed to meet the developmental needs of the people.
This, he believes is buttressed by the large army of the youth and some influential figures within the constituency and abroad throwing their weight behind his candidacy.
Mr Antwi in handshake with former president kuffour
Mr Antwi says his candidacy provides hope and progress for the community.
And it appears his campaign is going on smoothly with a section of the youth, especially the first time voters in the constituency have bought into his ideas.
In separate conversations with a number of them at a campaign activity, they made it clear to The Spectator in an interview that they were relishing a change because it appears they have been taken for granted for a long time.
Reputation
Mr Antwi with former president JJ Rawlings
Mr Antwi is a royal from Sunyani with a strong reputation for honesty and integrity. His connection with the youth and readiness to help in various community activities have earned him significant support from the electorate.
He remains very confident in winning the seat in December following a recent survey from Infoanalytic which identified him as the favoured candidate among the others.
“My decision to contest for the Sunyani East parliamentary seat is to reverse the downwards spiral of developmental needs in the constituency.
My primary focus would be on development and job creation and equip a significant number of the youth with skills to enhance their employability if am elected” he stated.
“When I declared my intention to contest, some people thought that I was just joking and that I would collect money from other contestants and abandon my dream, but I want to assure you that I am in it for the long haul.
Mr Antwi said he boast of a ‘solid’ team on the ground working hard to maintain the momentum and leave nothing to chance.
He expressed concern that the Sunyani East constituency and the broader Sunyani area have diminished in stature due to the absence of substantial developmental initiatives.
The deteriorating condition of Sunyani’s roads characterised by potholes, the neglected regional library and absence of a sports stadium for the constituency would be my priority.
“The youth needs someone to provide them with leadership, offer them employable skills, hence the plan to establish a youth development centre where majority of them would be trained.
There would also be a dedicated office to receive the people and hold regular Town Hall meetings to share ideas from the people to help push forward to constituency’s development agenda.
In all of these, financial support remain a biggest challenge faced by his campaign team because everybody wants to wear his T-shirts and other paraphernalia.
“This comes as a huge cost,” he added.
Challenges
Coming into a contest like this also has a few challenges which Mr Antwi is trying very hard to deal with.
“Some of the people think that I am a rich person because I am a businessman. Others also think that once I am contesting for the election, I have a lot of money to spend and they must come for their share.
But that, according to him, was certainly not the case.
“I’m working within my means. I have some little donations I received from some people who believe in this course to pull through.
Business
Mr Antwi is the owner of Sun-city radio, one of the most popular radio stations in the region. He also owns a fleet of businesses.
Business aside, Mr Antwi is passionate about doing philanthropic work. Through his Sun-city outreach team, he has been able to liaise with some medical doctors to organised health screening for the aged to deal with health complications such as hernia, glaucoma and general health issues in the constituency and beyond.
As a football enthusiast and highly connected figure in football circles, the Sunyani East constituency parliamentary aspirant said he used his influence to secure kit sponsorship for the senior national team in the past.
He was part of a team that hired the services of Ratomir Djokovic from Serbia who supervised Ghana’s qualification to its first World Cup in Germany in 2006.
He is a staunch supporter of BA United, Asante Kotoko and Manchester United of England.
Education
Mr Antwi completed the St Patrick’s Middle School in 1987 and continued to Twene Amanfo Senior Technical High/Sunyani Senior High for his A Level Certificate and completed in 1993.
He had his National Service with the Bono Regional Hospital before proceeding to the Institute of Management Studies in Kumasi where he obtained a Diploma in Business Management.
He later worked with MTN Ghana before venturing into private business.
Family
He is the first born of children to the late Stephen Kwame Antwi and Madam Helena Dankwa.
Mr Antwi and his family at Manchester United stadium UK
Mr Antwi is married to Sufura Mohammed Suraj with whom they are blessed with four beautiful children – Emily Dankwa Antwi, Denise Antwi, Ransford Kofi Antwi and Zara Afia Kuruwaa Antwi.
His favourite meal is fufu with groundnut soup.
Mr & Mrs Antwi
Advice
He advised the youth to stay focused as they work towards realising their dreams.
According to him, the future of this country rests in the arm of the youth so it was important for any government to formulate policies that would ensure their development.
Mr Antwi also encouraged the youth to shun acts that would plunge their various communities into chaos, especially with elections approaching.
By Daniel Dzirasah, Sunyani
News
‘The Law of Karma’ premieres today at Foxy Event Centre
All roads lead to the Foxy Event Centre at Ablekuma NIC today when Ekab Movies Production premieres its maiden movie titled ‘The Law of Karma.’
The movie features upcoming characters like Pretty Annie (Annie), Mariama Tetteh (Nana Ama), Prophet Boanerge Mireku (Mr Osei), Alice Ghansah (Lucy), Rose Asiedua (Queenzy), Maxwell Buabeng (Skylord), Georgina Leobo (Reggie), John Mensah (John), Williams Appiah (Jerry), Nana Ama Yeblack (Lina) and Kofi Mensah (Mensah).
Directed by Mr Emmanuel Atuahene-Bempong (Osor), ‘The Law of Karma’, tells a true life story of how two friends – Annie and Nana Ama, grew together in the same neigbourhood.
Annie and her parents later travelled outside the country to seek greener pastures and relocated to Ghana after many years.
Annie, the only daughter of her parents convinced them to invite her childhood friend Nana Ama to stay with them.
It was for a good cause but Nana Ama had a totally different plan for the now fabulously rich family of Annie.
Mr Bempong, told The Spectator Agoro last Friday that “this movie will teach Ghanaians the lessons that one must not pay back good with evil.
In the company of some of the actresses, Mr Bempong said preparation for the premiere was far advance and was expecting to have a memorable evening with movie lovers.
He said there would be a 4pm red carpet event to precede the premiere which starts at exactly 6pm.
According to him, various strategies have been employed to sell tickets on different promotional packages.
Tickets for the VIPs are being sold at GHȻ100, a family of five can obtain tickets at a cost of GHȻ150, double for GHȻ80 and regular pegged at GHȻ50.
He urged movie lovers across the country to attend the premiere as a boost for the new faces to hit the screens.
By Andrew Nortey
News
‘No meat on Mondays,’ consume plant baised foods… Health expert advises
Replace meat with plant based foods to reduce diseases
“No meat on Mondays,” is the call on Ghanaians by health experts, following a renewed drive to practically reduce the high spate of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the country.
The call is to encourage a gradual adoption of healthy eating habits among the populace to avert the increasing high blood pressure (hypertension) and type 2 diabetes cases among the populace.
These conditions usually build up fatty deposits in the body and decrease organ function.
It is in view of this that the ‘Meatless Monday’ project, a public health initiative to rally as many Ghanaians as possible to reduce meat consumption at least one day in a week for their health and that of the environment, has been rekindled.
Coinciding with World Heart Day and beyond on the theme; ‘Use Heart for Action,’ the campaign is urging Ghanaians to take out meats like beef, pork, mutton, goat as well as fish and poultry from their meals on Mondays and replace them with plant-based foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains and plant-based proteins.
According to the Executive Director of the John Hopkins Centre for Communications, Mr Emmanuel Fiagbey, at the re-launch, stated that simply choosing not to eat meat one day in a week but plant-based food was a deliberate effort to begin making small changes in one’s dietary habits and reduce risks for illnesses like heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, among others.
Mondays, he explained, was strategic to enable people start off the week on a healthy note after possibly indulging in all sorts of unhealthy eating in previous days, particularly weekends where people often let down their guard.
The NCDs Programme Manager of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Efua Commeh, advised Ghanaians to make it a habit to exercise regularly, screen and check their blood pressure often, eat healthy and continue with medication when diagnosed of any NCD in order to promote longevity.
“By virtue of lifestyle changes due to global dynamics, eating of products like meat which used to be part of the family only during festive seasons have now become a norm in households because people are earning more and now able to buy beef, mutton, chicken and fatty foods and drinks on more regular basis.
The consumption of these products, however, comes with increased risk and people should be aware and start eating better, exercise and be more responsible for their health.”
Studies have shown that there is a strong link between eating red meat and heart-related diseases and deaths.
Diets high in red and processed meat have been associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, cancers particularly colorectal cancer, among other related ailments.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that a total of 41 million deaths occur annually due to NCDs.
In Ghana, about 95,000 deaths, almost 50 per cent of all mortalities each year results from NCDs such as heart diseases, stroke, diabetes, cancer and respiratory disease which are also common conditions reported in health facilities.
By Abigail Annoh
