Happenings In Gold Coast

In Ghana, it's pretty common to receive some sort of punishment, either formally or simply public shaming, from your church if you're a lady who gets pregnant whilst not married. Lutterodt condemned the practice in his interview with Halifax Ansah-Addo on Okay FM's 'Best Entertainment Show', saying churches have no right to do that. "Any church that treats its member in such a manner is wicked, it's called primitive weakness inducted analogy. They're all lost. Any church that tells people that, you've committed a sin by getting pregnant before marriage is lost. The sort of sin the church looks for is a dogma so that, you'll follow their rules of engagement not the rules of life. There are two things – even in law, there are legal practice and legal law. We have the doctrine for the church and the dogma for the church. Normally they do that and forget the social stigma they bring on the unborn child.” Lutterodt on the same show weeks ago indicated that having sex before marriage is not wrong but those who indulge should simply know how to control themselves. "Having sexual intercourse with anybody before you marry is a personal choice; it has never been a crime anywhere. If you have self-control, go ahead and test. If you don't have self-control, don't test it at all, because the challenge is that self-control, it's the management of your thoughts, your feelings, and your actions the bible says you need self-control so that you don't fall victim to any of these things. People who are having sexual intercourse and not made babies have never been caught and it means they're practicing self-control.” Source | Summary

I told him, "She just stepped out." He asked, "Do you know where she went?" I said, "She didn't tell me where exactly she was going." He asked, "Who are you?" I responded, "I came to see Alice." He said, "Oh that means we are both looking for the same person." He sat on the visitor's chair and started talking to me. I didn't know who he was but he was asking so many questions. She asked, "Obeng?" I said, "Yeah, he waited for about thirty minutes." She screamed, "You don't mean it! So why didn't you call me?" I said, "He didn't sound urgent. He sat here and talked with me all the while." "Talk with you? About what?" She asked. I asked her, "Was he angry?" She said, "He wasn't. He needed information. So what did you guys talk about that excites him this much? He was asking about you when I went there." I jokingly answered, "If he's excited about me, then he better employ me ooo na M'ay3 shi." We both laughed out loud. The next day Alice called to tell me Obeng asked about me and asked when I was going to visit again. I asked, "Do you think he's a good person?" Alice said, "I don't know that side of him. He's only my boss." I told her, "Give it to him but tell him I need a job and see if he could help." She said, "Why don't you tell him when he calls?". He might have picked the change in my attitude so he started asking if everything was alright. To show my gratitude, he asked for a date and I obliged. I said, "I'm a woman. I won't be happy if someone said yes to my husband." He asked, "What do you mean?" I said, "But you're married." He laughed. He said, "What gave you the impression that I'm married? If I'm married, where's my ring?" I said, "Ring isn't the marriage. Many married men walk around without the ring these days." He said, "Ask your friend. She knows that I'm a bachelor. Ask anyone who knows me. they'll tell you." I laughed at his lies but I was grateful for what he did for me, at least for not asking for sex before such a favor. "I called Alice and told her about the proposal. She said,"Men!" I told her, "Do you know he had the gut to tell me to ask you if he was married?" We both laughed. He asked, "Why are you doing this? At least pick my calls and say something. He asked, "So you still believe I'm married. You didn't ask Alice?" I said, I spoke to Alice. Then one day Alice called to tell me, "So you didn't listen to my advice? You're proudly moving around with someone's husband?" I asked her, "Do you know his wife? Can you tell me where she lives that for the past six months I haven't seen her?". Source | Summary

The maiden edition of the project is in partnership with Africa Diaspora Association of United States of America, Canada and Majestic Entertainment Group Africa America Foundation and would also unearth and develop the talents of the youth who loved to play and dance as amateurs or even professionals. Madam Janet Edna Nyame, Executive Director of NCC said the commissions' major role in the competition was to spearhead a successful completion by coordinating all five participating African groups. She said the two winning groups would be sent to the USA and Canada to compete for the championship position in 2022. She said registration for the competition was online and fee. "The competition includes; Solo dancers, Duet or Trio dancers, Dancers in small groups of four to eleven and larger groups of eleven and above," she said. She said performances slated for the competition were; National folklore dance, Dance Afrobeat, Song, and dance, Classical ballet, street dance, Modern, Hip hop and Tap. Madam Nyame said "Culture was our wealth hence the need to process our culture and design programmes to create wealth and also provide employment for the youth". She encouraged the youth to partake in the competition to develop their dancing skills in any of the disciplines. "I love to dance because dancing is even a form of exercise and I wish to encourage everyone to take a few dancing steps once in a while," she said. She urged the media to help in disseminating the information so that every child or youth in the country could hear and participate. Mr. Seth Akpatsu, Coordinator for the Competition said the purpose of the programme was to support youth and children, who were interested in exhibiting the country's culture through dance to show their skills and talents in a way they are comfortable with. He said the competition sought to sell Africa and take its culture to the diaspora, adding that the programme would empower and also give the opportunity to people between the ages of four to thirty years to showcase their talents and potential. Mr. Ato Nyankom, Diaspora Representative said the innovation by NCC was a laudable one and was convinced it would produce its expected outcome. He said the African culture was characterized by beautiful dance and the competition would give the platform for the world to see. He encouraged participants of the competition to put in their best. Source | Summary

Hammer, Stonebwoy and Bulldog are part of celebrities criticizing VGMA's ban lifting decision. Organizers of the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards on February 15, 2021, officially lifted its ban on Shatta Wale and Stonebwoy ahead of the 2021 edition of the event. The board in its official statement agreed to make the two dancehall artistes eligible to participate in this and subsequent editions of the VGMA if they so desire. Some critics have shared similar views suggesting that it is in the right interest for the board to inform the two dancehall artistes of their decision before making a public announcement. One of the artistes has gone as far as pulling out of the scheme and anything that has to do with it. With that being said, let's look at why these industry stakeholders that have criticized VGMA following its ban lifting decision. VGMA's ban lifting decision has infuriated Shatta Wale so much so that the musician has launched series of attacks at the scheme. Shatta Wale who earlier announced his decision not to participate in the Awards scheme in 2019 has again launched fresh attacks at the organizers during an interview with Onua FM. To him, it appears the awards scheme does not respect them as major stakeholders in the entertainment industry hence his decision to pull out of it. Shatta Wale's manager, Bulldog has also described as 'nonsense' the VGMAs board decision to lift the ban placed on the two dancehall artistes, adding that their pronouncement cannot avert the emotional trauma his artiste went through when he was arrested and was asked to make appearances in court. He labelled as 'daft' the board's decision to lift the ban without prior notice to the management of the artistes. The dancehall artiste took to Twitter on February 15, 2021, to vent what he described as VGMA's wrong choice of words in their press statement written to announce the lifting of the ban. To him, the VGMA board met with them before taking the decision two years ago and as such, should have done the same before lifting the ban. Dear VGMA Board & Scheme organisers,I hear the purpose of the VGMA is to celebrate and project Ghanaian musicians and music. The veteran Ghanaian music producer has also thrown his weight behind Stonebwoy following his condemnation of how the VGMA announced the lifting of the ban on himself and Shatta Wale. According to Hammer, the VGMA board goofed in its decision to publicly announce the ban lifting without meeting the management of both artistes. Source | Summary

Speaking with DJ Nyaami on SVTV Africa, Rita indicated that he told her about his plan to go in for money rituals even though she was against it. "I told him not to go because the ritual may demand a human sacrifice so I don't want any part of it. Eventually, he came home with an item, hang it in the room, and warned us not to touch it," she explained. Rita took off when she realized that her son fell seriously ill and the ritual was the cause. "When my son fell ill, I realized that he used my son for the money ritual. So I told my parents about it, and sought help for my son," Rita added. Rita's husband later blamed and tagged her as a witch for disrupting the process. According to Rita, he was not supposed to inform anyone else the money wouldn't work. Source | Summary