Joshua “Hitter” Clottey, IBF WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION ROCKS NY Picnic 2008
New York — The mother of all picnics, the New York picnic, has shown its mettle once again on Saturday, August 9, 2008 at the beautiful Sherwood Island State Park in Westport, Connecticut. An overall success, judging from comments from participants to the NCOGA office, organizers of this year?s picnic, family Day, Health and Educational Expo were proud to agree that the picnic was a great success and a window through which to showcase the diverse Ghanaian cultures, and the collective harmony that is characteristic of Ghana. The cultural extravaganza was climaxed by Okyerema Asante?s artistic one man drumming; quite an extraordinary performance.
This year?s picnic featured an exposition on sports, culture, health and education. There were various competitive activities such as volleyball, tug of war, and soccer. Various State Universities and institutions of higher learning were on hand to provide admission and financial aid information. Doctors on the Hudson and Ghanaian Nurses Association were also on hand to provide free health screening to all.
The change of venue to the Sherwood Island State Park in Westport, Connecticut drew a larger crowd with diverse group of people from all walks of life than last year. A crew of Adepa Radio was on hand to cover the celebrations live.
Ambassador Leslie Kojo Christian, the permanent representative to the UN and Joesph Ngminebayihi, the Deputy Consul General of New York, Dr. Anukware Ketowusugbo, Dr. Benjamin Dodoo, Awadada Togbe Awusi II of Anlo State and other dignitaries were there to grace the occasion.
The UVA cultural troupe and the Kpalongo group led by Zeek wowed attendees with their non stop drumming throughout the day. The arrival of the boxing champion to the park created pandemonium which led to his being carried around the park amid singing and drumming.
NCOGA would like to thank the following sponsors for their support for this year?s picnic: Delta, Western Union, Moneygram, Vigo and Akwaaba Travel Insurance. Additional sponsors are Ambassadorway Travel, Prestige Travel, International Travel Exchange (ITE), Trinity Travel, Pepsi Cola, Dr. Benjamin Dodoo, Dr. Samuel Mensah (Okyiman Clinic), Lincoln Grill, Comet Properties, Versailes Catering, Inc, Samari Shipping, J.K. Akpalu Law Firm, Dr. Yao Kaledzi (Horizon Medical Center), Sandy EB Associates, Universal trucking and Shipping, and Giftanco Enterprises (Queens).
A big kudos to this year?s organizers for a job job well done!!!
Report Release
The National Council of Ghanaian Association in New York organized the launching of a telecommunications report on Ghana at the Permanent Mission of Ghana to the United Nations on September 23, 2005. The report entitled, Telecommunications Market in Ghana: Status and Outlook was developed by Wilkofsky Gruen
Associates, a New York-based economic consulting firm with assistance from Kina Telecom, a value-added telecom firm in Ghana.
The report covers fixed lines, mobile communications, payphones, internet, and equipment and infrastructure market. It projects that the telecommunications spending in Ghana will grow dramatically through 2008, rising to $1.5 billion from $384 million in 2003, a 31.4 percent compound annual increase. In cedis, spending will rise from 3.2 billion in 2003 to 18.8 trillion in 2008, expanding at a 41.0 rate compound annually. The underlying drivers for this growth, according to the report, include the improved management of Ghana Telecommunications, new source of financing and the liberalization of the fixed line market.
The majority of Ghanaians present at the launching event expressed keen interest in investing in their motherland provided they have adequate access to information and data on various sectors enshrined in the telecommunications report. According to Dr. Lawrence of Lucent Technology, the report provides investors with basic market indicators and information that will help them make informed decisions on investing in the telecommunications market.
Mr. Obeng Busia, the Consul-General noted that this was the first time that the Ghana permanent mission to the UN in New York had undertaken a launching event of this kind. Present at the event are Dr. Victor Lawrence, Dr. Dodoo and Mr. Shariff Touray, members of the NCOGA Board of Directors, Alhaji Mohammed Mardah, the ESG of NCOGA, Mr. William Dzokoto, former executive of Lucent Technology and other former and current Council members and also the community leaders.
According to Victor Teppeh, one of the authors of the report and also senior telecom analyst at Kina Telecom, the Ghanaian community in the USA have the creative capabilities to help accelerate investment in the telecommunications industry.
The book is available for purchase by all potential investors. Please contact www.NCOGA.org or the Consulate at Ghana Mission to the UN. Check the Gallery for more photos of the Book launching.
