According to Anim-Addo, talks between the parties have reached an advanced stage, and an announcement could be made in the coming days.

“Baby Jet Promotions will be announcing the signing of Bastie Samir and George Ashie soon and an official announcement could be made in the coming days,” he told Citi Sports.

“We are focused on signing the best boxers and that is what we have started doing.”

Bastie stole the headlines when he famously stopped Bukom Banku in their bout last October at the Bukom Boxing Arena.

Bastie will join the likes of IBO World Lightweight Champion Emmanuel Tagoe on the ranks of Baby Jet Promotions.

Baby Jet Promotions is a boxing promotional company owned by Black Stars captain Asamoah Gyan.

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By: Daniel Koranteng/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Samir won their much-awaited clash via a 7th round knockout to spark celebrations among his fans, and lefe fans of Bukom Banku stunned.

On Monday, Banku said in an interview with Accra-based Kasapa FM that he wanted a rematch with Samir on the 6th of March, 2018 and in a response given on Citi FM’s Traffic Avenue, Samir said a rematch would be very possible.

“I heard that he said he wanted a rematch. I am ready and I will give him that, but he will be given three months to rest. I am planning to fight in December to wrap the year up.

I want to make a mark and get a world title by the end of 2018. So, if Banku wants a rematch, I am ready for that.”

Samir revealed that, the knockdown was not the main focus of the fight plan put together by his coach, Ofori Asare, but he was open to the opportunity of flooring his long-time rival.

“My coach and I trained and prepared very well. I was ready if the bout traveled the distance and I was also ready to take the chance if a knockout presented itself.”

The victory was Samir’s 16th of his professional career with a solitary draw being the only dent.

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By: Nathan Quao/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Sarkodie on Sunday morning described how saddened he was by the defeat of his favourite Ghanaian boxer Bukom Banku.

According to him, he believed that Banku wasn’t fit for the bout.

The former WBO Africa Cruiserweight champion, Brimah Kamoko, popularly known as Bukom Banku was defeated by former Ghana Amateur boxing team captain, Bastie Samir at the Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra on Saturday night.

Prior to the bout, Bukom Banku had promised to knock out the Bastie in the 6th Round but ironically he started losing it in 3rd Round after receiving hard punches from Bastie. He was defeated in the 7th round.

Sarkodie whose ‘Highest’ album was recently released has been nominated in the African Act category of the 2017 Music of Black Origin (MOGO).

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By: Kwame Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Bukom Banku, whom John Mahama described as a friend and brother, suffered a humiliating defeat at the Bukom Boxing Arena after being knocked out by former amateur boxing team captain, Samir Bastie in the 7th Round.

[contextly_sidebar id=”PNka9eG4E3YM11u6dZOoRxxailY6GD1T”]John Mahama, who enjoyed massive support from Bukom Banku especially during the 2012 and 2016 election campaign periods, wished Bukom Banku good luck for his future bout.

While declaring the two fighters as “winners” of the night, John Mahama said he believes the Bukom Boxing Arena which he commissioned in the dying days of his administration in November 2016, will become an “incubator for the next generation of Ghanaian boxing champions.”

“Great night of boxing at the Bukom Boxing Arena yesterday [Saturday]. The patronage, entertainment and competitive spirit fulfills the purpose for which the facility was built. Congrats to winner Bastie, and better luck next time to my friend and brother Braimah Kamoko aka Bukom Banku. Both boxers were winners last night. I’m convinced that the Bukom Arena will become the incubator for the next generation of Ghanaian boxing champions,” John Mahama said in a Facebook post.

Bastie Samir emerged as a ‘new boxing hero’ after humiliating Bukom Banku who has nicknamed himself as the “African Mayweather.”

Samir, an undefeated former captain of Ghana’s amateur boxing team, ended Bukom Banku’s 28-0-0 unbeaten record on the exciting boxing night, that drew thousands of enthusiasts including former boxing champions, Ike Quartey and Azumah Nelson.

Ahead of the much-anticipated bout, Bukom Banku vowed to knock Bastie out in the 6th Round, and said he was going to force him into a coma on the night, but that was not meant to be.

Meanwhile, Bastie Samir has thrown a challenge to Bukom Banku that he is ready to face him again if he [Bukom Banku] asks for a re-match.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Bukom Banku who has nicknamed himself as the “African Mayweather” suffered an excruciating knockout in the 7th round at the Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra when he clashed with Ghanaian welterweight boxer Bastie Samir.

Ayittey Powers who has been defeated twice by his friend in a video after Saturday’s bout said he was certain Banku would lose against Samir.

“I knew from the beginning that Bukom Banku will lose because he had met his match…,” he said.

[contextly_sidebar id=”NVU1JdmGd40G7GMyhXgBDVYjcehHalMz”]According to him, Samir Bastie was a good match for Bukom Banku.

The exciting bout did not only end without Bukom Banku honoring his vow to knockout Bastie in the 6^th Round but also had him instead knocked out in the 7^th Round after enduring tough punches from his opponent.

Ayittey Powers, in a video after the Bukom Banku’s loss to Bastie said “I admit, I can’t match up to him [Banku] but he has now met his ‘meter’… His meter has shown him…. and is reading him left and right. Your banku has been totally destroyed.”

Bukom Banku and Ayittey Powers are known boxing enemies who have engaged each other twice; in Accra and Kumasi with Bukom Banku winning in both encounters.

In the extremely hyped second encounter dubbed “Judgement Day,” Powers failed to answer the bell for the sixth round after a rather impressive challenge in the early rounds with some overhead punches but his strength worn as the fight progressed.

Banku was presented with a SUV Range Rover, a ticket for a holiday trip to South Africa and GHc30,000 as his prize.

In the earlier encounter in Accra, Bukom Banku won by unanimous decision, after boxing his opponent into the 12th round through an intense pound-for-pound exchange.

Bukom Banku treated spectators to a very entertaining bout from the 5th round after Ayittey Powers showed signs of extreme exhaustion.

The ‘Put Up or Shut Up’ bout which pulled about 25,000 spectators was a cruiser-weight non-tittle.

Many mocked Ayittey Powers over his poor show in both bouts.

Powers has been fighting since 2000 and he has a record of 21 wins (17 KOs), 25 losses and a draw but he is yet to win a major title with his closest attempt being a loss to Daniel Baff in 2013 when they fought for the vacant PABA Cruiser Weight and WBA Pan African cruiserweight in Australia.

Watch his video reaction after Bukom Banku’s loss below:

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post ‘You’ve met your meter’ – Ayittey Powers mocks Bukom Banku [Video] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Bukom Banku who has nicknamed himself as the “African Mayweather” suffered an excruciating knockout in the 7th round at the Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra on Saturday night.

Samir, an undefeated former captain of Ghana’s amateur boxing team ended Bukom Banku’s 28-0-0 unbeaten record on the exciting boxing night that drew thousands of enthusiasts including former boxing champions, Ike Quartey and Azumah Nelson.

Ahead of the much-anticipated bout, Bukom Banku vowed to knock Bastie out in the 6th Round, and said he was going to force him into a coma on the night, but that was not meant to be.

See below 11 things you didn’t know about ‘Ghana’s new boxing hero’

1. Bastie Samir is 31 years old and was born on May 19, 1986.
2. Bastie is nicknamed “The Beast”
3. He has an impressive record of knocking out all his opponents in his 15 bouts.
4. He won the African Championships in the welterweight division in May 2007
5. He represented Ghana and won silver at the 2007 All-Africa Games boxing welterweight division
6. He qualified for the Olympics 2008 in the light-heavyweight division.
7. He relocated to the US in 2008 and won many professional bouts there.
8. Some of the opponents he has beaten are Mavin Blair, Jacob Alvarez, Joseph Dunn, Damon Reed, Billy Cunningham, and Greg Hacket
9. His 6^th round split draw with Lester Gonzalez in April 2011 is the only blemish on his record
10. In 2016, Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions signed Bastie Samir and his junior brother Issa Samir.
11. In October 2017, he knocked out famed Ghanaian boxer, Braimah Kamoko, popularly known as Bukom Banku in a much-anticipated bout.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post 11 things you didn’t know about Bukom Banku’s ‘silencer’ Bastie Samir appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Bukom Banku, who promised to knock out Bastie in the 6th Round, struggled to find his feet from the 3rd Round after enduring tough punches from his opponent.

In what turned out to be the first loss in his professional career, Bukom Banku was forced by Bastie to taste the floor in the 3rd Round after a heavy blow served to his [Bukom Banku] face.

A visibly fatigued Bukom Banku struggled to complete the subsequent rounds as Bastie’s jabs proved to have what it takes to draw the remaining energy out of him.

He succumbed in the 7th Round after another punch landed him on the floor, leaving the referee, Roger Banor with no option but to end the bout.

Thousands of boxing enthusiasts, including former World boxing champion, Azuman Nelson, were present to witness the historic bout.

The bout was with the tagline ‘Make or Break,’ and was promoted by Box Office Promotions.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Bukom Banku suffers humiliating defeat in cruiserweight bout appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

This coupled with maintenance works on the country’s power plants , low levels of water in the Akosombo and Bui dams have compounded the power generation challenge in the country.

The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) earlier said it had intensified its load shedding exercise in the southern part of the country.

According to the Public Relations Officer of the ECG William Boateng, some 200 megawatts of power was shed on August 28, the highest in awhile following power generation challenges.

Speaking to Citi Business News the Communications Consultant to the Energy Ministry, Edward Bawa said the load shedding situation started some two weeks ago.

“we have a curtailment of gas supplies from Nigeria because the pipeline has been destroyed at one point “, he stressed.

Hydro power constitutes about 50 % of Ghana’s power generation mix and the water levels in Akosombo and Bui are very low .” the managers of these two reservoirs will have to ensure that they mange the water levels over a period of time in order to sustain the supply of power”, Edward Bawa stated.

By:  Rabiu Alhassan/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Fred Asamany, believes that the lack of vision in the leadership of this country is the primary reason for the mediocre state of the electricity and all stakeholders must get together to work on the deficit.

“Energy in all its forms is the engine of growth in any economy and all our past and present leaders, with the exception of Kwame Nkrumah, have tinkered with this issue without any clear cut initiatives from our leaders to solve this problem.”

According to him, Ghana needs about 12500 megawatts of electricity to industrialize. However, the country has only 2884 installed capacity with the current production around 1313 megawatts.

“As at 28^th July 2014 the installed generation capacity in Ghana is 2844 MW however the available capacity is only 1313 MW yet we require 12,500 MW to industrialize.”

Ghana requires 500 watts/capita to take a significant step towards industrialization, equivalent to 12500 MW  (population of 25million x 500 watts).

Currently the installed generation capacity in Ghana is 2844MW.  The deficit for industrialised status is therefore approximately 9700 MW. Generation infrastructure is approximately $1.5m per MW. Ghana therefore needs to invest $14.5bn to come up to speed.

On the management of the electricity sector, he says “as long as VRA/ECG/GRIDCO are run as purely civil service organizations, we cannot expect anything better from their financial operations. We must introduce private sector management attitudes into their operations.”

Click here to read a full analysis of Ghana’s power sector.

By: Kojo Akoto Boateng/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The Ghana Power Compact invests up to $498.2 million to support the transformation of Ghana’s electricity sector and stimulate private investment. The five-year compact is designed to create a self-sustaining energy sector in Ghana by reforming laws and regulations needed to transform the country’s power sector and catalyze more than $4 billion in private energy investment and activity from American and global energy firms in the coming years.

The MCC will make an initial investment of up to $308.2 million, including funding to put the Electricity Company of Ghana, the country’s main distribution company, on a sustainable path, help the utility meet current electricity needs and upgrade infrastructure to reduce outages and improve service. A second tranche of up to $190 million in funds will be made available if Ghana accomplishes a set of reform targets set forth in the compact.

Even though this is welcome news, some players in the industry believe beyond the MCC, Ghana needs to do a lot more to secure the energy sector in the long term.

Currently, only about 1313 megawatts of electricity is produced by the various plants, which collectively have an installed capacity of 2884 megawatts.

Click here to read more about Ghana’s power sector

The Atuabo Gas Project is expected to provide lean gas to generate about 550 megawatts of power, and provide 75% of the natural Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) needs.

Ghana currently has an energy production target of 5000 megawatts by 2015. However, for the nation to industrialize, the energy per capita has to be increased to 500 watts per capita from the paltry 53watts per capita. This means that the nations strategic production target must be around 12500 megawatts, a target that requires billions of dollars to achieve.

The questions, therefore, are:

1. Are Ghanaians being told the actual state of the energy sector?

2. To what extent would the current the plans being executed mitigate the problems?

3. What is the way forward?

Fred Asamany, a leading power plant developer in Ghana, believes that power  is the most important factor in Ghana’s development.

According to him, “if you look at the economic history of industrialized countries, it is palpably obvious that the underlying driver of economic activity is power.”

He shared his perspectives on the Citi Breakfast Show Thursday August 7.

Below are his perspectives on Ghana’s power sector, in a question and answer format.

WHAT IN YOUR VIEW ARE THE MAJOR CONSTRAINTS TO POWER AVAILABILITY, RELIABILITY AND STABILITY?

Lack of vision in the leadership of this country is the primary reason for the mediocre state of the electricity sub-sector.

Energy in all its forms is the engine of growth in any economy and all our past and present leaders, with the exception of Kwame Nkrumah, have tinkered with this issue without any clear cut initiatives from our leaders to solve this problem.

Perennial under-investment
The lack of an implementable master electricity sector blue print backed by a credible investment plan over the years has resulted in weak and out-dated main systems, sub-systems and processes that should otherwise guarantee a high degree of system reliability and stability.

Lack of an entrepreneurial culture
The public utilities in the power sector such as VRA and ECG run purely as civil service organizations. These organisations have hoards of talented people who are well educated but are not challenged to drive businesses as entrepreneurs would. Accountability is weak and status matters a lot and there are very little productivity or incentives targets set for the civil servant who will of course be paid regardless of performance. Lack of performance does not result in any sanctions because by and large you are employed to serve your term.

Availability inadequacies
Availability relates to the actual MWe (megawatt energy) that can be generated and made available for distribution to consumers at any point in time…It is different from the capacity of generation that is installed…As at 28th July 2014 the installed generation capacity in Ghana is 2844 MW however the Available Capacity is only 1313 MW yet we require 12,500 MW to industrialise.

Reliability characteristics
The System is controlled to stay within acceptable limits during normal conditions;
The System performs acceptably after credible Contingencies;
The System limits the impact and scope of instability and cascading outages

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE CURRENT ARRANGEMENT BETWEEN VRA/GRIDCO & ECG?

As long as VRA/ECG/GRIDCO are run as purely civil service organizations, we cannot expect anything better from their financial operations. We must introduce private sector management attitudes into their operations.

The unbundling or disaggregation of transmission (GRIDCO) and distribution (ECG) from VRA was a very good idea. However the businesses are closely interdependent on each other for successful operations and quality of service…ECG relies on VRA and a small number of IPP’s for its generation. Without adequate generation ECG cannot physically supply all the electrical power needs of its customers..Currently there is not enough available generation capacity to meet the load requirements of ECG….Its a complex matrix of issues.

CONCERNS HAVE BEEN EXPRESSED ABOUT THE PSP CONDITION IN THE MILLENNIUM COMPACT AGREEMENT; WHAT IS YOUR VIEW ON PRIVATE PARTICIPATION IN THE POWER SECTOR? WHICH ASPECTS OF THE POWER SECTOR COULD BENEFIT FROM A PSP?

The passionate argument should be about establishing exceptional levels of uninterruptible service delivery of electricity to customers.

The Private Sector already works with ECG and the power sector throughout the value chain and the sector should capitalise on best practices and standards that can be imported from Private Sector Participation to achieve the desired levels of service required.

The injection of an entrepreneurial culture and commercial imperatives in the power sector is a sine qua non and can only be achieved by introducing some elements of organizational systems, culture, reward systems, processes and technologies that are more prevalent in the private sector. In this respect the 100% shareholder, GoG, should reduce its influence in the policy and decision making of these organizations whilst retaining a significant minority interest.

Private Sector Participation could support the following areas:

Establishment of a Credible Wholesale Offtaker
Creation of Power Park Infrastructure
Provision of Securities and Guarantees Backstop

Distribution
Distribution Franchises
Sub-Station Infrastructure
Long Term Service Agreements (Management and Technology)
SCADA Systems
Metering and Revenue Collection
Prepayment Systems

Transmission
Pre-financing of Substation Upgrading and Expansion
SCADA Systems and New Technological Upgrades
Long Term Service Agreement
Capital Spare Parts

Generation
Public Private Power Projects
Development of Power Parks
Operations and Maintenance
Long Term Service Agreement
Capital Spare Parts
Repair Centres
Gas to Power Infrastructure

HOW MUCH POWER DOES GHANA NEED TO INDUSTRIALIZE AND HOW CAN WE ATTAIN THAT POWER GENERATION LEVEL?

Ghana requires 500 watts/capita to take a significant step towards industrialization, equivalent to 12,500 MW (population of 25m X 500 watts).

Currently the installed generation capacity in Ghana is 2,844MW. The deficit for industrialised status is therefore 9,700 MW approx…Generation infrastructure is approximately $1.5m per MW therefore we need to invest $14.5bn to come up to speed. This is the scale of the challenge.

The solution for that level of generation required for industrialization is a systematic 200 year plan that is defined in a generation blue print that all governments will adhere here. This blue print must be driven from the Office of the President and not the bureaucratic Ministry of Energy.

GoG infrastructure fund, SSNIT and Industry must provide the seed funding to plant the required generation assets annually through building a minimum of 1000MW industrial power park complexes sponsored by GoG at a time. On completion the assets can be offloaded to private investors or through the equity stock markets.

GoG then gets its cash investment for the next round of planting. This is implementable and must be led by local content and not external agencies and will guarantee that the assets are put on the ground..The traditional route of project finance frameworks for investing in the power generation sector results in almost 10 years on average to build one power plant.

Global Comparisons of Industrialised Countries (Country Watts/capita)
USA – 3,170
Europe – 1,700
Malaysia – 813
South Africa – 900
Ghana – 53

HOW CAN GHANA GAIN MAXIMUM BENEFIT FROM THE MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE PROGRAM?

The MCC program will not result in a dramatic transformation of the sector that Ghana requires. Millennium challenge may give the sector a head start but is not sustainable unless it is back loaded by a credible programme of activities and investments when the MCC is over, that fits into a master blue print for the electricity sector created by Ghana for Ghana.

The millennium challenge program must allow the electric power industry to build on Local content capacity to manage all aspects of power generation, transmission, distribution and O&M. Locals investors must understand this industry and invest in it.

Throughout history there is no country in this world that has been developed to industrialized status by another country. We must do it ourselves!!!

By: Kojo Akoto Boateng/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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