Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene, held a high-level meeting with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., on August 31.
The meeting focused on investment and trade opportunities for Asanteman and Ghana.
Among those in attendance were:
U.S. side-
โข Victor Smith, Ghanaโs Ambassador to the U.S.
โข Kendra Gaither, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
โข Guevera Yao, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
โข Amb. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Former U.S. Ambassador to the UN
โข Kwabena Osei-Sarpong, RIFE International
โข Dr. Adjoa B. Asamoah, ABA Consulting
โข Amb. Dr. Jendayi Frazer, 50 Ventures
โข Sarah Brenholt, Cargill
โข Michael Coyle, Peak Global Partners
โข Victor Swami, Areva Pharmaceuticals
Asanteheneโs Delegation-
โข Amb. Kobby Koomson, Former Ghanaโs Ambassador to the U.S.
โข Ernest Sarhene, Head of Protocol to the Asantehene
โข Charles Sekyere
โข Dr. Andy Asamoah, CEO, A&C Mall
โข Kofi Badu, Chief of Staff, Manhyia Palace
โข Nana Prof. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei Woahene II, Otumfuo Hiahene
โข Nana Effah Apenteng, Bompatahene
โข Nana Otuo Siriboe II, Juabenhene
#manhyiapalace
#theasantenation
BREAKING: Duane "Keffe D" Davis has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur.
Prosecutors accused Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, of orchestrating the Las Vegas drive-by attack and providing the gun after Shakur fought with Davis' nephew earlier that night.
Davis was the only person ever charged in connection with Shakur's killing, bringing a long-awaited verdict nearly 30 years after the rap icon's death.
Every sixth Sunday, Kumasi holds Akwasidae, a sacred Akan festival honoring ancestors, the king, and the golden stool that is believed to hold the soul of the Ashanti people.
Iโm overjoyed to celebrate with His Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the 16th king of the Asante kingdom to begin African Heritage Month.
If youโve ever held a top student leadership position and dealt directly with university administration, youโll know thereโs only so much the SRC can do. University management often wonโt take your views seriously unless youโre stubborn, but stubborn in a safe and strategic way. Iโm speaking from experience.
This is never about political affiliation. The powers of the SRC office are simply limited.
Back in university, we sometimes had to force the hand of the administration just to get the bare minimum. I remember one particular instance when the SRC President was called to a disciplinary committee. He went there thinking he was sitting in as a member of the committee, only to realise, unknown to him, that he was actually the subject matter.
Man had to excuse himself and fall on me, the Senate President (Speaker), to sit in on his behalf. What followed was a bloodbath. ๐ We went toe-to-toe with the administration, and last last, the issue was resolved and the right thing was done.
Thatโs the reality of student leadership. Sometimes you have to be stubborn, strategic and willing to push back to get the right thing done.
I have been asked by the Attorney-General to accept a national assignment to serve to as Secretary and Member of the Constitution Review Implementation Committee.
The role requires that I serve the Committee and provide technical support to the Committee towards implementing proposals for the amendment of the 1992 Constitution.
17 years ago, I was brought into the Constitution Review Commission as the youngest member of its research leads at 22 years. Since then I have remained convinced of the centrality of constitutional reform to fulfilling Ghanaโs mission.
That dream has lived on in my daily advocacy. Today, myself and Democracy Hub subscribe fully to be creed that the Republic must inch towards a New Constitution for a New Generation. I believe 100% in that project.
That dream remains deferred as the political consensus necessary to achieve it remains absent. But that still remains my lifelong mission. This process is only half the journey. But progressive and incremental change doesnโt by itself defeat the revolution necessary. My advocacy continues beyond my current work; and what the political class is willing to concede at this stage.
My colleagues at Democracy Hub consider this as just the beginning to their long standing campaign and not the end. I subscribe to that creed; and our advocacy continues.
I remain grateful that the Government has remained committed to ensuring this process is led by technocrats. From the Professor Fiadjoe/Raymond Atuguba Committee; Professor Prempeh/Rainer AKumperigya Commitee to the Marietta Brew/Barker-Vormawor Committee; persons of repute have committed themselves to this journey for a while now. All in the hope that this process works.
May this attempt succeed. For God, Country and Posterity.
Shalom
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ | ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
We are pleased to introduce Bright Simons, Vice-President, Research at IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, as part of the distinguished faculty for SYPALA 2026.
Bright is a Ghanaian technologist, social innovator, entrepreneur, writer and policy commentator whose work sits at the intersection of technology, economic governance, social welfare and development.
He is also the Founder and President of mPedigree, a social enterprise that uses technology and partnerships to strengthen supply chains and combat counterfeiting of life-touching products, including medicines and agricultural inputs.
At IMANI, Bright has contributed extensively to research and public policy analysis, with a particular focus on economic governance, industrial policy, technology, trade and Africaโs development challenges.
His work and ideas have earned international recognition. He has been named a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, an MIT Technology Review Innovator Under 35, a TED Fellow, an Ashoka Fellow, a Tallberg Global Fellow and an Eliasson Prize Laureate. In 2016, Fortune magazine included him among the Worldโs 50 Greatest Leaders.
He has also received the African Innovation Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award and the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship on behalf of mPedigree. His writing and analysis have appeared in publications including the Harvard Business Review, Financial Times, BBC Business Daily and Quartz.
Bright has served on several international advisory boards and expert councils, including the World Economic Forumโs Global Agenda and Future Councils, Microsoft Africaโs inaugural advisory council, the boards of Salzburg Global and CARE International, and the external advisory board of UCB.
His recent work has increasingly focused on Africaโs critical minerals, supply chains and the emerging global competition for the resources required for the energy transition. In 2023, he received a Bellagio Fellowship to advance his work on minerals supply chains and an equitable circular economy for green minerals.
At SYPALA 2026, Bright will lead a conversation on:
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐โ๐ฌ โ๐๐% ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ญ๐กโ: ๐๐จ๐ฐ โ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ง๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐๐ฌโ ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐โ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐ก๐ง๐จ๐ฅ๐จ๐ ๐ฒ ๐๐๐จ๐ง๐จ๐ฆ๐ฒ
The session will challenge one of the most persistent narratives about Africaโs economic potential: that the continentโs vast mineral endowment automatically translates into wealth, competitiveness and development.
The conversation will examine the political economy of Africaโs critical minerals and explore how โKatanomicsโ, resource nationalism, weak value-chain integration, policy fragmentation and other structural constraints can undermine Africaโs ability to capture greater value from the minerals essential to the global clean-energy transition.
Rather than asking simply whether Africa has the minerals, the session will ask a more consequential question: can Africa turn its mineral endowment into competitive industries, technological capability, jobs and sustained economic value before the global transition passes it by?
๐ 24โ27 August 2026
๐ University of Professional Studies, Accra
SYPALA 2026 | Africaโs Ascent: Forging Resilient Economies and Inclusive Governance
#SYPALA2026 #IMANI #AfricasAscent #AfricanLiberty #YoungLeaders