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Probe the $1.7bn loss incurred by the BoG through GoldBod – PAC Chair tells Mahama

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Probe the $1.7bn loss incurred by the BoG through GoldBod – PAC Chair tells Mahama

Abena Osei Asare, the Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee and former Deputy Finance Minister, has called on President John Mahama to demand accountability over the reported $1.7 billion loss incurred by the Bank of Ghana(BoG) through its dealings with GoldBod cited by the IMF.

According to Abena Osei Asare, the matter requires thorough investigation, stressing that the amount involved is significant and could have been used to support other sectors of the economy to create jobs and improve livelihoods.

Osei-Asare said the alleged loss represented resources that could have been invested in critical sectors such as healthcare.

The PAC Chair argued that recruiting thousands of unemployed nurses with part of the money would have reduced unemployment and generated tax revenue for the state.

She further questioned the discrepancy between the Bank of Ghana’s 2025 financial statement, which reported a US$214 million loss, and the IMF’s Article IV consultation, which put the figure at US$1.7 billion.

Speaking in a video on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, Abena Osei Asare stated, “The Minister of Health is complaining about the fact that he needs GH¢ 6 billion to recruit nurses. And here we are, with approximately GH¢ 22 billion going down the drain”.

“IMF comes, IMF is privy to all the data and everything and says, no, the loss is not US$214 million as recorded, but US$1.7 billion,” she said.

“We expect some transparency. We expect some accountability and not contradiction in numbers, as is being put out there,” she added.

Meanwhile, Sammy Gyamfi, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), has debunked claims suggesting the institution is making losses.

The GoldBod CEO argued that the institution is financially sound since it began operations under its current mandate.

According to Sammy Gyamfi, GoldBod’s financial performance is supported by audited accounts, adding that claims suggesting that GoldBod is financially distressed do not reflect the organisation’s actual financial position.

He revealed that their audited financial statements have been made available to the public through the institution’s official website.

Speaking on Twitter Spaces on Sunday, August 9, Sammy Gyamfi stated, “GoldBod has never made a loss, and our audited financial statement is on our site.”

“GoldBod is very financially sound”, he boldly added.

His comment comes on the heels of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revealing that the Bank of Ghana (BoG) lost $1.7 billion through the Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD).

In a post shared by Data Scientist and Policy Analyst, Alfred Appiah, on X detailed that the Bank of Ghana’s losses on its 2025 Domestic Gold Purchasing Programme (DGPP) via GoldBod reached $1.7 billion, far above the previously reported $214 million.

Alfred Appiah also shared an excerpt of the IMF report confirming the scaling of operations led to these losses primarily from G4R doré purchases, service fees, and discounts.

The Policy Analyst in a post detailed, “It turns out the Bank of Ghana lost far more on its domestic gold purchasing programme, implemented through GoldBod, in 2025 than was initially reported.

The $214 million that generated so much discussion was only a fraction of the total. According to the latest disclosures in the IMF report, the Bank of Ghana recorded losses of about $1.7 billion on the programme in 2025, compared with about 400 million dollars in 2024. In effect, the Bank of Ghana lost about 14.5 dollars for every 100 dollars worth of gold purchased in 2025.

To be fair, roughly half of those losses arose from the exchange rate differential between the Bank of Ghana’s accounting exchange rate and the forex bureau rate used to purchase gold from artisanal and small-scale miners.

Even after accounting for that, the losses remain substantial. They are large enough to erode GoldBod’s trading capital and create significant fiscal risks, particularly now that the government intends to make budgetary provisions to support GoldBod’s operations. The government says it will reduce the cost to 5 dollars for every 100 dollars worth of gold purchased. We will have to monitor whether that target is achieved.

In my view, Goldbod also needs to maintain a permanent discount on ASM gold purchases to help offset some of these trading costs. The prices paid for ASM gold are currently among the highest in the region. At the same time, the ASM sector contributes very little in taxes despite accounting for the majority of Ghana’s gold exports, while the environmental destruction from illegal mining continues.

As it stands, we are paying premium prices for galamsey gold while bearing much of the environmental and fiscal cost”.

Watch the video below:

@ghnow_ At the ongoing GAFET launch, the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Hon. Eric Opoku, acknowledged and recognised the founding members whose contributions helped lay the foundation for the Ghana Agricultural Fund for Education and Transformation. 🌾🇬🇭 #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ The Ghana Agricultural Fund for Education and Transformation (GAFET) officially takes off to support agricultural development, education, and transformation in Ghana. #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – BLACKO _ VIBEZ(4GEDA4EVER)🇬🇭

‘Legal vacation is not lawyers’ vacation; courts continue to operate’ – Justice Srem-Sai tells GBA

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‘Legal vacation is not lawyers’ vacation; courts continue to operate’ – Justice Srem-Sai tells GBA

Dr Justice Srem-Sai, the Deputy Attorney General and Minister of Justice, has challenged the position of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) President, Efua Ghartey, over court proceedings during the legal vacation.

The Deputy Attorney General argued that lawyers do not have the authority to decide whether courts should hear substantive cases during the legal vacation, arguing that such decisions rest with the bench.

He argued that legal vacation is designed to significantly reduce the workload of the superior courts but does not mean that the judiciary ceases.

According to the Deputy AG,  the period is traditionally a reduction in judicial activity rather than a complete shutdown of the courts.

Read Dr Justice Srem-Sai’s opinion piece below:

The President of the honourable Ghana Bar Association (GBA) – in a letter to the Chief Justice dated August 10, 2024 – makes two claims. The first claim is that a vacation Judge does not take proceedings on the substance of the case or conduct trials during the legal vacation. More particularly, the President said:

“This notwithstanding, the Judiciary, with the consent of other stakeholders have by convention over the years, agreed to certain courts being designated as Vacation Courts to handle any emergencies arising during the vacation, usually interlocutory matters and never trials.”

The President’s second claim is that the decision, if any, to take proceedings on the substance of the case during the legal vacation lies with the lawyers in the case (and not the bench). More particularly, the President stated as follows:

“However, the overriding consideration in any matter brought before a Vacation Judge has always been the willingness/availability of Counsel to appear before the Court in any matter slated for conduct during the vacation. In other words, Counsel are not under any compulsion whatsoever to appear before a Vacation Court.”

None of the two claims is support by law, rules, practice, or optimal reason. I will explain. However, not before I give a brief background to the conversation:

Nature of Court Proceedings

A court case entails two types of proceedings. They are (1) proceedings on the substantive matter, and (2) proceedings on interlocutory matters. Proceedings on the substantive matter entails proceedings that are capable of finally determining the case. It often includes trials and hearings on the merit of cases. Interlocutory proceedings, on the other hand, involve motions and summons which do not determine the matter finally. Kindly note this down.

The tradition of law practice (as well as the dictate of the civil procedure rules) is that the superior courts scale down significantly on work in the months of August and September. This is known as the “summer vacations” or “the long legal vacation”. In some jurisdictions, it is informally called “Judges’ vacation”. It is never called “lawyers’ vacation” anywhere in the world.

The key point here, however, is that the courts scale down on work significantly – they do not shut down. To continue operating partially, some judges – a few of them – are allowed to work over the vacation period. The person who determines which judge works over the vacation is the administrative head of the courts – in this case, the honourable Chief Justice and, of course, together with the inherent judicial power of a judge to manage and control his court’s work. One thing is, however, clear – a lawyer or a body of them do not determine that. Kindly note this, too, down.

The Chief Justice allows a Judge to work in the vacation by issuing what we call a “warrant” to the Judge. The Chief Justice’s warrant to a Judge to sit during the legal vacation allows the judge – known as a ‘vacation Judge’ – to hear two kinds of cases. The kinds of cases are (1) cases in his own court, and (2) cases in the courts of other judges who are on vacation. Note this, too, down.

In respect of cases in his own court, a vacation Judge is allowed to take both interlocutory proceedings and substantive proceedings. In respect of cases from other courts, however, a vacation Judge is allowed to take interlocutory proceedings only. This is based on the law and the understanding that it is only a substantive Judge (not a holding Judge) who could determines a case finally.

Now, I turn back to the GBA President’s claims of allegation on court proceedings during the legal vacation.

The Power over Court Proceedings

Contrary to the GBA President’s claim, the power to decide whether to take proceedings on the substance of a case during a legal vacation is for the bench, not for the bar. This is why:

A lawyer’s primary duty is, in fact, to his client – not to the client of another lawyer. If allowed to determine how justice is administered in the courts, a lawyers will decisively make decisions which will promote his client’s interest over the interest of another lawyer’s client. In fact, this is the only reason courts and judges exist – to balance the interest of litigants. It is, therefore, fundamentally disturbing to suggest, as the GBA President has suggested that “the overriding consideration in any matter brought before a Vacation Judge has always been the willingness/availability of Counsel to appear before the Court in any matter slated for conduct during the vacation.”

Let us, for a minute, turn to England, where the practice of legal vacation originates. There, it is emphatically the decision of the bench to determine how to run the courts, both in term-time and during vacations. The Civil Procedure Rules Practice Direction 2F regulates the English High Court’s vacation work. There, one will notice that the Practice Direction is filled with phrases like “if the senior judge of that Division determines …”, “if the Court is satisfied …”, “as the Court may direct”, “Subject to the discretion of the Judge”, etc.

This has always been the case in Ghana, too. As we have known it, it is the Chief Justice who determines when and where a Court should work. She may, as we have come to know it, upon a warrant, determine and direct that a Judge sits even on weekends. We are also aware that Courts have customarily conducted trials over legal vacation. Nowhere, either in England or in Ghana, is a lawyer or a body of them given the power to determine how court proceedings should go. Thus, one is not particularly certain where the GBA President gets the alleged tradition of this version of legal vacation practice from.

Trials During the Vacations

Contrary to the GBA President’s claim, vacation Judges take proceedings on the substance of the case and do conduct trials during the legal vacation. Here is why:

As stated above, a vacation Judge takes both interlocutory and substantive proceedings on cases in his own court. The reason for this is that a vacation Judge is entitled to and does, eventually, take his share of the vacation but in term-time. When he does, another Judge – a term Judge – takes his (the legal vacation Judge’s) cases. As in the case of vacation, a term Judge too will – when the vacation Judge goes on leave – take only interlocutory proceedings on cases from the court of the Judge who is now on vacation. Under such circumstances, too, substantive proceedings on cases from the vacation Judge will be on hold until the vacation Judge returns from leave. This is for the same reason and law that only a substantive Judge (not a holding Judge) could determine a case finally.

The net effect of this arrangement is that cases in the vacation Judge’s courts do not suffer disproportionate delays simply because he has served as a vacation Judge. This has been the practice in our court. So, again, one is not particularly clear what the GBA President grounds the allegation that courts “never” conduct trials during legal vacations on.

Conclusion

Law practice is a difficult job. It drains you, both physically, mentally and emotionally. Many lawyers end up securing for themselves serious physical, behavioural and mental illnesses from law practice. Some manage life, sadly, with indulgences and addictions. Legal vacations, thus, may be a good opportunity for lawyers – who are either unwilling or, for any reason, unable to take control of their lives – to get that well-deserved rest. It is for this reason that many Judges, accommodate the pleas of lawyers to scale down work during judges’ vacation. This accommodation is, however, always upon request, on case-by-case basis, and is subject to the consideration of the Judge who, for the time being is, conducting a case.

What the GBA President’s proposition in her letter to the honourable Chief Justice seeks to do is grave. It seeks move the power to manage and control court proceedings and to do justice from the hands of the Judge into the hands of a lawyer. This has a severe and far-reaching policy implication for justice administration in Ghana. On the face of it alone, it distorts the very reason courts exist. If one adds to it the fact that the claim is also not backed by law, rules, practice or optimal reason, then the matter gets even more unhealthy.

Now, a lawyer who wishes to take a rest during legal vacation knows exactly what to do. He attends proceedings and makes a plea to the Judge for accommodation. The Judge will, in turn, consider the plea and, in the interest of justice, either grant the request (either wholly or in part) or refuse it altogether. What a professional lawyer is not entitled to do, and cannot do is to, in vacuo, beforehand, declare that he will not attend proceedings at all”.

@ghnow_ From warm smiles to cheerful moments, here’s a compilation of some of the best smiling moments of the Minister for Food and Agriculture at the ongoing GAFET launch. 🌾🇬🇭 #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – 😈🚀Music Beastz🚀😈
@ghnow_ At the ongoing GAFET launch, the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Hon. Eric Opoku, acknowledged and recognised the founding members whose contributions helped lay the foundation for the Ghana Agricultural Fund for Education and Transformation. 🌾🇬🇭 #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

High Court throws out Nana Kwame Bediako’s bid to stop $14.9m judgment

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High Court throws out Nana Kwame Bediako’s bid to stop $14.9m judgment

The Accra High Court in Accra has thrown out another application by Nana Kwame Bediako, commonly known as Cheddar, seeking to stop Cola Holdings Ltd from enforcing a $14.9 million judgment against him.

The case, presided over by Awuah Dabanka-Bekoe, dismissed the application on Monday, July 27, 2026, and awarded GH¢20,000 in costs against Nana Kwame Bediako in favour of Cola Holdings Ltd.

Nana Kwame Bediako’s application, filed by his lawyer, Bobby Banson, sought an injunction to prevent Cola Holdings from enforcing a judgment obtained against Nana Kwame Bediako in an English High Court.

The UK judgment, which had already been registered in Ghana, meant Cola Holdings could take steps to enforce it locally.

Cheddar had filed an appeal challenging an earlier decision of the High Court in Accra which refused to cancel the registration of the English judgment.

The latest application was therefore intended to stop Cola Holdings from enforcing the judgment until his appeal is determined.

The development follows a debt dispute in which Cola Holdings sought to enforce its security interest over the property after a court recognised a claim involving an outstanding debt of approximately $14.9 million.

The company said it was unable to take possession peacefully, prompting the court to approve police assistance to help the Receiver assume control of the hotel in line with the law.

The news article filed by Graphic Online read, “The Commercial Division of the High Court in Accra has granted a warrant of police assistance to UK-based Cola Holdings Limited and its appointed Receiver, Nii Amanor Dodoo, to take possession of No. 1 Oxford Street Hotel in Osu, Accra.

The order, made by Justice Samuel Faraday Johnson on July 21, followed an application by Cola Holdings and the Receiver after they informed the court that they had been unable to obtain possession of the property peacefully.

According to the court order, Kensington Residential Partners 1 Limited opposed the application through one of its directors, Nana Kwame Bediako (alias Cheddar). However, the court dismissed the grounds advanced in opposition.

In its ruling, the court held that Cola Holdings had registered its security interest over the property at the Collateral Registry and had obtained a Memorandum of No Objection to realise its security. Justice Faraday Johnson further held that, under the Borrowers and Lenders Act, 2020 (Act 1052), the company was entitled to seek police assistance after it was unable to obtain possession of the property without resistance.

The court also found that Kensington Residential Partners 1 Limited had not placed sufficient evidence before it to justify refusing the application.

In its ruling, the court held that Cola Holdings had registered its security interest over the property at the Collateral Registry and had obtained a Memorandum of No Objection to realise its security. Justice Faraday Johnson further held that, under the Borrowers and Lenders Act, 2020 (Act 1052), the company was entitled to seek police assistance after it was unable to obtain possession of the property without resistance.

The court also found that Kensington Residential Partners 1 Limited had not placed sufficient evidence before it to justify refusing the application.

Court records show that Tsatsu Tsikata and Tata Kosi Foliba represented Cola Holdings and the Receiver, while Bobby Banson and Isaac Akerefie-Mensah appeared for Kensington Residential Partners 1 Limited.

The order relates solely to the application for police assistance and does not determine any other issues or claims that may arise between the parties.

The latest ruling forms part of an ongoing legal dispute arising from the enforcement of a security interest over the No. 1 Oxford Street Hotel. Court records indicate that Mr Dodoo was appointed Receiver by Cola Holdings under the Borrowers and Lenders Act after the company took steps to realise its security over the property.

The matter follows earlier proceedings connected to the enforcement in Ghana of a judgment of the High Court of England and Wales involving Cola Holdings Limited. In January 2026, Mr Bediako publicly stated that he disputed liability under the judgment and had instructed his lawyers to challenge its enforcement through the Ghanaian courts.

He said the transaction related to a facility which he said had been obtained by Kensington Residential Partners 1 Limited from the International Finance Corporation. He also stated that he had appealed a High Court decision relating to the registration of the foreign judgment and intended to pursue all available legal remedies.

The current ruling concerns only the Receiver’s application for police assistance and does not determine the merits of any pending appeals or other proceedings between the parties”.

@ghnow_ The launch of the Agricultural Education Transformation Fund (AETF) is currently underway at The Palms by Eagles in Accra. #GHnow #fyp ♬ Biggest Nathaniel – N.E records & lasmid
@ghnow_ From warm smiles to cheerful moments, here’s a compilation of some of the best smiling moments of the Minister for Food and Agriculture at the ongoing GAFET launch. 🌾🇬🇭 #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – 😈🚀Music Beastz🚀😈

‘I am now NPP’s official petition receiver at the Jubilee House’ – Nana Yaa Jantuah

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‘I am now NPP’s official petition receiver at the Jubilee House’ – Nana Yaa Jantuah

Presidential Staffer, Nana Yaa Jantuah, has taken a jab at the New Patriotic Party (NPP), stating that she is now their official petition receiver at Jubilee House.

According to Nana Yaa Jantuah, President John Mahama has officially delegated her to receive any petition the NPP brings to the Jubilee House during future demonstrations.

Speaking on TV XYZ, Nana Yaa Jantuah stated, “I am now the official petition receiver for the NPP at the Jubilee House. Unless they decide not to embark on any demonstrations, but if they do and decide to bring a petition to the Jubilee House, I will be the one to reply and sign their letter. I will also receive their petitions”.

“I am the only one who will receive it and no one else. President Mahama has officially delegated me to receive any petition from the NPP, unless they decide not to come to the Jubilee House,” she added.

She added, “They will be seeing me every time moving forward”.

“I want to put on record that I will make sure I’m always available and at the office when they decide to come around. Even if I’m unavailable, I will rush back to receive them no matter where I am,” she concluded.

The development follows Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who indirectly referred to her as a “nobody” during the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) recently concluded “Democracy Under Attack” demonstration.

Speaking during the presentation of the petition at the Presidency on Thursday, August 6, Mr Afenyo-Markin stated, “With great respect and without prejudice to your presence, to nominate only you to come amounts to disrespecting us as a political party”.

“But to disrespect our democracy by only nominating you to come, it means the government does not take seriously the great issues before us,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Nana Yaa Jantuah has announced plans to petition Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin over comments made by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin.

According to Nana Yaa Jantuah, he is old enough to be Afenyo-Markin’s mother mother adding that the minority leader is a small boy in her eyes.

Nana Yaa Jantuah disclosed that she would formally petition Speaker Alban Bagbin to demand that the Minority Leader retract his remarks.

The Presidential Staffer argued that Afenyo-Markin’s comments were unacceptable.

Speaking in an interview on Asempa FM later on Thursday, Nana Jantuah expressed deep disappointment over the Minority Leader’s comments.

Nana Yaa Jantuah stated, “I am old enough to be your mother. Afenyo-Markin is a small boy in my eyes. Who is he to disrespect me? He should never try that again”.

“I will petition the Speaker for Afenyo-Markin to withdraw what he said. He used to call me ‘Senior.’ What has changed? I am so mortified. I cannot comprehend what happened,” she added.

Also, Martin Kpebu, a Private legal practitioner, has told presidential staffer Nana Yaa Jantuah to apologise to Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin.

The private legal practitioner argued that there was nothing wrong with Afenyo-Markin referring to Nana Yaa Jantuah as a “nobody.”

According to Martin Kpebu, Nana Yaa Jantuah must apologise to Afenyo-Markin for how she subsequently reacted to the minority leader’s comment.

He urged Nana Yaa Jantuah to toughen up because she holds public office.

Speaking on TV3, Martin Kpebu stated, “If Afenyo-Markin comes to say Nana Yaa is a nobody, to be very candid with you, it is not an insult. Look, our democracy is stronger than this. Sometimes public discourse needs to be caustic; that is why JM himself called Akufo-Addo and co Akyem Sakawa mafia. And who arrested JM?”

“So, I think that she has to come out and apologise. It’s not about her feelings. We’ve put her in public office. You see how, coming to relate, they used it. So this particular Nana Yaa is a nobody video; that’s not the end we’ve seen.

“I think an apology will be in order. Ghanaians are very shrewd, though. Ghanaians are very savvy. Don’t think that’s the end of this episode. Wait, in 2028, when they start playing it back, there would have been a few other mistakes by then. When they put them together, NDC, they will win the election, but they will be in trouble,” he added.

Watch the video below:

@ghnow_ At the ongoing GAFET launch, the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Hon. Eric Opoku, acknowledged and recognised the founding members whose contributions helped lay the foundation for the Ghana Agricultural Fund for Education and Transformation. 🌾🇬🇭 #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ The launch of the Agricultural Education Transformation Fund (AETF) is currently underway at The Palms by Eagles in Accra. #GHnow #fyp ♬ Biggest Nathaniel – N.E records & lasmid

BREAKING – Deputy NPA CEO, Dr Dramani Bukari dead

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BREAKING – Deputy NPA CEO, Dr Dramani Bukari dead

Dr Dramani Bukari, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), has reportedly passed away.

Multiple reports have confirmed the tragic news.  

Reports suggest Dr Dramani Bukari died on Tuesday, August 11, 2026.

Details surrounding the death of Dr Dramani Bukari remain unclear as authorities are yet to issue an official statement on the circumstances of his passing.

However, a source at the NPA confirmed Dr Dramani Bukari Ecomog died after a short illness in London.

The late Dr Bukari served as a Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the NPA, the regulatory body responsible for overseeing Ghana’s downstream petroleum sector.

More to follow…

@ghnow_ At the ongoing GAFET launch, the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Hon. Eric Opoku, acknowledged and recognised the founding members whose contributions helped lay the foundation for the Ghana Agricultural Fund for Education and Transformation. 🌾🇬🇭 #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ From warm smiles to cheerful moments, here’s a compilation of some of the best smiling moments of the Minister for Food and Agriculture at the ongoing GAFET launch. 🌾🇬🇭 #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – 😈🚀Music Beastz🚀😈

It is an embarrassment to Ghana that $200m Saglemi is now a white elephant – Atta Akyea

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It is an embarrassment to Ghana that $200m Saglemi is now a white elephant – Atta Akyea

Samuel Atta Akyea, the former Works and Housing Minister, has said the Saglemi Housing Project is an embarrassment to Ghana.

According to Atta Akyea, Ghana secured a US$200 million loan to construct 5,000 housing units but has now turned into a white elephant.

He further disclosed that he expected President Mahama to fix Saglemi in his second term.

Speaking on Raw with Roselyn, Samuel Atta Akyea stated, “It is an embarrassment to this great nation of ours. We got a loan of US$200 million to construct 5,000 housing units, and now it’s a white elephant. Some people have invaded the space, taken away some infrastructure and messed up the place”.

“So I thought that when we couldn’t complete Saglemi, which was also an NDC project, that should have been the priority of the second-term King and President Mahama.

“I thought he would say that this project has become a mess, and now that God has given me a second chance, I will go and fix it.

“They are still playing with it and talking about a foreign investor coming to continue from where they left off — a lot of circular arguments that I don’t understand.

“If you get an investor in, what is it going to be like? Then it ceases to be affordable housing because they are profit-oriented. People can’t afford it, and that’s going to be a reversal of our fortunes,” he said.

The Saglemi Housing Project which was initiated under the NDC government in 2012 with a $200 million loan, and was designed to deliver 5,000 residential units to help bridge the country’s housing deficit.

The project stalled due to funding irregularities, contractual controversies, and legal disputes, leaving about 1,506 units partially completed and deteriorating.

According to reports, the Saglemi Housing Project was originally planned to deliver 5000 affordable housing units at US$200 million.

However, with about US$195.85 million, representing 98% of the project funds, spent on the project as it currently stands at the site today.

Technical assessment by the Ghana Institution of Surveyors valued the work on the ground at only US$64.98 million, although almost US$196 million had been spent.

Despite the US$196 million already spent, the site has no functional sewerage system, no storm drainage and other critical infrastructure, making the houses effectively uninhabitable. It is estimated that a further sum of US$114 million will be required to complete the project.

In recent times, the Ministry of Works and Housing has assured that plans are well advanced for the completion of the Saglemi Housing Project.

Speaking during a visit by the Vice President, Prof Jane Naana Opoku-Agyeman, to the Ministry on, February 5, the Sector Minister, Kenneth Gilbert Adjei stated, “There has been an issue of a housing deficit of about 1.83 million units, and some of the initiatives we are pursuing to bridge the gap include completing affordable housing projects,” he said.

“So far, 800 units of the affordable housing project are being developed progressively by TDC, and we have advanced arrangements in place to complete the Saglemi Housing Project with a selected developer.

“Very soon, we will sign the agreement. The matter is currently at the AG’s Department for finalisation. Once that is done, we will sign and see the contractor on site,” he added.

@ghnow_ From warm smiles to cheerful moments, here’s a compilation of some of the best smiling moments of the Minister for Food and Agriculture at the ongoing GAFET launch. 🌾🇬🇭 #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – 😈🚀Music Beastz🚀😈
@ghnow_ The launch of the Agricultural Education Transformation Fund (AETF) is currently underway at The Palms by Eagles in Accra. #GHnow #fyp ♬ Biggest Nathaniel – N.E records & lasmid

How a 2-week-old company was allegedly awarded GHS683m Big Push road contract

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How a 2-week-old company was allegedly awarded GHS683m Big Push road contract

The Fourth Estate has exposed how a two-week-old company identified as Growth 82 Global Ltd, incorporated in January 2025, weeks after the Mahama administration took power, was awarded a GHS683million Big Push road contract.  

The investigative reporting revealed the firm lacked experience and proper classifications, prompting President Mahama to form the Valerie Sawyerr Committee.

They further disclosed that the Valerie Sawyerr Committee later cleared the Ministry of Roads and Highways on sole-sourcing under the Big Push initiative.

The Fourth Estate in a post on X stated, “In January 2025, two weeks after the current NDC government came to power, Growth 82 Global Ltd was established.

11 months later, in December 2025, the government awarded the company a multi-million cedi contract to rehabilitate the Dodo Pepesu Nkwanta road under the Big Push initiative.

Our investigations, published in March 2026, raised concerns about the company’s capacity and experience, among other issues of abuse of sole-source by the Ministry of Roads and Highways.

President Mahama set up the Valerie Sawyerr committee to investigate the issues. But the Committee shared false information about Growth 82 Global Ltd and cleared the Roads Ministry.

However, evidence available to The Fourth Estate exposes the Valerie Sawyerr Committee.”

Parts of the news article filed by The Fourth Estate stated, “One of the companies that was cited as not having demonstrable experience and capacity and yet was awarded a major contract under the Big Push initiative is a company called GROWTH 82 Global Ltd. The Fourth Estate’s probing revealed that the company was less than one year old at the time it was awarded a major, multi-million-cedi contract for the construction of the Dodo Pepeso-Nkwanta road.

The Fourth Estate further revealed that at the time GROWTH 82 Global Ltd was awarded the major contract worth GHS 683 million, the company did not have the required classification to qualify for such a contract.

The Valerie Sawyerr Committee subsequently released a 72-page report containing its findings and recommendations”.

According to The Fourth Estate, the Valerie Sawyerr Committee fell short in conducting the expected investigations.

The news article added, “On the specific issue of when GROWTH 82 Global Ltd was registered, the Valerie Sawyerr report said: “Evidence shows that the company Growth 82 Global Limited was registered on August 18, 2020.”

On the issue of the capacity and classification of the company by the Ministry of Roads and Highways, the Committee said: “Evidence shows that the company Growth 82 Global Limited was registered on August 18, 2020; received A3B3 certificate on September 6, 2024; received A2B2 certificate on March 19, 2025; and received A1B1 certificate on August 14, 2025.”

Where and how the President’s Committee obtained the evidence to draw the conclusions above remains a wonder. This is because official records expose what the Valerie Sawyer Committee put out as evidence to be completely false.

The Fourth Estate applied for and received an official report from the Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC) on the incorporation and ownership of GROWTH 82 Global Limited.

According to the ORC, the company was indeed registered on January 21, 2025, which is exactly two weeks after the current NDC government was sworn into power.

So the question is, where did the Valerie Sawyerr Committee get the August 18, 2020, company registration date from?”

See the post below:

@ghnow_ GAFET Lead Coordinator, Steven Nhyira Odarteifio, highlights key achievements of President John Dramani Mahama #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ From warm smiles to cheerful moments, here’s a compilation of some of the best smiling moments of the Minister for Food and Agriculture at the ongoing GAFET launch. 🌾🇬🇭 #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – 😈🚀Music Beastz🚀😈

High Court rejects Mustapha Hamid plea to adjourn NPA trial during legal vacation

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High Court rejects Mustapha Hamid plea to adjourn NPA trial during legal vacation

The Accra High Court has thrown out a plea by former National Petroleum Authority (NPA) Chief Executive Officer, Dr Mustapha Hamid, to adjourn the trial until October.

The High Court ruled that the trial against Mustapha Hamid and others will continue during the legal vacation despite the defence’s plea.

The court directed that proceedings should continue during the legal vacation.

The Judge disclosed that the case will proceed unless the Chief Justice withdraws the warrant directing selected high-profile criminal cases to proceed during the legal vacation.

The High Court decision clears the way for proceedings to continue despite the defence teams’ request for an October resumption.

Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, Jacob Kwamina Amuah, Wendy Newman, Albert Ankrah, Isaac Mensah, Bright Bediako-Mensah, Kwaku Aboagye Acquaah, Propnest Limited, Kel Logistics Limited, and Kings Energy Limited have been accused of alleged large-scale extortion, abuse of public office, and money laundering amounting to GH¢297,574,087.19 and US$332,407.47.

Dr Mustapha Hamid, the first accused, has been accused of orchestrating a large-scale corruption scheme within the petroleum sector between 2022 and 2024.

They have been accused of laundering funds funnelled into luxury properties, vehicles, and fuel stations through a coordinated scheme that targeted Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and Bulk Oil Distribution Companies (BDCs).

Earlier, the case was adjourned to August 26, 2025, for substantive hearings to commence.

The former NPA CEO, Dr Abdul-Hamid, on July 23, was granted bail in the sum of GH¢2 million.

As part of his bail, he was required to produce two sureties which each earning a net monthly salary of not less than GH¢5,000.

He was also mandated to report himself to the OSP once every two weeks.

Meanwhile, Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie has told the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) and Lawyers representing Abdul-Hanan Wahab and former National Signals Bureau Director-General Kwabena Adu-Boahene, Godfred Dame and Atta Akyea that legal vacation doesn’t stop judges from hearing cases.

Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie debunked suggestions that lawyers can decline to proceed with cases simply because they have been scheduled during the legal vacation.

According to the Chief Justice, a judge who is sitting and ready to hear a case cannot be prevented from doing so purely because counsel has made personal arrangements during the vacation period.

Speaking at the 2nd Quadrennial Delegates Congress of the Senior Staff Association of the Judicial Service of Ghana in Sunyani in the Bono Region, the Chief Justice stated, “You cannot say that there is legal vacation, so a judge who is actually sitting and ready to do your case cannot do it. No, that’s not it”.

“To write to the Chief Justice to say that the cases should not be adjourned to the vacation, so I am not coming, I have already made arrangements outside, so I am not coming.

“You are a lawyer; you have your clients. If your clients decide to give you leave, well, go on leave, but you cannot say that there is a legal vacation and the judge who is actually sitting cannot do your case. No, that is not it,” he stated.

“No, adjournments are not at the instance of the Chief Justice. Adjournment is a judicial act. This is something that is so basic,” he said.

Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie’s comments follow a letter from the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) appealing to him over concerns about lawyers being required to appear in court during the legal vacation.

According to the GBA, they are concerned about directives that compel lawyers to appear in court during the vacation period despite indicating their unavailability.

The GBA argued that Counsel are not under any compulsion to appear before a Vacation Court.

They noted that the legal vacation, which runs from August 1 to September 30, is intended to provide judges, lawyers and judicial staff a period of respite following the demanding calendar.

They, however, noted that Vacation Courts may sit to deal with urgent and interlocutory matters during the period.

@ghnow_ GAFET Lead Coordinator, Steven Nhyira Odarteifio, highlights achievements of Agriculture Minister Hon. Eric Opoku Speaking at the launch of the Ghana Agricultural Fund for Education and Transformation (GAFET), Lead Coordinator Steven Nhyira Odarteifio listed key interventions and developments under the leadership of the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Hon. Eric Opoku. #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ GAFET Lead Coordinator, Steven Nhyira Odarteifio, highlights key achievements of President John Dramani Mahama #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

“Count me out” – Afenyo-Markin rules himself out of Bawumia’s running mate slot

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“Count me out” – Afenyo-Markin rules himself out of Bawumia’s running mate slot

The Minority Leader, Afenyo-Markin, has clarified that he has no intention of becoming Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s running mate in the upcoming 2028 elections.

According to Afenyo-Markin, he is not among those fighting to become Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s running mate.

The Minority leader stressed that there are other senior members of the party who deserve the opportunity.

He further described himself as a politician who is not driven by excessive ambition.

Speaking during a radio interview on Asaasepa radio, Afenyo-Markin stated, “Those fighting for running mate, count me out; I beg you stop it. In the party, there are elders; Napo is his running mate; don’t lead me into that temptation; I am not one of those overly ambitious people.

I don’t know why you said this, but there are senior members in the party”, he added.

 In related news, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the former Majority Leader and former Member of Parliament for Suame, has said he is not in any competition with the NPP’s 2024 running mate, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh (NAPO).

The former Majority Leader dismissed speculation that he is seeking to become the running mate of the NPP’s 2028 presidential candidate, former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.

According to Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, he played a pivotal role in the selection of Dr Opoku Prempeh as Dr Bawumia’s running mate ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

Speaking in an interview with Oyerpa TV, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu stated, “I am not in competition with NAPO over the running mate position, so I do not understand those making such claims. I have even said before that I held his hand and took him to Dr Bawumia”.

“In 2022, I advised Bawumia to select NAPO as his running mate. NAPO was not even aware of it. So how would I be in competition with him?” he questioned.

“I am not in any competition because nobody campaigns for the running mate position. It is the presidential candidate who, in his wisdom, chooses the person he believes is best suited for the role,” he added.

Meanwhile, some NPP Members of Parliament have endorsed the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) 2024 running mate, Matthew Opoku Prempeh, commonly known as NAPO, to be maintained as running mate in the 2028 elections.

Following the State of the Nation Address on Friday, February 27, 2026, Napo was spotted exchanging pleasantries with dignitaries in Parliament shortly after he attempted to leave Parliament. Some NPP MPs gathered around him.

The NPP MPs were heard chanting “Yɛ pɛ NAPO, NAPO na yɛ pɛ” which translates as We want Napo, Napo is the one we want”.

Nana Ayeh Asafo-Adjei, the Member of Parliament for Bosome Freho and the Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, along with other colleagues.

Other MP’s were also heard shouting, “No change, we want NAPO.”

Also, Patricia Appiagyei, the Deputy Minority Leader in Parliament and Member of Parliament for Asokwa, has refuted allegations that she is lobbying to be selected as a running mate of the New Patriotic Party’s flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.

According to Patricia Appiagyei, she has not made any such move, but remains open to serving in that capacity if given the opportunity.

Speaking in an interview with Sir John on GhanAkoma on Akoma FM on Wednesday, March 19, 2026, the Asokwa MP emphasised, “I have not lobbied for any running mate position, but if it comes, I will accept it because I am willing to serve the party”.

She further asserted that the NPP has several capable individuals who could be considered.

“There are more prominent people in the party who can equally support Dr Bawumia to secure power in 2028. It is the prerogative of the party to choose the right person,” she added.

“We are focusing on restructuring the base of the party by registering new members to complement the existing ones for victory in 2028,” she noted.

Watch the video below:

@ghnow_ The Ghana Agricultural Fund for Education and Transformation (GAFET) officially takes off to support agricultural development, education, and transformation in Ghana. #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – BLACKO _ VIBEZ(4GEDA4EVER)🇬🇭
@ghnow_ GAFET Lead Coordinator, Steven Nhyira Odarteifio, highlights achievements of Agriculture Minister Hon. Eric Opoku Speaking at the launch of the Ghana Agricultural Fund for Education and Transformation (GAFET), Lead Coordinator Steven Nhyira Odarteifio listed key interventions and developments under the leadership of the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Hon. Eric Opoku. #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

“We are in opposition; we don’t need facts” – Sylvester Tetteh tells NPP members

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“We are in opposition; we don’t need facts” – Sylvester Tetteh tells NPP members

A former Member of Parliament for Bortianor‑Ngleshie Amanfro and General Secretary hopeful of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Sylvester Tetteh, has said the NPP in opposition do not need facts to set the agenda.

According to Sylvester Tetteh, the NPP in opposition does not need facts but propaganda for the ruling NDC to come and defend.

He argued that as an opposition General Secretary, when one speaks, the national security must meet.

Speaking to NPP members in a viral video shared on X, Sylvester Tetteh stated, “The NDC is putting fear in our men; they are arresting TikTokers, social media people, communicators. The things our communicators are saying, if you are the General Secretary week after week, you must set the agenda for the NDC to come and defend.   

We are in opposition; we do not need facts, we need to propagate. One and a half years in opposition, the party is in parliament; there is no problem, but parliament is a house of records; Asylum Down is not a place of records; it is a place of propaganda.

So if you speak as an opposition General Secretary, national security must meet”.  

Some Ghanaians reacting to Sylvester Tetteh’s claims stated, “How the NPP have reduced to this still baffles me. NDC has transitioned to be the most attractive party in Ghana now. It was the NPP who held that tag. Most of the intelligent youth are joining NDC, and they don’t fear to say it in public”.

One X user added, “The funny thing is, they’re not even intelligent enough to understand what opposition means and what opposition is supposed to do. 

They have defined their opposition to be a position of propaganda, to propagate, and to lie without facts.

Educated illiterates”.

A netizen added, “Deliberately propagating falsehood and mischievously misinforming people is equal to treason. No society that wants to become successful will these animals walking and talking freely.

Kwame Nkrumah’s only mistake was that he didn’t succeed in deleting these traitors completely”.

One X user added, “Thanks for making it clear for Ghanaians. We now know anything propagated by the NPP should never be taken seriously. How desperate. Lack of brain power to develop a good strategy like the NDC did in position. Funny political party, the NPP is.”

An X user noted, “The sudden surge in insults and derogatory comments on media platforms was a coordinated plan to tarnish the reputation of the  government. This was likely a pre-scripted strategy, designed to be followed by organised demonstrations, all aimed at making the government unpopular”.

In other news,  Felix Kwakye Ofosu, the government spokesperson, has broken his silence over the ongoing debate surrounding the arrest of individuals accused of publicly threatening the life of President John Dramani Mahama.

According to Felix Kwakye Ofosu, one cannot say people are being arrested for free speech when they are making threats against the life of the President.

He boldly stated that a person who sits on TikTok and threatens the life of a president and his wife cannot go scot-free.

Speaking in an interview with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Channel One TV’s Face to Face on Tuesday, August 4, Kwakye Ofosu stated, “But if you sit on TikTok and threaten the life of a president, saying you will behead the president, put him in a cocoa sack, and attack his wife, you cannot go scot-free. If you did that in any advanced democracy, they would hold you accountable. If you threaten somebody’s life, let alone that of a president, then they will catch up with you,” he said.

He also reacted to former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s recent call for the prosecution of an NDC organiser; he accused Dr Bawumia of applying a double standard by criticising current actions while remaining silent on similar incidents under the previous government.

He argued that Dr Bawumia still has a pending court case involving journalist Bobie Ansah over allegations made against his wife and former First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo.

“When he was Vice President, Bobie Ansah accused his wife and the then First Lady, Madam Rebecca Akufo-Addo, of appropriating state land. The government of the day, in which he was Vice President, put him on trial. That trial is actually still ongoing. The matter is still before the court.

“What was his position at the time? Did he utter a word when he had power and was in a position to influence events? He didn’t. So nobody can take this latest announcement seriously. It is simply an attempt to take political advantage. This is politicking,” he added.

Watch the video below:

@ghnow_ At the ongoing GAFET launch, the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Hon. Eric Opoku, acknowledged and recognised the founding members whose contributions helped lay the foundation for the Ghana Agricultural Fund for Education and Transformation. 🌾🇬🇭 #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ The Ghana Agricultural Fund for Education and Transformation (GAFET) officially takes off to support agricultural development, education, and transformation in Ghana. #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – BLACKO _ VIBEZ(4GEDA4EVER)🇬🇭

Legal vacation doesn’t stop judges from hearing cases – Chief Justice tells GBA, Dame and Atta Akyea  

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Legal vacation doesn’t stop judges from hearing cases – Chief Justice tells GBA, Dame and Atta Akyea  

Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie has told the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) and Lawyers representing Abdul-Hanan Wahab and former National Signals Bureau Director-General Kwabena Adu-Boahene, Godfred Dame and Atta Akyea that legal vacation doesn’t stop judges from hearing cases.

Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie debunked suggestions that lawyers can decline to proceed with cases simply because they have been scheduled during the legal vacation.

According to the Chief Justice, a judge who is sitting and ready to hear a case cannot be prevented from doing so purely because counsel has made personal arrangements during the vacation period.

Speaking at the 2nd Quadrennial Delegates Congress of the Senior Staff Association of the Judicial Service of Ghana in Sunyani in the Bono Region, the Chief Justice stated, “You cannot say that there is legal vacation, so a judge who is actually sitting and ready to do your case cannot do it. No, that’s not it”.

“To write to the Chief Justice to say that the cases should not be adjourned to the vacation, so I am not coming, I have already made arrangements outside, so I am not coming.

“You are a lawyer; you have your clients. If your clients decide to give you leave, well, go on leave, but you cannot say that there is a legal vacation and the judge who is actually sitting cannot do your case. No, that is not it,” he stated.

“No, adjournments are not at the instance of the Chief Justice. Adjournment is a judicial act. This is something that is so basic,” he said.

Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie’s comments follow a letter from the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) appealing to him over concerns about lawyers being required to appear in court during the legal vacation.

According to the GBA, they are concerned about directives that compel lawyers to appear in court during the vacation period despite indicating their unavailability.

The GBA argued that Counsel are not under any compulsion to appear before a Vacation Court.

They noted that the legal vacation, which runs from August 1 to September 30, is intended to provide judges, lawyers and judicial staff a period of respite following the demanding calendar.

They, however, noted that Vacation Courts may sit to deal with urgent and interlocutory matters during the period.

In a letter to the Chief Justice on Monday, August 10, the GBA stated, “We present to you the compliments of the Ghana Bar Association, especially since this communication is being brought just after the extensive celebrations of the One hundred and Fiftieth anniversary of the Supreme Court Ordinance of 1876. The anniversary was duly marked with the necessary pomp and pageantry, and we congratulate your good self and the entire Judiciary for such a feat.

No sooner had we started settling down in the legal vacation after participating fully in the anniversary celebrations which were from April 16, 2026 to July 31, 2026, were two petitions brought to our notice by Messers Zoe, Akyea & Co, Dame & Partners and Sam Okudzeto & Associates, registering their displeasure with notices served on them by virtue of warrants issued to specific Judges to continue with part-heard criminal cases during the legal vacation

Respectfully, as stipulated in the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004, CI 47, specifically Order 79, rule 4, the High Court annually observes three vacations, and per rule 4 (b), the second vacation in the Legal year, which is the longest, is from August 1 to September 30. The reason is not far-fetched, as in the wisdom of the framers of the Rules of Court, Lawyers, judges, and Judicial staff require a deserved period of rest from the rigorous Court Schedule after the 2nd term of the year, which is also the longest term in the legal year.

This notwithstanding, the Judiciary, with the consent of other stakeholders, have b onvention, over the years, agreed to certain courts being designated as Vacation Court- ○ handle any emergencies arising during the vacation, usually interlocutory matters and never trials,

In addition to the in-person Court sittings, we now have Virtual Courts that operate during the vacation with the same scope, which courts also do not conduct trials.

However, the overriding consideration in any matter brought before a Vacation Judge has always been the willingness/availability of Counsel to appear before the Court in an natter slated for conduct during the vacation. In other words, Counsel are not under any compulsion whatsoever to appear before a Vacation Court. Once Counsel in a matte ndicates their unavailability to attend Court during the vacation, even though the Court may have listed their case, it cannot proceed with the case in any way if Counsel or either side or both sides indicate their inability to proceed with the scheduled matter in Court during the vacation.

Innocent parties in a trial, civil or criminal, ought not be coerced by a Judge to represent themselves, as the absence of a Lawyer is not considered willful during a Legal Vacation. No step whatsoever ought to be taken in the matter by the Judge, apart from adjourning the case to the dates proposed by Counsel.

It is in respect of this time-honoured tradition that we write, as any attempt to do otherwise, with or without a warrant, will smack of bias or selective justice. Lawyers have had to bend over backwards to extend their office hours, especially when this very term saw the introduction of Afternoon Court Sittings under the new scheme. Vacations, per the Rules of Court, ought to be observed as such. Already, it has been brought to our attention that quite a number of Lawyers have written submissions to produce during the Legal Vacation while others are already scheduled to be in other jurisdictions, attending to other equally important matters and pre-scheduled conferences. Some law firms are even closed for the entire period of the legal vacation.

Respectfully, My Lord, the Lawyers are personally responsible for their well-being and the right to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Duly earned vacations must therefore not be tampered with.

The Ghana Bar Association has always cooperated with the Judiciary to ensure the smooth and speedy delivery of justice and trusts that on this occasion, the Judiciary in like manner would abide by the Rules of Court and the entrenched, sacred and treasured traditions relating to legal vacations.

In light of the above, we are confident that the said petitions will be considered favourably”.

Also, Lawyers representing Abdul-Hanan Wahab and former National Signals Bureau Director-General Kwabena Adu-Boahene, Godfred Dame and Atta Akyea, have filed a separate petition to the Chief Justice, protesting the decision to allow their criminal trials to proceed during the judicial legal vacation.

Former Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame for Abdul-Hanan Wahab and Samuel Atta Akyea for Kwabena Adu-Boahene are the two legal teams that contend that commencing the trials during the vacation is inconsistent.

According to the two legal teams, the trial of criminal cases involving NPP people during the vacation is unprecedented and discriminatory.

The two legal teams’ objection follows a ruling by Justice Francis Achibonga, who adjourned the separate cases to August 11 and 12 after receiving authorisation from the Chief Justice to sit during the vacation period.

@ghnow_ “I take all the blame, I am sorry for this disgrace to my father”- Akofena Speaks #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ At the ongoing GAFET launch, the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Hon. Eric Opoku, acknowledged and recognised the founding members whose contributions helped lay the foundation for the Ghana Agricultural Fund for Education and Transformation. 🌾🇬🇭 #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

‘I’m I that bloody cheap to share $46,000 with 17 MPs’ – KT Hammond reacts to AKSA bribery allegation

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‘I’m I that bloody cheap to share $46,000 with 17 MPs’ – KT Hammond reacts to AKSA bribery allegation

KT Hammond, a former Adansi Asokwa Member of Parliament, has reacted to the conviction of Kwaku Asante Berko and the alleged $46,000 bribe said to have been paid to parliamentarians to aid the ratification of the agreement between Ghana and AKSA Energy in 2014 and 2015

The former Adansi Asokwa MP, who at the time served as the Ranking Member on the Energy Committee of Parliament in 2014 and 2015 during the period when the court proceedings in the US stated that Berko and his associates discussed paying bribes to Ghanaian officials, including parliamentarians.

According to KT Hammond, is he that bloody cheap to share $46,000 with 17 MPs on the Energy Committee?

He argued that the most repugnant aspect of suggest that he shared $46,000 with 17 other members on the parliamentary committee.

KT Hammond questioned how 18 MPs, together with their secretariat staff, could share $46,000, which meant each member was, on average, going to get $500 or $1,000?

Speaking on Citi FM, KT Hammond said, “For the sake of all that is making the rounds, people are taking one million…, and then the suggestion is that K.T. Hammond, and his [committee] we took about, $500 [each], because the money is supposed to be $30,000. Then you hear $10,000 somewhere, then some $6,000; they round it up to $46,000”.

“We had 18 people in Parliament (Members on the Energy Committee), and then the Secretariat and all of that; are they suggesting we shared that and each person got about $500 or $1000 or something?”

“Is K.T, Hammond that bloody cheap? Is that it?” he questioned.

He added, “Oh, uh, don’t ask me any more questions on that because you upset me. I have absolutely told you that my committee had absolutely no knowledge about that. We do know that the document came to Parliament for ratification. What we do in Parliament is not a sale of documentation or not a sale of any business.

Our mandated duty is to scrutinise documents and make sure that… think about it, we are only 28. We get 48, we only scrutinise and eventually take the document to the plenary of over 270 whatever people, 75, 76,  so we take $46,000 for 30 something, and then what happens to the rest of the plenary, I mean, does this make sense?”

Meanwhile, KT Hammond has said his client, the former Power Minister Dr Kwabena Donkor, did not receive any money from convicted former Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) Managing Director and Goldman Sachs banker Asante Kwaku Berko.

He argued that allegations by US authorities against convicted Asante Berko do not establish that former Power Minister Dr Kwabena Donkor received any money.

KT Hammond highlighted that evidence presented in the United States case involving Mr Berko did not directly link his client to any alleged bribe.

According to KT Hammond, Dr Donkor acknowledged that he was the Minister responsible for Power in 2015 during the ASKA power project discussion, but had categorically denied receiving any inducement.

Speaking on Eyewitness News on Monday, August 10, 2026, KT Hammond stated, “He instructs me to say that he has never in his life made eye contact with that person,” Mr Hammond said, referring to Mr Berko.

“More importantly, his instructions are that he categorically denies knowing anything about any form of inducement, any money, dollars, cedis, whatever. He has absolutely no clue what is being talked about.”

“For the Americans and for the purpose of that prosecution, it simply means that he was involved in a kind of bribery from his own evidence,” Mr Hammond said.

“But when you then take out the individuals, I don’t get the impression that the fact that somebody said that I was going to give me some money, first of all I’m going to hand it over to this other person, constitutes an evidential basis for an allegation, serious allegation of criminality.”

KT Hammond rejected suggestions that Kwabena Donkor should be implicated simply because he was the Minister responsible for the Power Ministry at the time of the ASKA project.

Background

The former TOR MD Asante Berko was convicted by a federal jury in the United States over a bribery and money laundering scheme linked to a power plant project in Ghana.

Asante Kwaku Berko, a dual US-Ghanaian citizen, was convicted in Brooklyn on August 6, 2026, on all counts in the indictment, following a nine-day trial before US District Judge Diane Gujarati in the Eastern District of New York.

According to information gathered, Asante Berko and others conspired to pay more than US$1 million in bribes to Ghanaian government officials to help secure a multimillion-dollar power plant deal for Turkish energy company AKSA Enerji Uretim A.S.

The shady deal centres on a power plant deal that was under development and financing between December 2014 and July 2015.

However, details provided by US court documents disclosed that several Ghanaian officials allegedly received bribes to facilitate a power plant deal during Ghana’s power crisis in 2014 and 2015.

The US court document, however, did not provide any names but provided institutions connected to AKSA Enerji’s emergency power project bribe.

The court document detailed that Asante Berko and his co-conspirators paid and conspired to pay bribes to individuals at various levels of the Ghanaian government to ensure that the said company AKSA won its bid to build and operate the power plant.

@ghnow_ There are issues in every family, I call my sister (Adwoa Safo) “Sokode” – Akofenya speaks #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ “I take all the blame, I am sorry for this disgrace to my father”- Akofena Speaks #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

GHS66m paid yet zero progress on Techiman-Wenchi road despite Roads Minister’s stern warning

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GHS66m paid yet zero progress on Techiman-Wenchi road despite Roads Minister’s stern warning

The 32.6km Techiman-Wenchi road rehabilitation under Ghana’s Big Push program has stalled despite GHS66 million paid as mobilisation for the road.

According to reports, the Roads Minister, Kwame Governs Agbodza, in May 2026 inspected the site and expressed fury over the lack of progress on the road.

The Roads Minister also threatened contract termination if 20% progress wasn’t achieved soon.

However, three months later, the road is in worse condition with no progress, as the unpaved red laterite road shows potholes and heavy dust, causing vehicle damage and travel difficulties for residents.

In related news, the Roads Minister has questioned Regional Ministers and District Chief Executives over their failure to report underperforming road contractors.

The Roads Minister stressed that if Regional Ministers and DCEs fail to report contractors who are not working, then the job is not for them.

Speaking in a video shared on X, Kwame Governs Agbodza stated, “So, Regional Director, what I don’t understand is, I don’t get you guys coming to me and telling me that this contractor is not working. Why is it that we are the ones who come to the site to see that the contractor is not working?

“Chief Executive, why? Why is it that you don’t report the contractors that this guy is not working? Why do we have to come to the site always to notice that they are not working? Or you don’t want to offend the contractors? Maybe you don’t want to offend them. If you don’t want to offend them, then this is not your job,” he questioned.

“You must be ready to offend people who are not doing what you ask them to, and as I said, no contractor is bigger than you. No contractor is stronger than you. You are the one in charge. So, please, we don’t hate the contractors, but we are giving them public money. Let them work according to this [timeline],” he noted.

“No one will say this road is not improved from the last time we were here, but we were expecting that we’d see more work,” he concluded.

Also, the Roads Minister has urged Ghanaians to help the government by monitoring the performance of contractors.

The Roads Minister called on Ghanaians to take ownership of road projects in their areas.

According to the Roads Minister, Ghanaians must record and share videos to help us monitor the performance of contractors.

In a news card shared by GHOne TV,  the Roads Minister stated, “Take ownership of road projects in your areas. Record and share videos to help us monitor the performance of contractors.”

Meanwhile, Governs Kwame Agbodza has issued a stern warning clearly stating that the John Mahama flagship Big Push projects are not for sale.

According to Governs Kwame Agbodza, the Big Push projects are not for sale, calling on Ghanaians to report anyone offering a ‘Big Push project’ for sale.

In a post on X, Governs Kwame Agbodza wrote, “ALERT !!!!

BIG PUSH projects NOT FOR SALE.

Report ANYONE offering a ‘Big Push project’ for sale to the nearest police station.

Thanks”.

Watch the video below:

@ghnow_ “I take all the blame, I am sorry for this disgrace to my father”- Akofena Speaks #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ There are issues in every family, I call my sister (Adwoa Safo) “Sokode” – Akofenya speaks #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

Visa and passport extortion scheme ran for years at Ghana High Commission in London – Jon Benjamin

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Visa and passport extortion scheme ran for years at Ghana High Commission in London – Jon Benjamin

Jon Benjamin, a former UK Ambassador to Ghana, has weighed in on the brouhaha surrounding the Forensic Audit which revealed how Ghana’s Embassy in the U.S. extorted $19.3 million from visa and passport applicants.

In a post on X, Jon Benjamin alleged that similar extortion of visa and passport applicants occurred for years at the Ghana High Commission in London.

He further detailed that the same official is now serving as Ghana’s ambassador to the US.

Jon Benjamin in his post wrote, “The same thing has allegedly been happening for years at the Ghana High Commission in London and was allegedly (according to GHC staff I spoke to) at its worst under the same guy who is now GH Ambassador in the US”.

The former UK Ambassador to Ghana’s allegations point to systemic weaknesses in Ghana’s consular operations abroad, with applicants redirected to unapproved services and weak oversight.

His comment follows a recent Auditor-General forensic audit of Ghana’s Washington DC embassy that found $19.3 million in irregular proceeds from 2019-2025.

It will be recalled that on Monday, May 26, 2025, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, closed down Ghana’s Embassy in Washington, DC after allegations of corruption.

Some embassy staff were alleged to have diverted funds from visa and passport application processes to a privately owned company secretly established.

The report implicated senior officials at the embassy, including Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, Hajia Alima Mahama; Joseph Ngminebayihi, who served as Minister (Consular) from 2017 to 2021; and his successor, Amidu Mohammed Karande, who served from 2021 to 2025.

According to the audit report, Alima Mahama approved a contract formalising the outsourcing of dispatch services to entities linked to the system.

“Her Excellency Alima Mahama served as Ambassador and Head of Mission from 2021 to 2024. As Ambassador and Head of Mission, H.E. Alima Mahama exercised ultimate supervisory and financial authority over the Embassy’s operations. She signed the General Contract for Services between the Embassy and Travel Ghana / Secure Data Centre, thereby formalising the outsourcing of passport and visa dispatch functions to a related party, with unauthorised fees charged to applicants. During her tenure, the Mission faced scrutiny over banking compliance, exposure to related-party transactions, and weaknesses in governance controls,” the report said.

The report published by the Public Accountability and Integrity Commission (PAIC), the structure of the website used for consular services, visa issuance and passport processing was altered through website manipulation.

It indicated that applicants who accessed the embassy’s official website were redirected to privately controlled platforms, where they were required to pay $29.75 per application for the return of their passports or visas.

Details showed that the expected or actual cost of postage averaged $10.10, indicating that each applicant paid nearly $20 above the cost of the service.

“These arrangements enabled the collection of dispatch/mailing fees and application support service charges from applicants,” part of the forensic audit report stated.

The audit report detailed that the largest component of the $19.3 million in alleged illicit fees charged came from mailing and dispatch charges.

“The forensic analysis of visa and passport processing activities at the Embassy of Ghana in Washington, D.C., identified irregular financial transactions related to dispatch/mailing charges between 2019 and 2025; application support services between 2021 and 2025; extra merchant fees for online payments between 2020 and 2025; as well as transactions involving Fred Kwarteng & STEFRANN LLC between 2019 and 2020,” the report said.

“In addition to mailing charges, applicants were required to pay application support service fees through the unapproved external platforms to which they were redirected. These fees were set at $67 for passport applications and $76.78 for visa applications. The audit indicates that these services were presented as necessary for completing applications, even though they were not part of officially approved government charges,” part of the report read.

An Information Technology Officer at the embassy identified Fred Kwarteng has been fingered in the audit report as the alleged mastermind behind the scheme which created and operated external platforms, including TravelGhana.Net and GhanaPV.org.

The audit report indicated that websites created by Kwarteng “redirected applicants from the Embassy’s website to pay fees for postage and application support services. Applicants were charged $29.75 for return postage and additional support service fees through the platform,” the report stated.

Meanwhile, Alima Mahama, in 2025 when the allegation surfaced, denied any wrongdoing in connection with claims raised by Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa over operations at Ghana’s Embassy in Washington, DC.

She disputed the figures cited by Okudzeto Ablakwa regarding the operations of Ghana Travel Consultants (GTC), a private company operated by former embassy staffer Fred Kwarteng.

Alima Mahama argued that the company had a valid contract with the embassy and rejected claims that the arrangement had resulted in financial loss to the state.

However, the Auditor General recommended that these monies be retrieved from the officials involved and sanctioned accordingly.

“We recommend recovery of the amount from the Key Actors. Again, the affected officers should be sanctioned in accordance with the Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038),” the audit report added.

See the post below:

@ghnow_ There are issues in every family, I call my sister (Adwoa Safo) “Sokode” – Akofenya speaks #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ “I take all the blame, I am sorry for this disgrace to my father”- Akofena Speaks #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

How Ghana’s Washington Embassy staff shared $19.4m extorted from visa and passport schemes – Details emerge

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How Ghana’s Washington Embassy staff shared $19.4m extorted from visa and passport schemes – Details emerge

More details have emerged following a forensic audit by the Auditor-General which revealed an elaborate scheme adopted by the Ghana Embassy staff in Washington, D.C., to share the money the embassy extorted from visa and passport applicants between 2019 and 2025.

It will be recalled that on Monday, May 26, 2025, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, closed down Ghana’s Embassy in Washington, DC after allegations of corruption.

Some embassy staff were alleged to have diverted funds from visa and passport application processes to a privately owned company secretly established.

The report implicated senior officials at the embassy, including Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, Hajia Alima Mahama; Joseph Ngminebayihi, who served as Minister (Consular) from 2017 to 2021; and his successor, Amidu Mohammed Karande, who served from 2021 to 2025.

According to the audit report, Alima Mahama approved a contract formalising the outsourcing of dispatch services to entities linked to the system.

Pledge Against Corruption puts the total amount of illegal funds at $19.4 million, generated from 2019 to 2025.

In an article by Manasseh Azure cited on Pledge Against Corruption, he detailed how Citibank staff queried Embassy officials over suspicious accounts

He wrote, “Details of the operations contained in the appendix of the Auditor-General’s report show what appeared to have been a grand scheme to “create, loot and share,” with the active participation of senior embassy officials.

The audit report reveals that the Ghana Embassy in Washington, D.C., created a bank account through which funds from Fred Kwarteng’s activities were channelled and paid to embassy officials under the guise of “welfare benefits.”

Even before the then Foreign Affairs Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, ordered the closure of the account, Citibank, where the Welfare account was opened, had raised queries about the account.

On March 16, 2020, Janet Maku Koranteng, the Treasury Officer of Ghana’s Embassy in Washington, D.C, wrote to Citibank about the opening of an account. In that letter, she said:

 “On behalf of the Ghana Embassy/Mission in Washington DC, this letter is to advise that  effective date April 1, 2020, you are requested to open a new account titled Embassy of Ghana Welfare Account.”

She listed the account signers as Mary Zori, First Secretary; Genevieve Edna Apaloo, Head of Chancery; and herself, Janet Maku Koranteng.

The first query from Citibank was an email from a Citibank staff member, Melissa Peredo, seeking clarification on whether the $80,000 intended to be withdrawn every quarter from the Welfare account as payment for staff welfare would be made in cash or by cheque.

On September 4, 2020, another Citibank staff member, Jay Varkey, sent an email to Janet Maku Koranteng, querying her about payments into the Ghana Embassy Welfare Account.

“A/c ending 9029, which was recently opened, is intended to make welfare benefit payments to Embassy staff. At the time of the account opening, you indicated that this account will [sic] be funded by contributions from the Embassy staff and also from contributions from the Embassy’s couriers.

“The only funding to this account so far were from Ghana Travel Consultancy LLC by way of three checks indicated below. Is this the Embassy Courier that you indicated?

 “Maybe I misunderstood this part, but could you please explain what Gana Travel Consultancy does for you? Are they just a courier service or are they actually processing the consular service applications on your behalf? Also, why are they making these payments to the Embassy?”

Ghana Travel Consultancy is one of the entities linked to Ghana Embassy’s IT Officer, Fred Kwarteng.

Following this email, Citibank’s Jay Varkey and the Ghana Embassy’s Janet Koranteng discussed the query on the phone. After the call, Jay Varkey sent the following email to Janet Koranteng to confirm the explanation Janet had given for the payments from Fred Kwarteng’s entity:

“Please confirm if this accurately summarises our conversation. The consular service applicants can choose a courier/ mailing service of their choice when they apply for passport/visa etc. They make separate payments to such courier/mailing service. These payments are not collected by the Embassy and they do not pass through the Embassy accounts. Once the consular service process is completed, the Embassy will use the selected courier/mailing service to send back the documents to the applicants.

However, since Embassy staff is doing some of the administration work that the courier/mailing service should be doing (e.g. packaging, etc.), the courier/mailing service has agreements to reimburse the Embassy a portion of the charge that they have collected towards mailing. This will vary for different kinds of applications, but it’s generally in the range of $3 to $5 per application processed. The reimbursed money is credited to the Welfare account and is used for Welfare payments to the Embassy staff.

“Gana Travel Consultancy LLC is one of the courier/mailing service providers that is used. They will send reimbursements as described above to the Embassy on a monthly basis. Check 1010 is towards the reimbursements for the month of December 2019, check  1007 is towards the month of January 2020, and check 1008 is towards reimbursement for the month of February 2020.”

An appendix of the Auditor General’s report shows disbursements to staff made from the so-called welfare account.

In June 2021, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, visited the Ghana Embassy in Washington, DC, and ordered the closure of the welfare account used to distribute proceeds from illicit funds.

The account was closed as ordered by the Foreign Affairs Minister, but officials of the Ghana Embassy did not abandon their desire to continue with the scheme.

While communicating the closure of the account to Citibank in an email on August 31, 2021, Janet Koranteng asked if another account could be opened without officially involving the Embassy.

“Can the Welfare Committee open an account without the involvement of the management of the Embassy?” she asked.

In a response, Citibank’s  Jay Varkey said, “Citi will not be able to open/maintain the welfare account separately (under non-embassy management) as long as the purpose of the account remains the same (for making welfare payments to embassy employees).”

The account was officially closed on October 10, 2021.

However, the illicit transactions that caused visa and passport applicants to pay far more than they were supposed to pay continued until 2025, when the cover on the Embassy’s underhand dealings was blown, necessitating the subsequent forensic audit”.

@ghnow_ “I take all the blame, I am sorry for this disgrace to my father”- Akofena Speaks #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ There are issues in every family, I call my sister (Adwoa Safo) “Sokode” – Akofenya speaks #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

Kwabena Donkor has never in his life made eye contact nor received a bribe from Asante Berko – KT Hammond

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Kwabena Donkor has never in his life made eye contact nor received a bribe from Asante Berko – KT Hammond

KT Hammond, a former Adansi Asokwa Member of Parliament, has said his client, the former Power Minister Dr Kwabena Donkor, did not receive any money from convicted former Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) Managing Director and Goldman Sachs banker Asante Berko.

He argued that allegations by US authorities against convicted Asante Berko do not establish that former Power Minister Dr Kwabena Donkor received any money.

KT Hammond highlighted that evidence presented in the United States case involving Mr Berko did not directly link his client to any alleged bribe.

According to KT Hammond, Dr Donkor acknowledged that he was the Minister responsible for Power in 2015 during the ASKA power project discussion, but had categorically denied receiving any inducement.

Speaking on Eyewitness News on Monday, August 10, 2026, KT Hammond stated, “He instructs me to say that he has never in his life made eye contact with that person,” Mr Hammond said, referring to Mr Berko.

“More importantly, his instructions are that he categorically denies knowing anything about any form of inducement, any money, dollars, cedis, whatever. He has absolutely no clue what is being talked about.”

“For the Americans and for the purpose of that prosecution, it simply means that he was involved in a kind of bribery from his own evidence,” Mr Hammond said.

“But when you then take out the individuals, I don’t get the impression that the fact that somebody said that I was going to give me some money, first of all I’m going to hand it over to this other person, constitutes an evidential basis for an allegation, serious allegation of criminality.”

KT Hammond rejected suggestions that Kwabena Donkor should be implicated simply because he was the Minister responsible for the Power Ministry at the time of the ASKA project.

He argued that holding the ministerial position did not, in itself, constitute evidence of involvement in any alleged bribery scheme.

The lawyer also refuted claims that Parliament or individual Members of Parliament received money in connection with the transaction.

“What we do in Parliament is not a sale of indulgence, sale of documentation or sale of any business. We do our mandated duty of scrutinising documents,” he said.

Meanwhile, KT Hammond, in an earlier statement dated Monday, August 10, 2026, said their client did not know of any request or demand for money in connection with negotiations between the government and ASKA Energy.

Part of the statement stated, “Our client instructs us in very clear language that he has absolutely no knowledge of the allegations linked to him. He completely and emphatically denies any knowledge of a request or demand for any money as alleged”.

“At no point in the course of this negotiation did he once set eyes on the said Mr Asante Berko, nor has he since”.

“He has never met the said Mr Asante Berko all his life; he never discussed any personal benefit of any value whatsoever with Mr Asante Berko or any other person for that matter; he never authorised any person to discuss any such matters on his behalf; he never received any money in any denomination or any personal benefit of any value from Mr Asante Berko or any other person,” his lawyers stated.

The statement added, “Any person or persons who may have made any such criminal demand in his name did so for that person or persons’ own benefit”.

“Our client does not understand that any evidence was led in the US trial which linked him with demanding or receiving any money, cedis or dollars or anything of value to him personally,” the statement said.

“He does not accept that evidence that some other person or persons claimed that they required money from their principals for the benefit of ‘Senior Ghana Official’ or any other title holder metamorphosed into any evidence of criminality or wrongdoing against him,” the statement added.

“We are instructed to notify the general public accordingly, and to state that any publication or statement of any kind which could be interpreted as contrary to the instructions clearly stated above and which will seek to impugn on the reputation and integrity of our client SHALL result in immediate legal proceedings,” Cavendish Chambers said.

Background

The former TOR MD Asante Berko was convicted by a federal jury in the United States over a bribery and money laundering scheme linked to a power plant project in Ghana.

Asante Kwaku Berko, a dual US-Ghanaian citizen, was convicted in Brooklyn on August 6, 2026, on all counts in the indictment, following a nine-day trial before US District Judge Diane Gujarati in the Eastern District of New York.

According to information gathered, Asante Berko and others conspired to pay more than US$1 million in bribes to Ghanaian government officials to help secure a multimillion-dollar power plant deal for Turkish energy company AKSA Enerji Uretim A.S.

The shady deal centres on a power plant deal that was under development and financing between December 2014 and July 2015.

However, details provided by US court documents disclosed that several Ghanaian officials allegedly received bribes to facilitate a power plant deal during Ghana’s power crisis in 2014 and 2015.

The US court document, however, did not provide any names but provided institutions connected to AKSA Enerji’s emergency power project bribe.

The court document detailed that Asante Berko and his co-conspirators paid and conspired to pay bribes to individuals at various levels of the Ghanaian government to ensure that the said company AKSA won its bid to build and operate the power plant.

@ghnow_ There are issues in every family, I call my sister (Adwoa Safo) “Sokode” – Akofenya speaks #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ “I take all the blame, I am sorry for this disgrace to my father”- Akofena Speaks #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

Release Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu from prison – NDC women demand

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Release Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu from prison – NDC women demand

A group of 1,152 women traders and NDC organisers has demanded the release of former MASLOC boss Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu from prison following her acquittal by the Court of Appeals.

Reports suggest the NDC women called on the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, to release her in a petition dated August 3, 2026

According to reports, the women have petitioned the Attorney General to allow Tamakloe-Attionu to leave the Nsawam Prison after the court acquitted and discharged her.

They argued that keeping Sedina behind bars after the appellate court cleared her is unfair.

The petitioners reasoned that the planned legal action should not result in Sedina remaining in prison while the state pursues its case.

Parts of the petition stated, “A stay of execution means that Madam Sedina will stay at Nsawam until the Supreme Court decides the appeal, whether in a year, two years or three years’ time”.

“In our humble view, you can go to the Supreme Court for their interpretation or their perspective on the case, but why would you try to keep Madam Sedina at Nsawam Prison for the duration of the upcoming appeal when the Court of Appeal has declared her innocent?” they asked.

It will be recalled that the Appeal Court has adjourned indefinitely without delivering a ruling on the State’s application for a stay of execution following the court acquittal of former Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) Chief Executive Officer, Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu.

Sophia Rosetta Bernasko-Essah, who presided, Justice Dr Ernest Owusu-Dapaa and Justice Ayitey Armah-Tetteh, the three-member panel who heard the arguments, retired approximately two hours later and returned to the courtroom, revealing that they were unable to reach a decision on the application.

The Court of Appeal consequently adjourned the matter indefinitely without indicating when it would reconvene.

The development follows Dr Dominic Ayine, the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, who filed an urgent application at the Court of Appeal seeking a stay of execution of the judgment that acquitted and discharged Sedina Tamakloe Attionu.

On Thursday, July 30, the Attorney-General’s application was filed after the Court of Appeal unanimously overturned Attionu’s conviction and 10-year prison sentence.

Dr Dominic Ayine is asking the Court of Appeal to suspend the effect of its judgment until the Supreme Court determines the state’s appeal.

Meanwhile, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, the Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, has revealed that former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, remains in prison custody despite her acquittal by the Court of Appeal.

According to Felix Kwakye Ofosu, Sedina Tamakloe has remained in lawful custody since returning to Ghana.

He explained that Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu has not yet been released because the Attorney-General has filed an application for a stay of execution.

Speaking in an interview with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Channel One TV’s Face to Face on Tuesday, August 4, Kwakye Ofosu stated, “For the avoidance of doubt. The day that Sedina landed in Ghana till the Court of Appeal made its pronouncements, she has always been in prison custody. So, the claims that she was home and was not kept by Prison authorities are blatantly false…Should we publish pictures or show videos before you believe that she was in prison?”

He further stated, “I can tell you Sedina has not been released; she’s still in custody.”

Reports suggest the Chief Justice has granted permission for the Court of Appeal to sit during the legal vacation to hear the Attorney-General’s application for a stay of execution, with the hearing scheduled for August 16.

@ghnow_ Ghanaians Forgive Me. I take all the blame, Adwoa Safo is my blo0d – Akofena speaks #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ There are issues in every family, I call my sister (Adwoa Safo) “Sokode” – Akofenya speaks #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

‘Afenyo-Markin saying Nana Yaa Jantuah is a ‘nobody’ is not an insult’ – Martin Kpebu

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‘Afenyo-Markin saying Nana Yaa Jantuah is a ‘nobody’ is not an insult’ – Martin Kpebu

Martin Kpebu, a Private legal practitioner, has told presidential staffer Nana Yaa Jantuah to apologise to Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin.

The private legal practitioner argued that there was nothing wrong with Afenyo-Markin referring to Nana Yaa Jantuah as a “nobody.”

According to Martin Kpebu, Nana Yaa Jantuah must apologise to Afenyo-Markin for how she subsequently reacted to the minority leader’s comment.

He urged Nana Yaa Jantuah to toughen up because she holds public office.

Speaking on TV3, Martin Kpebu stated, “If Afenyo-Markin comes to say Nana Yaa is a nobody, to be very candid with you, it is not an insult. Look, our democracy is stronger than this. Sometimes public discourse needs to be caustic; that is why JM himself called Akufo-Addo and co Akyem Sakawa mafia. And who arrested JM?”

“So, I think that she has to come out and apologise. It’s not about her feelings. We’ve put her in public office. You see how, coming to relate, they used it. So this particular Nana Yaa is a nobody video; that’s not the end we’ve seen.

“I think an apology will be in order. Ghanaians are very shrewd, though. Ghanaians are very savvy. Don’t think that’s the end of this episode. Wait, in 2028, when they start playing it back, there would have been a few other mistakes by then. When they put them together, NDC, they will win the election, but they will be in trouble,” he added.

The development follows Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who indirectly referred to her as a “nobody” during the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) recently concluded “Democracy Under Attack” demonstration.

Speaking during the presentation of the petition at the Presidency on Thursday, August 6, Mr Afenyo-Markin stated, “With great respect and without prejudice to your presence, to nominate only you to come amounts to disrespecting us as a political party”.

“But to disrespect our democracy by only nominating you to come, it means the government does not take seriously the great issues before us,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Nana Yaa Jantuah has announced plans to petition Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin over comments made by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin.

According to Nana Yaa Jantuah, he is old enough to be Afenyo-Markin’s mother mother adding that the minority leader is a small boy in her eyes.

Nana Yaa Jantuah disclosed that she would formally petition Speaker Alban Bagbin to demand that the Minority Leader retract his remarks.

The Presidential Staffer argued that Afenyo-Markin’s comments were unacceptable.

Speaking in an interview on Asempa FM later on Thursday, Nana Jantuah expressed deep disappointment over the Minority Leader’s comments.

Nana Yaa Jantuah stated, “I am old enough to be your mother. Afenyo-Markin is a small boy in my eyes. Who is he to disrespect me? He should never try that again”.

“I will petition the Speaker for Afenyo-Markin to withdraw what he said. He used to call me ‘Senior.’ What has changed? I am so mortified. I cannot comprehend what happened,” she added.

Watch the video below:

@ghnow_ “I take all the blame, I am sorry for this disgrace to my father”- Akofena Speaks #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ There are issues in every family, I call my sister (Adwoa Safo) “Sokode” – Akofenya speaks #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

‘Stop deceiving Ghanaians and tell us what happened to the OSP probe into the ASKA bribery deal’ – Martin Amidu chases Mahama

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‘Stop deceiving Ghanaians and tell us what happened to the OSP probe into the ASKA bribery deal’ – Martin Amidu chases Mahama

Former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu has launched a scathing attack on President John Dramani Mahama over the government’s response to the conviction of the former Managing Director of Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), Asante Berko, who has been convicted by a court in the United States of paying a bribe of over $1 million to officials of the Government of Ghana in the ASKA power deal.

Martin Amidu, in his latest strongly worded epistle, dismissed suggestions that the state security is now going to look into the scandal to find the government officials implicated and bring them to book.

According to Martin Amidu, the OSP began investigating the AKSA bribery case in 2020 and that the file was inherited by the current Special Prosecutor.

According to Amidu, the case was later removed from the OSP’s published list of cases under investigation.

His write-up was titled, “WILL PRESIDENT MAHAMA STOP DECEIVING GHANAIANS AND TELL US WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OSP INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE AKSA BRIBERY DEAL? – BY MARTIN A. B. K. AMIDU”.

Parts of his write-up stated, “Asante K Berko was appointed the MD for TOR by the NPP government of Nana Akufo-Addo to take effect from January 1, 2020. He resigned from TOR on April 15, 2020, following the US-SEC civil suit already referred to herein, without the Nana Akufo-Addo government, which accepted his resignation, referring him to the OSP for investigation and possible prosecution as it had done when it wanted the blood of John Mahama in the Airbus SE-Ghana bribery scandal. The modus operandi in these AKSA and the Airbus cases is similar”.

He challenged President Mahama to inform the general public about what happened during the OSP investigation that started during his tenure.

Martin Amidu stressed that the government is now going to investigate the matter is an insult to the people of Ghana.

“With the investigative tools and other tradecraft available to the Government of Ghana (GoG), a completed investigation docket must have been ready by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) or other law enforcement agencies in respect of other criminal aspects of the Asante Berko-AKSA-Ghana bribery deal before the National Democratic Congress (NDC) won the December 7, 2024, elections. Indeed, any responsible GoG committed to fighting graft must have been prosecuting the Ghanaian entities and individuals involved in the case at the same time that the United States Government (US-Gov) was prosecuting Asante Berko in a US court.

“It is, therefore, insulting to the intelligence of the electorate for the Attorney-General to be informing the public for the first time since the John Mahama government’s ORAL investigations that the government, through the Attorney-General, is collaborating ‘with his United States counterparts to bring to book persons who are implicated in the bribery scheme related to the 2014-2017 power plant development contract between a Turkish energy company and the Government’,” he said.

Martin Amidu’s remarks come on the heels of the Deputy Attorney General, Justice Srem Sai who in a social media post disclosed that Attorney General Dominic Ayine was engaging his US counterparts following the conviction of the former Asante Kwaku Berko, concerning the AKSA power project in Ghana.

His post stated, “The Honourable Attorney-General is working with his United States counterparts to bring to book persons who are implicated in the bribery scheme related to the 2014-2017 power plant development contract between a Turkish energy company and the Government.

This follows ASANTE KWAKU BERKO’s conviction by a United States federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, on charges of conspiracy to violate the United States’ Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other related laws”.

Background

The former TOR MD Asante Berko was convicted by a federal jury in the United States over a bribery and money laundering scheme linked to a power plant project in Ghana.

Asante Kwaku Berko, a dual US-Ghanaian citizen, was convicted in Brooklyn on August 6, 2026, on all counts in the indictment, following a nine-day trial before US District Judge Diane Gujarati in the Eastern District of New York.

According to information gathered, Asante Berko and others conspired to pay more than US$1 million in bribes to Ghanaian government officials to help secure a multimillion-dollar power plant deal for Turkish energy company AKSA Enerji Uretim A.S.

The shady deal centres on a power plant deal that was under development and financing between December 2014 and July 2015.

However, details provided by US court documents disclosed that several Ghanaian officials allegedly received bribes to facilitate a power plant deal during Ghana’s power crisis in 2014 and 2015.

The US court document, however, did not provide any names but provided institutions connected to AKSA Enerji’s emergency power project bribe.

The court document detailed that Asante Berko and his co-conspirators paid and conspired to pay bribes to individuals at various levels of the Ghanaian government to ensure that the said company AKSA won its bid to build and operate the power plant.

See his statement below:

@ghnow_ There are issues in every family, I call my sister (Adwoa Safo) “Sokode” – Akofenya speaks #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ “I take all the blame, I am sorry for this disgrace to my father”- Akofena Speaks #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

“Behave yourself; Are you cross-examining me?” – KT Hammond fires TV3’s Keminni Amanor

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“Behave yourself; Are you cross-examining me?” – KT Hammond fires TV3’s Keminni Amanor

KT Hammond, a former Adansi Asokwa MP and legal practitioner, has fired shots at TV3 Journalist Keminni Amanor on live TV after he was quizzed about his client, Dr Kwabena Donkor’s involvement and how his trip to Turkey was funded following the Turkish power plant bribery scandal.

Counsel for Dr Kwabena Donkor,  KT Hammond, in an interview with TV3 on August 10, 2026, was questioned about the alleged role the former minister played in the scheme.

Speaking in an interview on TV3, KT Hammond appeared displeased with the line of questioning and quizzed Kemini Amanor whether he was under some form of interrogation.

KT Hammond told the journalist to “behave herself” and refrain from questioning him as though he were under interrogation.

He stated, “Behave yourself. Are you cross-examining me? I have written a statement on the instruction of my client, and you are asking me questions on it. And look at the questions you are asking me. What is your name again? I will make sure I do not pick your calls again.

“How can you ask me that? Is it professional to ask such a question? I appreciate how journalists operate, but don’t hide behind questions that are not comfortable. That is a very unfortunate question to ask,” he said.

Meanwhile, KT Hammond, in an earlier statement dated Monday, August 10, 2026, said their client did not know of any request or demand for money in connection with negotiations between the government and ASKA Energy.

Part of the statement stated, “Our client instructs us in very clear language that he has absolutely no knowledge of the allegations linked to him. He completely and emphatically denies any knowledge of a request or demand for any money as alleged”.

“At no point in the course of this negotiation did he once set eyes on the said Mr Asante Berko, nor has he since”.

“He has never met the said Mr Asante Berko all his life; he never discussed any personal benefit of any value whatsoever with Mr Asante Berko or any other person for that matter; he never authorised any person to discuss any such matters on his behalf; he never received any money in any denomination or any personal benefit of any value from Mr Asante Berko or any other person,” his lawyers stated.

The statement added, “Any person or persons who may have made any such criminal demand in his name did so for that person or persons’ own benefit”.

“Our client does not understand that any evidence was led in the US trial which linked him with demanding or receiving any money, cedis or dollars or anything of value to him personally,” the statement said.

“He does not accept that evidence that some other person or persons claimed that they required money from their principals for the benefit of ‘Senior Ghana Official’ or any other title holder metamorphosed into any evidence of criminality or wrongdoing against him,” the statement added.

“We are instructed to notify the general public accordingly, and to state that any publication or statement of any kind which could be interpreted as contrary to the instructions clearly stated above and which will seek to impugn on the reputation and integrity of our client SHALL result in immediate legal proceedings,” Cavendish Chambers said.

Background

The former TOR MD Asante Berko was convicted by a federal jury in the United States over a bribery and money laundering scheme linked to a power plant project in Ghana.

Asante Kwaku Berko, a dual US-Ghanaian citizen, was convicted in Brooklyn on August 6, 2026, on all counts in the indictment, following a nine-day trial before US District Judge Diane Gujarati in the Eastern District of New York.

According to information gathered, Asante Berko and others conspired to pay more than US$1 million in bribes to Ghanaian government officials to help secure a multimillion-dollar power plant deal for Turkish energy company AKSA Enerji Uretim A.S.

The shady deal centres on a power plant deal that was under development and financing between December 2014 and July 2015.

However, details provided by US court documents disclosed that several Ghanaian officials allegedly received bribes to facilitate a power plant deal during Ghana’s power crisis in 2014 and 2015.

The US court document, however, did not provide any names but provided institutions connected to AKSA Enerji’s emergency power project bribe.

The court document detailed that Asante Berko and his co-conspirators paid and conspired to pay bribes to individuals at various levels of the Ghanaian government to ensure that the said company AKSA won its bid to build and operate the power plant.

Watch the video below:

@ghnow_ “I take all the blame, I am sorry for this disgrace to my father”- Akofena Speaks #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ There are issues in every family, I call my sister (Adwoa Safo) “Sokode” – Akofenya speaks #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

“Invite me before parliament and see if your reputation will be intact” – Sammy Gyamfi dares Minority

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“Invite me before parliament and see if your reputation will be intact” – Sammy Gyamfi dares Minority

Sammy Gyamfi, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), has said the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin’s allegation against the gold purchasing outfit is just driven by “bitterness”.

According to Sammy Gyamfi, Afenyo-Markin and other New Patriotic Party (NPP) figures have raised concerns about GoldBod without providing specific evidence.

Sammy Gyamfi further challenged the Economic Committee, Finance Committee, and Lands and Mines Committee to invite him to parliament, stating he is ready to face them in parliament if invited.

The Goldbod CEO dared Oppong Nkrumah, Afenyo-Markin and Abena Asare to invite him to parliament and see if their reputation will be intact afterwards.

Speaking during a Space conversation on X on Sunday, August 9, Sammy Gyamfi stated, “As for Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, I can take some of the things he says seriously because they are not personal. Afenyo Markin is just being personal. He’s a bitter friend, so I can understand. You can see the hatred and the bitterness in his voice. He has no issues. A lot of bad things are happening at the GoldBod, but he does not say anything.

He is just looking for my attention, but he won’t get it. I am a very busy person”.

“If he wants me in Parliament, I’m saying they should invite me tomorrow. I am ready. Economic Committee, Finance Committee, Lands and Mines Committee, and they should bring GTV and media people and publishers, because if I call them for a debate they won’t come. They will say they want me on oath, so they should invite me,” he stated.

Public Account Committee, Abena Asare, chairwoman, you said we are siphoning money; call us there; you were not put there to just talk. Let us come and sit down, and then you can now cite the cases and instances of siphoning of public funds by Sammy Gyamfi and the GoldBod and let’s see what will become your reputation after that”.

He further added, “None of my bodyguards is involved in gold trading, and none of my bodyguards has stolen or taken Gold Board money”.

“The said Dominic Bonsu, I understand, is even a constituency executive of the NPP somewhere in the Manso area in the Ashanti Region,” Mr Gyamfi said.

Meanwhile, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the minority leader, has told Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi that nobody in the NPP hates him. 

The Minority leader urged Sammy Gyamfi to be more receptive to criticism of the institution.

According to Sammy Gyamfi, the opposition’s concerns are about the Board’s operations and not a personal attack on him.

He disclosed that neither he nor former Deputy Finance Minister Abena Osei Asare harboured any hatred towards Sammy Gyamfi.

Speaking on Accra-based Metro TV, the Minority Leader stated, “NPP, nobody hates you. Abena Osei Asare doesn’t hate you. I don’t hate you. We want the best for you”.

“So, take it easy. When we raise issues, take your time and respond. Don’t come and attack us. Don’t engage others to attack us because we criticise GoldBod”.

“You were very loud when you were in opposition. You raised critical issues. You were the loudest in opposition,” he said.

He added, “I am sure you should have a certain level of tolerance to even listen to the issues we raise”.

“Most of the issues you raise are issues that have been reported by the IMF, by institutions that are credible,” he said.

“We are not after your person. We are after the excesses in the activities at your institution,” he said.

“So please, don’t take it personally. Let’s work together, let’s understand the issues,” Mr Afenyo-Markin said.

“When we raise them, take note, because one day, some of these things may come back and haunt you. When we raise them, take note, because one day, some of these things may come back and haunt you,” he cautioned.

Watch the video below:

@ghnow_ Afenyo-Markin is a bitter friend. He's just looking for my attention, but he won’t get it… – Sammy Gyamfi (CEO, GoldBod) #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ A suspected thief was caught and asked to demonstrate how he broke into the building, with the man showing how he gained access through the window. #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – @bfunky comedy

“Counsel are not under any compulsion to appear before a Vacation Court” – GBA backs Dame and Atta Akyea

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“Counsel are not under any compulsion to appear before a Vacation Court” – GBA backs Dame and Atta Akyea

The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) in a letter has urged the Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie to ensure that judges adhere to the established rules and traditions of Ghana’s legal vacation.

According to the GBA, they are concerned about directives that compel lawyers to appear in court during the vacation period despite indicating their unavailability.

The GBA argued that Counsel are not under any compulsion to appear before a Vacation Court.

They noted that the legal vacation, which runs from August 1 to September 30, is intended to provide judges, lawyers and judicial staff a period of respite following the demanding calendar.

They, however, noted that Vacation Courts may sit to deal with urgent and interlocutory matters during the period.

In a letter to the Chief Justice on Monday, August 10, the GBA stated, “We present to you the compliments of the Ghana Bar Association, especially since this communication is being brought just after the extensive celebrations of the One hundred and Fiftieth anniversary of the Supreme Court Ordinance of 1876. The anniversary was duly marked with the necessary pomp and pageantry, and we congratulate your good self and the entire Judiciary for such a feat.

No sooner had we started settling down in the legal vacation after participating fully in the anniversary celebrations which were from April 16, 2026 to July 31, 2026, were two petitions brought to our notice by Messers Zoe, Akyea & Co, Dame & Partners and Sam Okudzeto & Associates, registering their displeasure with notices served on them by virtue of warrants issued to specific Judges to continue with part-heard criminal cases during the legal vacation

Respectfully, as stipulated in the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004, CI 47, specifically Order 79, rule 4, the High Court annually observes three vacations, and per rule 4 (b), the second vacation in the Legal year, which is the longest, is from August 1 to September 30. The reason is not far-fetched, as in the wisdom of the framers of the Rules of Court, Lawyers, judges, and Judicial staff require a deserved period of rest from the rigorous Court Schedule after the 2nd term of the year, which is also the longest term in the legal year.

This notwithstanding, the Judiciary, with the consent of other stakeholders, have b onvention, over the years, agreed to certain courts being designated as Vacation Court- ○ handle any emergencies arising during the vacation, usually interlocutory matters and never trials,

In addition to the in-person Court sittings, we now have Virtual Courts that operate during the vacation with the same scope, which courts also do not conduct trials.

However, the overriding consideration in any matter brought before a Vacation Judge has always been the willingness/availability of Counsel to appear before the Court in an natter slated for conduct during the vacation. In other words, Counsel are not under any compulsion whatsoever to appear before a Vacation Court. Once Counsel in a matte ndicates their unavailability to attend Court during the vacation, even though the Court may have listed their case, it cannot proceed with the case in any way if Counsel or either side or both sides indicate their inability to proceed with the scheduled matter in Court during the vacation.

Innocent parties in a trial, civil or criminal, ought not be coerced by a Judge to represent themselves, as the absence of a Lawyer is not considered willful during a Legal Vacation. No step whatsoever ought to be taken in the matter by the Judge, apart from adjourning the case to the dates proposed by Counsel.

It is in respect of this time-honoured tradition that we write, as any attempt to do otherwise, with or without a warrant, will smack of bias or selective justice. Lawyers have had to bend over backwards to extend their office hours, especially when this very term saw the introduction of Afternoon Court Sittings under the new scheme. Vacations, per the Rules of Court, ought to be observed as such. Already, it has been brought to our attention that quite a number of Lawyers have written submissions to produce during the Legal Vacation while others are already scheduled to be in other jurisdictions, attending to other equally important matters and pre-scheduled conferences. Some law firms are even closed for the entire period of the legal vacation.

Respectfully, My Lord, the Lawyers are personally responsible for their well-being and the right to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Duly earned vacations must therefore not be tampered with.

The Ghana Bar Association has always cooperated with the Judiciary to ensure the smooth and speedy delivery of justice and trust that on this occasion, the Judiciary in like manner would abide by the Rules of Court and the entrenched, sacred and treasured traditions relating to legal vacations.

In light of the above, we are confident that the said petitions will be considered favourably”.

The GBA statement follows, Lawyers representing Abdul-Hanan Wahab and former National Signals Bureau Director-General Kwabena Adu-Boahene, Godfred Dame and Atta Akyea, have filed a separate petition to the Chief Justice, protesting the decision to allow their criminal trials to proceed during the judicial legal vacation.

Former Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame for Abdul-Hanan Wahab and Samuel Atta Akyea for Kwabena Adu-Boahene are the two legal teams that contend that commencing the trials during the vacation is inconsistent.

According to the two legal teams, the trial of criminal cases involving NPP people during the vacation is unprecedented and discriminatory.

The two legal teams’ objection follows a ruling by Justice Francis Achibonga, who adjourned the separate cases to August 11 and 12 after receiving authorisation from the Chief Justice to sit during the vacation period.

See the statement below:

@ghnow_ “I take all the blame, I am sorry for this disgrace to my father”- Akofena Speaks #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ There are issues in every family, I call my sister (Adwoa Safo) “Sokode” – Akofenya speaks #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

“Forgive me! I take all the blame” – Kwadwo Safo Akofena begs Ghanaians

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“Forgive me! I take all the blame” – Kwadwo Safo Akofena begs Ghanaians

Nana Kwadwo Safo Akofena, the Leader of Kristo Asafo Mission, has issued an apology to Ghanaians over the brouhaha surrounding the Kantanka family following the death of the late Apostle Kwadwo Safo Kantanka.

According to Akofena, he would not point fingers at anyone over what happened, adding that everyone involved had a role to play.

He expressed regret over the situation, adding that he had to apologise to the public because of the respect and honour his father deserved

Speaking in an interview on Onua FM, Akofena stated, “I am on my knees apologising to all Ghanaians for disgracing my dad. Our father does not deserve this”.

“I will not blame anyone because, in one way or another, we are all at fault. I sincerely ask all Ghanaians for forgiveness,” he added.

Akofena added, “I have no intention of escalating issues or causing harm to any of my blood relations because it goes against my beliefs as a man and everything my father instilled in and entrusted to me”.

He further highlighted that nobody should view the situation as a competition between him and his sister, former MP Sarah Adwoa Safo.

Akofena added, “Nobody wins in this matter, not Adwoa Safo or me. At the end of the day, Kantanka is the only one who can win. This is not a competition where we can declare who wins”.

“If people are fighting themselves because of our family matter, they are worrying themselves because when they see us vibing as siblings, they would be amazed because blood is blood,” he said.

He added, “Whatever is going on, something similar has happened in other families before, and so it’s not the first time,” he noted.

When questioned about issues surrounding his father’s funeral, and whether a second funeral might take place, Akofena stated, “With regards to my father’s funeral, I will not say anything about it now”.

His comment follows the burial of late Apostle Dr Kwadwo Safo Kantanka on July 30, 2026, at Gomoa Mpotua in the Central Region, and a national farewell held at the Independence Square in Accra on July 31, 2026.

The Accra High Court granted a 10-day interim injunction restraining former Dome-Kwabenya MP Sarah Adwoa Safo from proceeding with the funeral and burial of the late Apostle Dr Kwadwo Safo Kantanka.

The High Court order follows an application filed by the Kristo Asafo Mission over matters relating to the estate of its late founder.

The injunction follows a dispute within the Safo family over who has the legal mandate to organise the burial and carry out the late Dr Kwadwo Safo Kantanka’s final wishes.

However, the burial proceeded despite the High Court’s 10-day interim injunction.

Meanwhile, Nana Kwadwo Safo Kantanka Jnr (Akofena) has declared during his address to the public that he now regards his Adwoa Safo and his other siblings as his children.

Nana Kwadwo Safo Kantanka Jnr also revealed that he is ready to reconcile with his elder sister, the former Minister and MP Sarah Adwoa Safo.

According to Nana Kwadwo Safo Kantanka Jnr, as head of the Kristo Asafo Mission, his role has changed the nature of his relationship with his brothers and sisters.

Speaking during a public address on July 27, 2026, Akofena stated, “They’re no longer my siblings. They’re now my children”.

“Going forward, I will call my child and the rest of my children, and the family will also be part of calling my eldest child, Sarah Adwoa Safo, so we can settle our differences. We do not want our issues to come out here. 

Nana Kwadwo Safo Kantanka Jnr’s remarks come weeks after the dispute within the family of the late Apostle Prof. Kwadwo Safo Kantanka, which escalated into violence.

Watch the video below:

@ghnow_ Ghanaians Forgive Me. I take all the blame, Adwoa Safo is my blo0d – Akofena speaks #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ Afenyo-Markin is a bitter friend. He's just looking for my attention, but he won’t get it… – Sammy Gyamfi (CEO, GoldBod) #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

“It is not correct that Ghana wanted to build a Cathedral” – Pastor Mensa Otabil told

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“It is not correct that Ghana wanted to build a Cathedral” – Pastor Mensa Otabil told

Franklin Cudjoe, the President of IMANI Africa, has told Pastor Mensa Otabil, the Founder and General Overseer of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC), that Ghanaians never wanted to build a National Cathedral.

According to Franklin Cudjoe, Akufo-Addo told Archbishop Duncan-Williams that he saw angels in an apparent apparition, and to tell God that if he won the elections, he would build a church in His honour, with his own money and donations.

In a post on X, Franklin Cudjoe wrote, “My dear friend, Pastor Otabil, first, it is not correct that “Ghana wanted to build a Cathedral”. Please, our former president is reported to have told Archbishop Duncan-Williams that he saw angels in an apparent apparition, and he told them to tell God that if he won the elections, he would build a church in His honour, with his own money and donations.

All we heard and witnessed was that his fugitive finance minister surreptitiously dipped his hands into our coffers and started putting up the unholy edifice. Now, he sank our $98 million into a hole and left office.

Please, others are building things through honest hard work, not stealing from poor citizens”.

His comments follow Pastor Mensa Otabil, the Founder and General Overseer of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC criticising what he describes as political divisions over Ghana’s stalled $97m National Cathedral project.

According to Mensa Otabil, Ghanaians are so small-minded and allow politics to just crush their thinking.

He argued that the project, which was intended to serve as a significant Christian landmark, should have received broader support rather than political divisions.

Pastor Mensa Otabil added that Christians should support efforts to build projects “massively to the glory of God”, adding that some Christians had also spoken against the cathedral.

Speaking in a viral video, Pastor Mensa Otabil stated, “Ghana wanted to build a national cathedral, and Christians beat it up with their own mouths. Others are building things all over.

We are so small-minded, so small-minded, that we allow politics to blind us. We allow politics to just crush our thinking. We need to build [the National Cathedral] massively to the glory of God”

In related news, Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, has revealed that embattled former finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta authorised all National Cathedral payments.

According to Dr Dominic Ayine, Ken Ofori-Atta authorised all National Cathedral payments, including the $47 million paid to internationally acclaimed architect and designer David Adjaye.

The Attorney General made this known while speaking to Bola Ray on StarrChat.

He was quoted as saying, “All National Cathedral payments, including the $47 million paid to the architect, were authorised by Ken Ofori-Atta”.

Also, President John Mahama has once again promised that anyone found to have embezzled state funds in the $97 million used to dig the pit for the National Cathedral will be prosecuted.

Speaking during a sod-cutting ceremony for the Sunayi-Atronie-Achrensua project on Sunday, December 21, 2025, President Mahama stated that the investigations into the National Cathedral have not been abandoned.

President Mahama, at the sod-cutting, stated, “The $97 million used to dig the pit for the National Cathedral will be thoroughly scrutinised. We have requested the Auditor-General to conduct a forensic audit to expose any wrongdoing.

Anyone found to have embezzled state funds will face the law, so we have not abandoned the matter; investigations are ongoing.”

See the post below:

@ghnow_ Ghanaians Forgive Me. I take all the blame, Adwoa Safo is my blo0d – Akofena speaks #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ Afenyo-Markin is a bitter friend. He's just looking for my attention, but he won’t get it… – Sammy Gyamfi (CEO, GoldBod) #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

See the detailed breakdown of bribes Asante Berko paid to Ghanaian officials

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See the detailed breakdown of bribes Asante Berko paid to Ghanaian officials

Details have emerged of a detailed breakdown of Asante Berko, the former Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) Managing Director, bribes paid to Ghanaian officials.

The court documents detailing 2015 bribes by Asante Berko to Ghanaian officials for a power plant deal highlight a $20,000 payment to “MoP Girls” at the Ministry of Power.

The itemised email lists allocations like $30,000 to Parliament (“paid by Asante”), $25,000 to “Power Team,” $20,000 to PURC and GridCo engineers, plus $35,000 as Berko’s personal cut.

The post shared by JOY FM was captioned, “Here’s a breakdown of the bribes Asante Berko paid to Ghanaian officials, including a $20,000 payment to a group identified as “MoP Girls” at the Ministry of Power, according to court documents”.

The former TOR MD was convicted by a federal jury in the United States over a bribery and money laundering scheme linked to a power plant project in Ghana.

Asante Kwaku Berko, a dual US-Ghanaian citizen, was convicted in Brooklyn on August 6, 2026, on all counts in the indictment, following a nine-day trial before US District Judge Diane Gujarati in the Eastern District of New York.

According to information gathered, Asante Berko and others conspired to pay more than US$1 million in bribes to Ghanaian government officials to help secure a multimillion-dollar power plant deal for Turkish energy company Aksa Enerji Uretim A.S.

The shady deal centres on a power plant deal that was under development and financing between December 2014 and July 2015.

Asante Berko, who was then an executive director in the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs at the time, was involved in managing the transaction between the bank’s client, Aksa Enerji, and the Republic of Ghana.

In July 2024, Asante Berko was extradited to the United States after living in the United Kingdom and being arrested in November 2022 following an Interpol Red Notice.

The US prosecution also accused him of using the American financial system to facilitate the movement of illicit payments connected to the deal.

Asante Berko was convicted of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), violating the FCPA and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

He has since been remanded in custody pending sentencing, which is scheduled for November 10.

Read the US court text below:

“Asante Kwaku Berko, a dual citizen of the United States and Ghana, was convicted today by a federal jury in Brooklyn on all counts of an indictment charging conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), violating the FCPA, and money laundering conspiracy for paying bribes to Ghanaian government officials in connection with the development of a power plant in Ghana. The verdict followed a nine-day trial before United States District Judge Diane Gujarati.

When sentenced, Berko faces up to 30 years in prison. Berko was ordered remanded pending sentencing.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, A. Tysen Duva, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and James C. Barnacle, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office, announced the verdict.

“Today’s verdict marks another significant victory in this Office’s longstanding commitment to rooting out corruption,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “The defendant abused his access to high-level foreign government officials and his platform as an investment banker at a prestigious American firm to line his own pockets with millions of dollars.”

“We live in a global economy that American companies must be able to compete in fairly,” said Assistant Attorney General Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

“This defendant corrupted that fair competition. He abused his position at a world-renowned American investment bank by helping bribe Ghanaian officials, so he and his co-conspirators, including senior executives at a Turkish company, could make money.

Today’s conviction makes clear that criminals who undermine our country’s interests by corrupting foreign governments and cutting off fair competition will face the full force of the Department of Justice.”

“Today’s verdict highlights the importance of domestic and international partnerships, and the magnitude of success that working together creates.

The FBI is thankful for the assistance from the Department of Justice and the United Kingdom – specifically to the Office of International Affairs, U.S. Marshals Service, and INTERPOL – in pursuing justice to protect our country’s financial integrity,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Barnacle.

U.S. Attorney Nocella also expressed his appreciation to the Government of the United Kingdom, the U.K. National Centre Bureau for INTERPOL, the Embassy of the United States in London, the Department’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Marshals Service for providing substantial assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of the defendant.

As proved at trial, Berko conspired to pay more than $1 million in bribes to multiple Ghanian government officials in connection with the development and financing of a power plant estimated to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in profits.

Beginning in December 2014, Berko, a former Executive Director in the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs group, was responsible for securing and managing a deal between the Republic of Ghana and Aksa Enerji Uretim A.S. (Aksa), a Turkish energy company and Goldman client, for the construction and financing of a power plant in Ghana amidst a national energy crisis in the country.

During the scheme, Berko and his co-conspirators paid and conspired to pay bribes to individuals at numerous levels of the Ghanaian government to ensure that Aksa won its bid to build and operate the power plant.

For example, in April 2015, Berko and the conspirators discussed paying $1 million to the Ghanaian Minister of Power who was responsible for securing key approvals enabling the project to progress and $250,000 to his senior adviser. Bribes were also paid to five Ghanaian officials during an all-expenses-paid trip to Turkey to view equipment for the power plant.

After the power plant deal was ratified by the Ghanaian parliament in July 2015, Berko and his co-conspirators exchanged detailed emails regarding bribe payments. For example, in August 2015, they discussed $250,000 in bribe payments paid to various individuals, including $46,000 to members of the Ghanaian Parliament, which ratified the agreement between Aksa and the government of Ghana, paid by Berko himself.

Also in August 2015, the co-conspirators discussed how a bribe recipient was waiting for the “holy rain” (i.e., the bribe payment) and “would appreciate it sooner rather than later.”

To conceal the scheme from Goldman and others, Berko lied to the compliance team at Goldman that was responsible for vetting the deal. Berko also used his personal email account, instead of his Goldman business email account, to discuss the deal and the bribe payments and directed his co-conspirators to do the same.

In addition, Berko and his co-conspirators concealed and laundered the bribe payments using shell companies, sham invoices, nominee account holders and cash withdrawals. Payments in furtherance of the bribery scheme were laundered through U.S. and foreign bank accounts. Goldman ultimately withdrew from the deal due to corruption concerns.

The government’s case is being handled by the Business and Securities Fraud Section of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

Assistant United States Attorneys Jessica Weigel, Nick M. Axelrod and Tara McGrath are prosecuting the case with Assistant Chief Katherine Raut and Senior Trial Attorney Katherine Nielsen, and with assistance from Paralegal Specialists Melina Piatti-Chayan, Isha Jayadev and Teresa Dolan.

The Defendant:

ASANTE KWAKU BERKO

Age: 52

United Kingdom / Ghana

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 20-CR-328 (DG)”

See the post below:

@ghnow_ If we come together, we can tackle sanitation – Hon. Ahmed Ibrahim at the national dialogue on decentralization and responsive governance #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ Ghanaians Forgive Me. I take all the blame, Adwoa Safo is my blo0d – Akofena speaks #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

Names of MPs’ ‘fingered’ in the $1 million power plant bribery scandal

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Names of MPs’ ‘fingered’ in the $1 million power plant bribery scandal

Following the conviction of Asante Berko, a Ghanaian-American businessman in Brooklyn, New York, some members of parliament (MPs) have been caught up in the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP)

The former TOR MD was convicted by a federal jury in the United States over a bribery and money laundering scheme linked to a power plant project in Ghana.

Asante Kwaku Berko, a dual US-Ghanaian citizen, was convicted in Brooklyn on August 6, 2026, on all counts in the indictment, following a nine-day trial before US District Judge Diane Gujarati in the Eastern District of New York.

According to information gathered, Asante Berko and others conspired to pay more than US$1 million in bribes to Ghanaian government officials to help secure a multimillion-dollar power plant deal for Turkish energy company Aksa Enerji Uretim A.S.

The shady deal centres on a power plant deal that was under development and financing between December 2014 and July 2015.

Asante Berko, who was then an executive director in the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs at the time, was involved in managing the transaction between the bank’s client, Aksa Enerji, and the Republic of Ghana.

In July 2024, Asante Berko was extradited to the United States after living in the United Kingdom and being arrested in November 2022 following an Interpol Red Notice.

The US prosecution also accused him of using the American financial system to facilitate the movement of illicit payments connected to the deal.

Asante Berko was convicted of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), violating the FCPA and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

He has since been remanded in custody pending sentencing, which is scheduled for November 10.

A news article by “the Herald has since intercepted excerpts from a June 2015 memorandum submitted to Parliament by the then Minister for Power, Dr Kwabena Donkor, which provides fresh details of the Government’s emergency power agreement with Turkish energy company AKSA Enerji Üretim AŞ.

The documents show that the initial agreement, which provided up to 370 megawatts (MW) of installed power generation capacity on a fast-track basis, was part of the Government’s response to Ghana’s severe power crisis at the time, called “Dumsor”. It was phrased “take or pay,” putting the country in what seems like a perpetual bond.

The Herald’s information is that since that initial transaction, AKSA’s power-generation footprint in Ghana has grown from 370MW to about 1,500MW. More recently, the company has received government support to proceed with plans for a much larger 900MW power project in Takoradi, further expanding its presence in Ghana’s power sector.

The memorandum, dated 15 June 2015 and addressed to Parliament, was titled: “Emergency Power Agreement with Attached Annexes Between the Government of Ghana (Ministry of Power) and Aksa Enerji Üretim AŞ for the Provision on a Fast-Track Basis, up to 370MW (ISO) Installed Capacity of Power Delivery Services.”

At the time, the Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy was chaired by Alhaji Amadu Bukari Sorogho, then the Member of Parliament for Madina on the NDC ticket.

The Ranking Member was K.T. Hammond, then the NPP MP for Adansi Asokwa, while Adam Mutawakilu served as Vice-Chairman and Joseph Cudjoe as Deputy Ranking Member, with the NDC MP for Damongo in the Savannah Region, currently the Ghana Water MD, and NPP MP for Effia in the Western Region, respectively.

Dr Donkor is currently the board chairman of Ghana Amalgamated Trust, a Ghana Government-based private equity model to support selected indigenous banks.

In the memorandum, Dr Donkor explained that the implementation of the Emergency Power Agreement (EPA) with AKSA was intended to increase Ghana’s generation capacity at a time when the country was battling a debilitating power crisis.

“The implementation of the EPA Agreement will enhance generation capacity, which is very critical, particularly in our quest as a nation to end the energy challenge,” the memorandum stated.

It added that the agreement would reduce the impact of the power crisis on the economy, particularly the industrial sector, while contributing to job creation.

According to the document, the Ministry of Power engaged relevant stakeholders in the power sector during inter-ministerial consultations on the agreement.

The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) was among the stakeholders consulted.

The agreement was also reviewed by a team comprising officials from the Ministry of Power, the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney-General’s Department, the Volta River Authority (VRA) and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG)”.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Attorney General, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, in a social media post has revealed that the Government of Ghana, through the Office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, is working with the United States (US) authorities to bring to book other persons linked to the million-dollar Turkish Power Plant bribery deal, details have emerged of Ghanaian government officials link to the bribery scandal.

@ghnow_ The moment police officers escorted the suspects away from the Kaneshie District Court after they were denied bail in connection with the alleged murder of car dealer Mohammed Rahman. 🚔 #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – DJSHANE God is the greatest 🙌
@ghnow_ If we come together, we can tackle sanitation – Hon. Ahmed Ibrahim at the national dialogue on decentralization and responsive governance #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

Gov’t officially takes over Adamus Resources – Land Minister

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Gov’t officially takes over Adamus Resources – Land Minister

Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, has announced that the government has officially taken over the administrative role of Adamus Resources Limited and handed it to the Minerals Commission.

The Lands Minister upheld the initial revocation of Adamus Resources’ mining lease following the submission of a report by the Ministerial Review Committee set up to consider appeals by the company.

Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah made this known during a working visit to the Adamus Mine at Salman in the Ellembelle District.

According to Kofi Buah, the review committee had affirmed most of the breaches identified in the initial assessment, leading to a decision for the Minerals Commission to take over the mine’s operations.

He disclosed that the committee’s findings supported the earlier decision to revoke the lease and paved the way for the Minerals Commission to assume responsibility for the mine.

Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah stated, “Following the report of the Minerals Commission to the Chief Inspector of Mines, and with recommendations of the great violation of the Mining Act and mining regulations. A recommendation for revocation of some mining leases was made.

“The Minister agreed with them; there was a petition, and we formed the ministerial review committee. That work has come to an end. As a Minister, I have concluded to uphold the revocation. What that means is that the Minerals Commission should, with immediate effect, take administrative control of this Mine,” he said.

The Lands Minister instructed the Minerals Commission to assume control immediately, promising staff job security as production prepares to resume.

The development follows the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, who had earlier announced that the ministerial committee will review a petition from Adamus Resources Limited over the revocation of its mining leases.

According to the Land Minister, the decision follows a meeting with the Minerals Commission and management of Adamus.

He disclosed that the company submitted a petition seeking a review of the revocation of its leases covering the Akango, Salman, and Nkroful concessions.

Speaking at a press conference in Accra on Thursday, April 30, Emmanuel Armah Kofi-Buah stated, “I just had a very constructive meeting, the Minerals Commission, the Adamus Mine Management and their team. I have also just received from them a petition requesting administrative review and reversal of the decision that has been made to revoke the leases”.

“The committee will be in place, starting work on Monday. The terms of reference will be very clear to look at the work and the recommendations that have been done, and also to look at other additional information. They will directly engage Adamus and give them the opportunity to address a lot of the concerns they have in this petition,” he stated.

He also disclosed that an interim management committee has been set up to oversee operations at the mine during the period of assessment.

“I am also at the same time setting up an interim management committee to manage the mine, working closely with the mining company, Adamus, in a very orderly manner until we have concluded the work of the committee,” he added.

Following the Adamus lease revocation, they strongly rejected allegations that it is engaged in illegal mining, insisting it operates fully within Ghana’s legal and regulatory framework while actively combating galamsey activities within its concessions.

In a detailed press release issued on April 29, 2026, the company said attempts by regulatory authorities to portray it as complicit in illegal mining are inaccurate and do not reflect the true situation on the ground.

“Adamus is a duly licensed, indigenous Ghanaian mining company operating under valid leases and permits granted in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Ghana,” the company stated.

It emphasised that it remains fully compliant with its regulatory obligations under the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), and cannot reasonably be expected to engage in illegal mining within its own legally acquired concessions.

Watch the video below:

@ghnow_ At least 20 dead after 7.4 magnitude earthquake shakes Colombia #GHNow #fyp ♬ Sad Music – Max-Music
@ghnow_ The moment police officers escorted the suspects away from the Kaneshie District Court after they were denied bail in connection with the alleged murder of car dealer Mohammed Rahman. 🚔 #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – DJSHANE God is the greatest 🙌

$4.34 billion earned from 1.3 million tourist arrivals in 2025 – Tourism Minister

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$4.34 billion earned from 1.3 million tourist arrivals in 2025 – Tourism Minister

Abla Dzifa Gomashie, the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, has revealed Ghana generated an estimated $4.34 billion from 1.3 million international tourists in 2025.

According to the Tourism Minister, the tourism, culture and creative arts sector recorded growth across several key areas.

She disclosed that Ghana recorded 1,303,962 international tourist arrivals in 2025, up from 1,288,804 arrivals recorded in 2024.

Abla Dzifa Gomashie made this known at the Government Accountability Series on Monday, August 10.

She revealed that the increase in international arrivals translated into significant revenue for the country, which generated $4.34 billion in tourism.

She further provided performance of Ghana’s major tourist attractions, listing Ghana’s 10 most visited sites collectively attracted 1,377,588 visitors in 2025.

Ghana’s leading tourist sites were the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, Kakum National Park, Bunso Arboretum Eco Park, Cape Coast Castle, Manhyia Palace, Kumasi Zoo, Accra Zoo, Elmina Castle, Shai Hills Resource Reserve and the Agri-Botanical Garden.

She, however, revealed that only three of the 10 attractions are directly under the Ministry of Tourism while the others are managed through different institutions.

The Tourism Minister also provided an update on efforts to support Ghana’s creative industries.

According to her, a proposed fund for the creative arts was expected to stimulate production, improve the quality of creative content and create jobs, while also strengthening Ghana’s intellectual property position in both local and international markets.

“The fund is anticipated to catalyse production activity, improve content quality, create jobs, strengthen Ghana’s intellectual property for both domestic and international markets,” she stated.

She further disclosed that work was ongoing to finalise the modalities for putting the fund into operation, with the Attorney-General’s Ministry involved in the process.

Abla Dzifa Gomashie also outlined measures being taken to improve the facility and its contribution to the country’s tourism, culture and creative arts industries.

“We have successfully crafted a strategic plan from 2026 to 2030 to guide the running of the National Theatre of Ghana and ensure its optimal contribution to the tourism, culture, and creative arts industry,” she said.

However, Austine Woode, a Ghanaian broadcaster, has said Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, has failed.

The Broadcaster expressed his disappointment about the performance of Abla Dzifa Gomashie, whom he admitted was from their stock but has failed.

According to Austin Woode, the Tourism Minister has not laid down plans that would impact the industry in reality.

He argued that the minister is more focused on holding workshops and stakeholder engagements.

Speaking during the ninth edition of Joy FM’s Showbiz Roundtable, Austin Woode stated, “I have a problem with our minister. She is from our stock, but she has failed for me.

I am from Kumasi; has she spoken to anybody about the land on which they will build the Kumasi theatre? I am a stakeholder there. If she had had any conversation like that, I would know that they are looking for the land. They are not doing it,” he said.

“What they are doing is throwing things against the wall, and the one that will stick, they come and highlight it. All of those things are not going to help the people. Let us go to the basics and build from there. When we build from there, the whole industry will enjoy from it; not what they are doing. They have failed,” he added.

Also, the President of the Foundation of Concerned Arts Professionals (FOCAP) stated he will score the current government 0%.

@ghnow_ Adams Adder Almeida and Bala Bilyon have been denied bail by the Kaneshie District Court in connection with the alleged murder of 54-year-old car dealer Mohammed Rahman at Beach Drive Estate, Tuba, near Weija. The case has been adjourned to August 24, 2026. #GHnow ♬ original sound – ONDEMCOVERAGE
@ghnow_ 🚨 BREAKING: Rescue workers have begun efforts to rescue civilians trapped under debris following the powerful earthquake in Colombia. #GHNow #fyp ♬ Originalton – 𓆩•. Fadi | فادي .•𓆪

‘I don’t hate you; nobody in NPP hates you’ – Afenyo-Markin tells Sammy Gyamfi

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‘I don’t hate you; nobody in NPP hates you’ – Afenyo-Markin tells Sammy Gyamfi

Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the minority leader, has told Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi that nobody in the NPP hates him.  

The Minority leader urged Sammy Gyamfi to be more receptive to criticism of the institution.

According to Sammy Gyamfi, the opposition’s concerns are about the Board’s operations and not a personal attack on him.

He disclosed that neither he nor former Deputy Finance Minister Abena Osei Asare harboured any hatred towards Sammy Gyamfi.

Speaking on Accra-based Metro TV, the Minority Leader stated, “NPP, nobody hates you. Abena Osei Asare doesn’t hate you. I don’t hate you. We want the best for you”.

“So, take it easy. When we raise issues, take your time and respond. Don’t come and attack us. Don’t engage others to attack us because we criticise GoldBod”.

“You were very loud when you were in opposition. You raised critical issues. You were the loudest in opposition,” he said.

He added, “I am sure you should have a certain level of tolerance to even listen to the issues we raise”.

“Most of the issues you raise are issues that have been reported by the IMF, by institutions that are credible,” he said.

“We are not after your person. We are after the excesses in the activities at your institution,” he said.

“So please, don’t take it personally. Let’s work together, let’s understand the issues,” Mr Afenyo-Markin said.

“When we raise them, take note, because one day, some of these things may come back and haunt you. When we raise them, take note, because one day, some of these things may come back and haunt you,” he cautioned.

Meanwhile, Sammy Gyamfi has said the Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin’s allegation against the gold purchasing outfit is just driven by “bitterness”.

According to Sammy Gyamfi, Afenyo-Markin and other New Patriotic Party (NPP) figures have raised concerns about GoldBod without providing specific evidence.

Sammy Gyamfi further challenged the Economic Committee, Finance Committee, and Lands and Mines Committee to invite him to parliament, stating he is ready to face them in parliament if invited.

Speaking during a Space conversation on X on Sunday, August 9, Sammy Gyamfi stated, “As for Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, I can take some of the things he says seriously because they are not personal. Afenyo Markin is just being personal. He’s a bitter friend, so I can understand. You can see the hatred and the bitterness in his voice. He has no issues. A lot of bad things are happening at the GoldBod, but he does not say anything.

He is just looking for my attention, but he won’t get it. I am a very busy person”.

“If he wants me in Parliament, I’m saying they should invite me tomorrow. I am ready. Economic Committee, Finance Committee, Lands and Mines Committee, and they should bring GTV and media people and publishers, because if I call them for a debate they won’t come. They will say they want me on oath, so they should invite me,” he stated.

Public Account Committee, Abena Asare, chairwoman, you said we are siphoning money; call us there; you were not put there to just talk. Let us come and sit down, and then you can now cite the cases and instances of siphoning of public funds by Sammy Gyamfi and the GoldBod and let’s see what will become your reputation after that”.

He further added, “None of my bodyguards is involved in gold trading, and none of my bodyguards has stolen or taken Gold Board money”.

“The said Dominic Bonsu, I understand, is even a constituency executive of the NPP somewhere in the Manso area in the Ashanti Region,” Mr Gyamfi said.

@ghnow_ Afenyo-Markin is a bitter friend. He's just looking for my attention, but he won’t get it… – Sammy Gyamfi (CEO, GoldBod) #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ Adams Adder Almeida and Bala Bilyon have been denied bail by the Kaneshie District Court in connection with the alleged murder of 54-year-old car dealer Mohammed Rahman at Beach Drive Estate, Tuba, near Weija. The case has been adjourned to August 24, 2026. #GHnow ♬ original sound – ONDEMCOVERAGE

‘Afenyo-Markin is just bitter; You can see the hatred in his voice’ – Sammy Gyamfi

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‘Afenyo-Markin is just bitter; You can see the hatred in his voice’ – Sammy Gyamfi

Sammy Gyamfi, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), has said the Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin’s allegation against the gold purchasing outfit is just driven by “bitterness”.

According to Sammy Gyamfi, Afenyo-Markin and other New Patriotic Party (NPP) figures have raised concerns about GoldBod without providing specific evidence.

Sammy Gyamfi further challenged the Economic Committee, Finance Committee, and Lands and Mines Committee to invite him to parliament, stating he is ready to face them in parliament if invited.

Speaking during a Space conversation on X on Sunday, August 9, Sammy Gyamfi stated, “As for Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, I can take some of the things he says seriously because they are not personal. Afenyo Markin is just being personal. He’s a bitter friend, so I can understand. You can see the hatred and the bitterness in his voice. He has no issues. A lot of bad things are happening at the GoldBod, but he does not say anything.

He is just looking for my attention, but he won’t get it. I am a very busy person”.

“If he wants me in Parliament, I’m saying they should invite me tomorrow. I am ready. Economic Committee, Finance Committee, Lands and Mines Committee, and they should bring GTV and media people and publishers, because if I call them for a debate they won’t come. They will say they want me on oath, so they should invite me,” he stated.

Public Account Committee, Abena Asare, chairwoman, you said we are siphoning money; call us there; you were not put there to just talk. Let us come and sit down, and then you can now cite the cases and instances of siphoning of public funds by Sammy Gyamfi and the GoldBod and let’s see what will become your reputation after that”.

He further added, “None of my bodyguards is involved in gold trading, and none of my bodyguards has stolen or taken Gold Board money”.

“The said Dominic Bonsu, I understand, is even a constituency executive of the NPP somewhere in the Manso area in the Ashanti Region,” Mr Gyamfi said.

In related news, Sammy Gyamfi has disclosed that a total of 7.1 metric tonnes of gold purchased were refined locally.

Sammy Gyamfi disclosed that the move helps Ghana retain refining fees while supporting job creation and economic activity.

He detailed that local refineries had the capacity to produce gold of high purity, however noting that existing capacity remained insufficient to process all the gold.

Speaking in a Space conversation on X on Sunday, August 9, 2026, Sammy Gyamfi stated, “Some refineries will give you minimum 99.5 without more; others will give you 999, or four nines or five nines, depending on the kind of processes they have,” he said.

“So the refineries we have in Ghana are able to give us three nines. Royal Gold can give us three nines. Gold Coast can even give us four nines because they have the capacity to do electrolysis that can give you that kind of purity, which means that the metal that comes from the refinery is now pure gold, almost close to 24 karat gold,” he said.

He added, “Currently, we are not refining all locally; we are refining all the gold we buy locally because of limited or constrained local capacity”.

“The two refineries that we have, we project can do at optimum capacity levels, one ton, that is 1,000 kilograms of gold refining per week,” he said.

Sammy Gyamfi added that the GoldBod had adopted a gradual approach to increasing the volumes processed by the refineries.

“But we have decided to help them to crawl before they walk and before they run. So even though the agreements we have with them allow them to refine up to a ton, we’ve adopted a piecemeal gradualist approach,” he said.

“As we speak, 7.1 metric tons of the gold that the GoldBod has bought this year were refined in Ghana,” he said.

“The refining fees that would have ended up in Dubai, India, Hong Kong and other advanced countries stayed in Ghana, supporting job creation and supporting our economy,” he said.

Watch the video below:

@ghnow_ Afenyo-Markin is a bitter friend. He's just looking for my attention, but he won’t get it… – Sammy Gyamfi (CEO, GoldBod) #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ Adams Adder Almeida and Bala Bilyon have been denied bail by the Kaneshie District Court in connection with the alleged murder of 54-year-old car dealer Mohammed Rahman at Beach Drive Estate, Tuba, near Weija. The case has been adjourned to August 24, 2026. #GHnow ♬ original sound – ONDEMCOVERAGE

Ghana former US ambassador Alima Mahama caught up in $19.3m US Embassy scandal

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Ghana former US ambassador Alima Mahama caught up in $19.3m US Embassy scandal

A forensic audit by the Auditor General conducted into Ghana’s Embassy in Washington dealings has implicated Ghana’s former US ambassador Alima Mahama, who has been caught up in a $19.3 million extortion from visa and passport applicants.

It will be recalled that on Monday, May 26, 2025, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, closed down Ghana’s Embassy in Washington, DC after allegations of corruption.

Some embassy staff were alleged to have diverted funds from visa and passport application processes to a privately owned company secretly established.

The report implicated senior officials at the embassy, including Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, Hajia Alima Mahama; Joseph Ngminebayihi, who served as Minister (Consular) from 2017 to 2021; and his successor, Amidu Mohammed Karande, who served from 2021 to 2025.

According to the audit report, Alima Mahama approved a contract formalising the outsourcing of dispatch services to entities linked to the system.

“Her Excellency Alima Mahama served as Ambassador and Head of Mission from 2021 to 2024. As Ambassador and Head of Mission, H.E. Alima Mahama exercised ultimate supervisory and financial authority over the Embassy’s operations. She signed the General Contract for Services between the Embassy and Travel Ghana / Secure Data Centre, thereby formalising the outsourcing of passport and visa dispatch functions to a related party, with unauthorised fees charged to applicants. During her tenure, the Mission faced scrutiny over banking compliance, exposure to related-party transactions, and weaknesses in governance controls,” the report said.

The report published by the Public Accountability and Integrity Commission (PAIC), the structure of the website used for consular services, visa issuance and passport processing was altered through website manipulation.

It indicated that applicants who accessed the embassy’s official website were redirected to privately controlled platforms, where they were required to pay $29.75 per application for the return of their passports or visas.

Details showed that the expected or actual cost of postage averaged $10.10, indicating that each applicant paid nearly $20 above the cost of the service.

“These arrangements enabled the collection of dispatch/mailing fees and application support service charges from applicants,” part of the forensic audit report stated.

The audit report detailed that the largest component of the $19.3 million in alleged illicit fees charged came from mailing and dispatch charges.

“The forensic analysis of visa and passport processing activities at the Embassy of Ghana in Washington, D.C., identified irregular financial transactions related to dispatch/mailing charges between 2019 and 2025; application support services between 2021 and 2025; extra merchant fees for online payments between 2020 and 2025; as well as transactions involving Fred Kwarteng & STEFRANN LLC between 2019 and 2020,” the report said.

“In addition to mailing charges, applicants were required to pay application support service fees through the unapproved external platforms to which they were redirected. These fees were set at $67 for passport applications and $76.78 for visa applications. The audit indicates that these services were presented as necessary for completing applications, even though they were not part of officially approved government charges,” part of the report read.

An Information Technology Officer at the embassy identified Fred Kwarteng has been fingered in the audit report as the alleged mastermind behind the scheme which created and operated external platforms, including TravelGhana.Net and GhanaPV.org.

The audit report indicated that websites created by Kwarteng “redirected applicants from the Embassy’s website to pay fees for postage and application support services. Applicants were charged $29.75 for return postage and additional support service fees through the platform,” the report stated.

Meanwhile, Alima Mahama, in 2025 when the allegation surfaced, denied any wrongdoing in connection with claims raised by Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa over operations at Ghana’s Embassy in Washington, DC.

She disputed the figures cited by Okudzeto Ablakwa regarding the operations of Ghana Travel Consultants (GTC), a private company operated by former embassy staffer Fred Kwarteng.

Alima Mahama argued that the company had a valid contract with the embassy and rejected claims that the arrangement had resulted in financial loss to the state.

However, the Auditor General recommended that these monies be retrieved from the officials involved and sanctioned accordingly.

“We recommend recovery of the amount from the Key Actors. Again, the affected officers should be sanctioned in accordance with the Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038),” the audit report added.

See the summary of the estimated cost of irregularities below:

@ghnow_ Adams Adder Almeida and Bala Bilyon have been denied bail by the Kaneshie District Court in connection with the alleged murder of 54-year-old car dealer Mohammed Rahman at Beach Drive Estate, Tuba, near Weija. The case has been adjourned to August 24, 2026. #GHnow ♬ original sound – ONDEMCOVERAGE
@ghnow_ Afenyo-Markin is a bitter friend. He's just looking for my attention, but he won’t get it… – Sammy Gyamfi (CEO, GoldBod) #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

Ghana’s U.S. Embassy fingered in $19.3m visa, passport extortion scheme

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Ghana’s U.S. Embassy fingered in $19.3m visa, passport extortion scheme

A Forensic audit by the Auditor-General has revealed how Ghana’s U.S. Embassy in Washington extorted $19.3 million from visa and passport applicants.

The audit report detailed that for six years, thousands of visa and passport applicants who used Ghana’s Embassy in Washington filled out forms online, paid the service fees and paid extra money to have their documents mailed back to them.

According to the report, a different system redirected applicants and imposed additional charges.

The report disclosed that the new system generated nearly $19.4 million in what the Auditor-General has now classified as irregular proceeds.

It will be recalled that, back in 2025, there was a temporary closure of Ghana’s Embassy in Washington after .S. authorities and Ghanaian officials were alerted to irregularities.

The information gathered suggests the delays, missing documents, and unclear fee structures at the mission prompted the investigations.

The audit found that the Electronic Consular Information Management System (eCIMS) and AppTrack were altered through website manipulation, external platforms, and additional charges embedded into the application process.

Parts of a news article filed by Pledge Against Corruption stated, “Applicants who accessed the embassy’s official website were redirected to privately controlled platforms where they were required to pay $29.75 per application for the return of their passports or visas.

The audit established that the expected or actual cost of postage averaged $10.10, meaning each applicant paid nearly $20 above the cost of service”.

 “These arrangements enabled the collection of dispatch/mailing fees and application support service charges from applicants,” the report states.

The report added that the largest component of the $19.3 million illicit fees charged came from these mailing and dispatch charges.

Pledge Against Corruption article added, “The audit report notes that the embassy discontinued the use of self-addressed return envelopes in 2023, removing any alternative method for applicants to pay for the return delivery of their documents from their end. As a result, every applicant was required to pay the fixed mailing fee regardless of the actual cost incurred.

Data drawn from the embassy’s own systems showed that more than 170,000 visa mailing transactions and thousands of passport dispatches were processed during the period under review.

The audit calculates that applicants paid a total of US$6,945,554.00 in mailing and dispatch fees. After deducting the estimated actual postage cost of US$2,357,986.40, it was found that the excess generated from mailing fees alone amounted to US$4,587,567.60.

In addition to mailing charges, applicants were required to pay application support service fees through the unapproved external platforms to which they were redirected. These fees were set at $67 for passport applications and $76.78 for visa applications. The audit indicates that these services were presented as necessary for completing applications, even though they were not part of officially approved government charges.

These charges formed a system in which applicants paid more than the official cost of consular services. Using records from eCIMS and AppTrack, the audit calculated total transactions of $21,337,446.70 linked to these activities. After accounting for actual costs of approximately $2,357,986.40, the remaining $19.37 million was classified as irregular.

The audit also documents operational failures that occurred alongside these charges. Although applicants had already paid for mailing services, the embassy accumulated a backlog of 12,721 visa and passport applications between June and August 2025.

During that period, the embassy managed to mail only 4,507 applications, while 8,214 applications were either collected through personal pickup or remained undelivered, contributing to delays, complaints and additional administrative burden”.

 “This situation suggests that the dispatch fees previously collected from applicants were not utilised for their intended purpose, exposing the Embassy to avoidable financial loss,” the report states.

To address the situation, the embassy incurred an additional cost of about $45,000 to post letters and clear part of the accumulated backlog. This expenditure occurred even though applicants had already paid for mailing services through the system.

The audit report also exposed that Fred Kwarteng, an Information Technology Officer at the embassy, created and operated external platforms, including TravelGhana.Net and GhanaPV.org, along with associated entities such as Ghana Travel Consult, Secure Data Centre LLC, Travel Global, and MFG Technology.

These platforms were linked to official embassy systems and, in some cases, replicated them. Applicants were redirected to these platforms from the embassy’s official website and required to make payments through them when they were not approved platforms.

 “The website redirected applicants from the Embassy’s website to pay fees for postage and application support services. Applicants were charged $29.75 for return postage and additional support service fees through the platform,” the report states

“The report also identifies senior officials whose roles coincided with the operation of the system. Joseph Ngminebayihi, who served as Minister (Consular) from 2017 to 2021, oversaw consular operations during the early stages of third-party involvement. His successor, Amidu Mohammed Karande, served from 2021 to 2025 during the continued use of external platforms within official workflows.

The audit further states that Alima Mahama, who served as Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States from 2021 to 2024, approved a contract formalising the outsourcing of dispatch services to entities linked to the system”, the Pledge Against Corruption article added.

Meanwhile, the Auditor General recommended that these monies be retrieved from the officials involved and sanctioned accordingly.

“We recommend recovery of the amount from the Key Actors. Again, the affected officers should be sanctioned in accordance with the Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038),” the audit report added.

See the summary of the estimated cost of irregularities below:

@ghnow_ Afenyo-Markin is a bitter friend. He's just looking for my attention, but he won’t get it… – Sammy Gyamfi (CEO, GoldBod) #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ Adams Adder Almeida and Bala Bilyon have been denied bail by the Kaneshie District Court in connection with the alleged murder of 54-year-old car dealer Mohammed Rahman at Beach Drive Estate, Tuba, near Weija. The case has been adjourned to August 24, 2026. #GHnow ♬ original sound – ONDEMCOVERAGE

“Allow people to speak; insults do not hurt the gov’t” – Majority Chief Whip fumes

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“Allow people to speak; insults do not hurt the gov’t” – Majority Chief Whip fumes

Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, the Majority Chief Whip and Member of Parliament for South Dayi, has weighed in on the continuous arrest of persons accused of insulting President John Dramani Mahama and other government officials.

The Majority Chief Whip expressed his disappointment over the recent arrests.

According to Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, he personally opposes the arrests of people for insulting the government.

However, the Majority Chief Whip argued that the arrest although insults are unfortunate, they do not harm the government in any way and called for such arrests to cease.

Speaking in an interview on TV3 on August 8, 2026, Dafeamekpor stated, “I am upset by some of these arrests; they go against the government. Sometimes, the government does not even sanction them; it is the Police. As a government, we must pay attention to some of these things because they do not help. These insults do not hurt the government, so we should allow the people to speak”.

Also, Data Scientist and Policy Analyst, Alfred Appiah, has fumed over the constant arrests of TikTokers and social media commentators under the Mahama government.

According to Alfred Appiah, the Mahama government is inadvertently making silly people popular with numerous arrests of TikTokers and activists for posts deemed threatening or false.

He also fired shots at Ghanaian voices who spread false claims like the Agyapadie state capture document, Serwaa Broni’s allegations against former President Akufo-Addo, and false claims of Bawumia owning Hubtel.

According to Alfred Appiah, Agyapadie book and Serwaa Broni promoters have suddenly become apostles of ‘true and decorous’ speech.

He argued that the same people are today supporting arrests for “offensive” speech under the Mahama government.

In a post on X, the Policy Analyst wrote, “The same people who promoted the fictitious Agyapadie book, the Serwaa Broni claims, Bawumia’s alleged ownership of Hubtel, and several other misinformation campaigns have suddenly become apostles of “true and decorous” speech.

Now, some of the same voices are defending the arrest of people over what they say.

The police will continue to make arrests over speech until the government makes it unequivocally clear that speech should not be criminalised. If someone believes they have been defamed, the appropriate remedy is a civil defamation action, not criminal sanctions!

Government is also inadvertently making silly people popular!”

However, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, the government spokesperson, has broken his silence over the ongoing debate surrounding the arrest of individuals accused of publicly threatening the life of President John Dramani Mahama.

According to Felix Kwakye Ofosu, one cannot say people are being arrested for free speech when they are making threats against the life of the President.

He boldly stated that a person who sits on TikTok and threatens the life of a president and his wife cannot go scot-free.

Speaking in an interview with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Channel One TV’s Face to Face on Tuesday, August 4, Kwakye Ofosu stated, “But if you sit on TikTok and threaten the life of a president, saying you will behead the president, put him in a cocoa sack, and attack his wife, you cannot go scot-free. If you did that in any advanced democracy, they would hold you accountable. If you threaten somebody’s life, let alone that of a president, then they will catch up with you,” he said.

He also reacted to former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s recent call for the prosecution of an NDC organiser; he accused Dr Bawumia of applying a double standard by criticising current actions while remaining silent on similar incidents under the previous government.

He argued that Dr Bawumia still has a pending court case involving journalist Bobie Ansah over allegations made against his wife and former First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo.

“When he was Vice President, Bobie Ansah accused his wife and the then First Lady, Madam Rebecca Akufo-Addo, of appropriating state land. The government of the day, in which he was Vice President, put him on trial. That trial is actually still ongoing. The matter is still before the court.

“What was his position at the time? Did he utter a word when he had power and was in a position to influence events? He didn’t. So nobody can take this latest announcement seriously. It is simply an attempt to take political advantage. This is politicking,” he added.

@ghnow_ A 4-year-old boy has died after reportedly falling into an abandoned pit at a community centre in Asikuma, Central Region, while trying to retrieve a football. #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ Afenyo-Markin is a bitter friend. He's just looking for my attention, but he won’t get it… – Sammy Gyamfi (CEO, GoldBod) #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

‘Nana Yaa Jantuah, a third-tier government official’ – Ellen Ama Daaku

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‘Nana Yaa Jantuah, a third-tier government official’ – Ellen Ama Daaku

Ellen Ama Daaku, a Special Aide to NPP flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has said Presidential Staffer Nana Yaa Jantuah is a “third-tier government official.”

Speaking on GTV, Ellen Ama Daaku defended Afenyo-Markin’s position after he indirectly called Nana Yaa Jantuah a “nobody” when she was delegated to receive a petition on the government’s behalf.

Ellen Ama Daaku stated, “I also want to say a good morning to Madam Nana Yaa Jantuah, the third-tier government official, and ask her to stop complaining about the NPP and Honourable Afenyo-Markin addressing her for what she is.

“She’s a third-tier government official, and the NPP feels it’s very disrespectful on the part of the government to send a third-tier government official to come and receive the petition. It is as simple as that,” she said.

She argued that Afenyo-Markin’s comments were not meant as a personal attack.

Ellen Ama Daaku added, “t is not an affront to her person. It is an affront to what she represents and what she came to do. How can she come alone? Nobody said she’s a nobody. In the scheme of things and in the order of governance, she’s a third-tier government official”.

“But what I heard him say was that, looking at the people the NPP brought out to come and present the petition, it was just fair that the government also, at least, brought comparable people. You just don’t send a single person, a third-tier CPP turned NDC government official, to come and receive a petition,” she said.

“So the Honorable Afenyo-Markin and the team did very well by giving the petition to our Deputy Youth Organizer, Sandra. I don’t see why she’s bothered. It matters [who receives the petition],” she stated.

Ama Daaku cited a similar incident involving a demonstration against the Bank of Ghana during the previous Akufo-Addo government.

“Two years ago, if you remember, the then opposition, now government members, also had a demonstration to the Bank of Ghana, and the Chief of Security at the Bank of Ghana was asked to come and receive the petition. They refused to even give the petition to the man because they called him (sic),” she recalled.

“In fact, yesterday, Nana Yaa Jantuah sat on ASEMPA FM and called that man a watchman, but that man is a lawyer. He’s a retired Army officer, and he heads the security of the Bank of Ghana. Then led by the now majority in Parliament, all the MPs, they said he was a watchman, and they would not hand their petition over to a watchman,” she added.

“As for us, we didn’t say that. All we said is that Nana Yaa Jantuah is a third-tier government official, and the government should have done better by bringing a more comparable delegation to come and collect it,” she said.

“Why is she crying? You are a third-tier, and you should be third-tier. You cannot move from CPP as General Secretary and go and become NDC Presidential Staffer, and you expect people to call you what? I heard her say she’s a top government official. Madam, you are not. You are a third-tier government official,” Ellen Ama Daaku concluded.

Meanwhile, Nana Yaa Jantuah has announced plans to petition Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin over comments made by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin.

According to Nana Yaa Jantuah, he is old enough to be Afenyo-Markin’s mother mother adding that the minority leader is a small boy in her eyes.

Nana Yaa Jantuah disclosed that she would formally petition Speaker Alban Bagbin to demand that the Minority Leader retract his remarks.

The Presidential Staffer argued that Afenyo-Markin’s comments were unacceptable.

Speaking in an interview on Asempa FM later on Thursday, Nana Jantuah expressed deep disappointment over the Minority Leader’s comments.

Nana Yaa Jantuah stated, “I am old enough to be your mother. Afenyo-Markin is a small boy in my eyes. Who is he to disrespect me? He should never try that again”.

“I will petition the Speaker for Afenyo-Markin to withdraw what he said. He used to call me ‘Senior.’ What has changed? I am so mortified. I cannot comprehend what happened,” she added.

The development follows Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who indirectly referred to her as a “nobody” during the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) recently concluded “Democracy Under Attack” demonstration.

Speaking during the presentation of the petition at the Presidency on Thursday, August 6, Mr Afenyo-Markin stated, “With great respect and without prejudice to your presence, to nominate only you to come amounts to disrespecting us as a political party”.

“But to disrespect our democracy by only nominating you to come, it means the government does not take seriously the great issues before us,” he stated.

Watch the video below:

@ghnow_ The moment Jackie Appiah departed the funeral grounds after paying her final respects to the late Beverly Afaglo. 🕊️💔 #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – 𝑲𝒘𝒂𝒂🅡𝐡𝐦𝐢•𝐉Ⓝ𝐑🇺🇸
@ghnow_ A 4-year-old boy has died after reportedly falling into an abandoned pit at a community centre in Asikuma, Central Region, while trying to retrieve a football. #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

Publican AI boosts customs revenue to GH¢6.1bn in July – GRA

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Publican AI boosts customs revenue to GH¢6.1bn in July – GRA

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) Commissioner-General, Anthony Sarpong, has revealed that the Authority generated GH¢6.1 billion in customs revenue in July 2026.

According to the GRA, the adoption of Publican has boosted the average of about GH¢4 billion recorded each month before the artificial intelligence-powered system was fully implemented.

He disclosed that customs receipts rose from approximately GH¢4 billion before the reform to GH¢5.5 billion in June and GH¢6.1 billion in July 2026.

Anthony Sarpong stated, “The full implementation started in April 2026. So, between April and June, we are happy to report, and as the Finance Minister, Dr Ato Forson also echoed in Parliament, that we are collecting about GH¢1.3 to GH¢1.5 billion a month in addition to what we used to collect.

“So that means before the implementation we were collecting about GHC4 billion a month. As of June, we were collecting GH¢5.5 billion. In the month of July, we collected GH¢6.1 billion, which means that our customs reforms are working,” he said.

Dr Sarpong also credited the gains to the cooperation of importers, businesses and GRA personnel.

According to him, only about four in every 10 businesses currently pay VAT, with others failing to charge, remit or properly account for the tax, adding that Parliament has approved a project that will allow the government to require devices at shops and service points to strengthen VAT administration.

“That is going to be a game changer in our VAT administration,” he said.

It will be recalled that the Freight forwarders across Ghana’s ports and border posts, some months ago, began a four-day boycott of duty payments in protest against the government’s introduction of the “Publican AI” system for determining charges.

The leadership of GIFF has set up a task force and a monitoring team to ensure members comply with the directive.

Also, a former Member of Parliament for Bortianor‑Ngleshie Amanfro and General Secretary hopeful of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Sylvester Tetteh, has alleged that the Publican AI system introduced by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) at Ghana’s ports is to enrich some people.

Speaking on New Day on TV3, Sylvester Tetteh alleged, “What I see is a system put in place to enrich some people.”

He argued that revenue targets tied to percentage earnings could influence how values are determined.

“What is turning out is unnecessary inflation of the rates to meet their threshold and get their money”, he added.

Sylvester Tetteh further called for transparency around the Publican AI system.

The former MP demanded the disclosure of its contract and the introduction of an appeals process for importers.

“We are seeking the company, the contract, we want to see the beneficiaries”.

“You should have an appellate body to present your evidence,” he noted.

“If values have been accepted over time and verified, then changes must be properly explained,” he said.

Background

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) unveiled a new Artificial Intelligence-driven trade data analytics platform, named Publican AI.

According to the GRA, Publican AI is designed to enhance revenue mobilisation and tackle customs fraud.

The system employs Artificial Intelligence and machine learning to detect undervaluation, flag high-risk goods, and strengthen the capacity of customs operations.

Speaking at the launch, Deputy Minister of Finance, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, stated, “The AI tool will help us achieve accurate duty determination across the board, reducing discretion and ensuring a level playing field for all importers”.

“The Publican AI system will give us 100% coverage of assessment, ensuring that every shipment is scrutinised and valued accurately,” he added.

@ghnow_ Nana Ama McBrown and Kobby Kyei arrive at the funeral ceremony of the late Beverly Afaglo to pay their final respects. 🕊️💔 #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ Afenyo-Markin is a bitter friend. He’s just looking for my attention, but he won’t get it… – Sammy Gyamfi (CEO, GoldBod) #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

Former Power Minister denies involvement in $1m Turkish power plant bribery scandal

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Former Power Minister denies involvement in $1m Turkish power plant bribery scandal

Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a private legal practitioner, has revealed a private conversation he had with a former Power Minister, Dr Kwabena Donkor, following the conviction of Asante Berko by a US court.

The private legal practitioner disclosed that Dr Kwabena Donkor interacted with Asante Berko and also categorically denied receiving any money.

According to Oliver Barker-Vormawor, Dr Kwabena Donkor stated that as a cadre committed to the ideals of the revolution, he did not and would not betray his country in that manner.

In a Facebook post, Oliver Barker-Vormawor stated, “1. Yesterday, Dr Kwabena Donkor, Former Minister of Power, called me to discuss the Berko conviction and the media interest in the matter.

2. We had a long and frank chat.

3. The Former Minister denied categorically that he had received any money from Mr Berko and said that he had never interacted with the man.

4. He added that as a cadre committed to the ideals of the revolution, he did not and would not betray his country in that manner.

5. I was frank. I told him that when I first heard the news, I immediately thought it was him because his name was the only one anyone would associate with the Ministry of Power; I didn’t actually remember he was not the only one. I said I was very disappointed personally. Because I have over the years held him up as an example of ethical leadership. Not many public servants promise to resign when they don’t solve a crisis and actually follow through. So I don’t take his call for granted. And hope that the promised investigation establishes the truth of what actually happened.

6. He said he welcomed the news of an impending investigation and believes it will clear him. He mentioned that he had been advised by his lawyers not to speak publicly on the matter, but that they will soon issue a statement on the issue.

7. He drew my attention to a couple of things and had some views on what could possibly have happened. But these are things that any investigation should and will establish. So I won’t speak further on those.

8. This is what I will say, however: when I read the FBI’s statement on the conviction of Mr Berko – it said he had been convicted of “conspiring to pay; and also paying”. And in respect of the Minister it said: “In April 2015, Berko and the conspirators discussed paying $1 million to the Minister of Power who was responsible for securing key approvals enabling the project to progress.”

9. There was nothing in that statement that said that 1 million was in fact paid. But when it came to other public officials, however, the statement was a lot more categorical. “Bribes were also paid to five Ghanaian officials during an all-expenses-paid trip to Turkey to view equipment for the power plant, during which the officials each received $5,000.”

10. But that’s a public statement, not the evidence. So not much stock to be placed on that. What is clear, though, is that now the US ORAL side is done.

11. The FBI statement indicates that they “worked with the International Cooperation Unit of the Office of the Attorney-General of Ghana, and Ghana’s Office of the Special Prosecutor, to provide significant assistance to this prosecution”.

12. I note that the AG has since issued a statement indicating that they will work with the US partners to also investigate the Ghana side of the deal. And the OSP has also released a statement saying that they “provided significant assistance to” the FBI, without saying anything about why it hadn’t done anything all this while on the Ghana side of the issue.

13. This is not a matter that can or will be allowed to die without proper investigation. We hope to hear more soon from the Ghana side of the ORAL.

Still, I believe in ORAL”.

Meanwhile, Asante Kwaku Berko, the former Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) Managing Director, is facing up to 30 years in US prison after conviction in power plant bribery.

The former TOR MD was convicted by a federal jury in the United States over a bribery and money laundering scheme linked to a power plant project in Ghana.

Asante Kwaku Berko, a dual US-Ghanaian citizen, was convicted in Brooklyn on August 6, 2026, on all counts in the indictment, following a nine-day trial before US District Judge Diane Gujarati in the Eastern District of New York.

According to information gathered, Asante Berko and others conspired to pay more than US$1 million in bribes to Ghanaian government officials to help secure a multimillion-dollar power plant deal for Turkish energy company Aksa Enerji Uretim A.S.

The shady deal centres on a power plant deal that was under development and financing between December 2014 and July 2015.

Read the full text below:

“Asante Kwaku Berko, a dual citizen of the United States and Ghana, was convicted today by a federal jury in Brooklyn on all counts of an indictment charging conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), violating the FCPA, and money laundering conspiracy for paying bribes to Ghanaian government officials in connection with the development of a power plant in Ghana. The verdict followed a nine-day trial before United States District Judge Diane Gujarati.

When sentenced, Berko faces up to 30 years in prison. Berko was ordered remanded pending sentencing.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, A. Tysen Duva, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and James C. Barnacle, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office, announced the verdict.

“Today’s verdict marks another significant victory in this Office’s longstanding commitment to rooting out corruption,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “The defendant abused his access to high-level foreign government officials and his platform as an investment banker at a prestigious American firm to line his own pockets with millions of dollars.”

“We live in a global economy that American companies must be able to compete in fairly,” said Assistant Attorney General Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

“This defendant corrupted that fair competition. He abused his position at a world-renowned American investment bank by helping bribe Ghanaian officials, so he and his co-conspirators, including senior executives at a Turkish company, could make money.

Today’s conviction makes clear that criminals who undermine our country’s interests by corrupting foreign governments and cutting off fair competition will face the full force of the Department of Justice.”

“Today’s verdict highlights the importance of domestic and international partnerships, and the magnitude of success that working together creates.

The FBI is thankful for the assistance from the Department of Justice and the United Kingdom – specifically to the Office of International Affairs, U.S. Marshals Service, and INTERPOL – in pursuing justice to protect our country’s financial integrity,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Barnacle.

U.S. Attorney Nocella also expressed his appreciation to the Government of the United Kingdom, the U.K. National Centre Bureau for INTERPOL, the Embassy of the United States in London, the Department’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Marshals Service for providing substantial assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of the defendant.

As proved at trial, Berko conspired to pay more than $1 million in bribes to multiple Ghanian government officials in connection with the development and financing of a power plant estimated to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in profits.

Beginning in December 2014, Berko, a former Executive Director in the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs group, was responsible for securing and managing a deal between the Republic of Ghana and Aksa Enerji Uretim A.S. (Aksa), a Turkish energy company and Goldman client, for the construction and financing of a power plant in Ghana amidst a national energy crisis in the country.

During the scheme, Berko and his co-conspirators paid and conspired to pay bribes to individuals at numerous levels of the Ghanaian government to ensure that Aksa won its bid to build and operate the power plant.

For example, in April 2015, Berko and the conspirators discussed paying $1 million to the Ghanaian Minister of Power who was responsible for securing key approvals enabling the project to progress and $250,000 to his senior adviser. Bribes were also paid to five Ghanaian officials during an all-expenses-paid trip to Turkey to view equipment for the power plant.

After the power plant deal was ratified by the Ghanaian parliament in July 2015, Berko and his co-conspirators exchanged detailed emails regarding bribe payments. For example, in August 2015, they discussed $250,000 in bribe payments paid to various individuals, including $46,000 to members of the Ghanaian Parliament, which ratified the agreement between Aksa and the government of Ghana, paid by Berko himself.

Also in August 2015, the co-conspirators discussed how a bribe recipient was waiting for the “holy rain” (i.e., the bribe payment) and “would appreciate it sooner rather than later.”

To conceal the scheme from Goldman and others, Berko lied to the compliance team at Goldman that was responsible for vetting the deal. Berko also used his personal email account, instead of his Goldman business email account, to discuss the deal and the bribe payments and directed his co-conspirators to do the same.

In addition, Berko and his co-conspirators concealed and laundered the bribe payments using shell companies, sham invoices, nominee account holders and cash withdrawals. Payments in furtherance of the bribery scheme were laundered through U.S. and foreign bank accounts. Goldman ultimately withdrew from the deal due to corruption concerns.

The government’s case is being handled by the Business and Securities Fraud Section of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

Assistant United States Attorneys Jessica Weigel, Nick M. Axelrod and Tara McGrath are prosecuting the case with Assistant Chief Katherine Raut and Senior Trial Attorney Katherine Nielsen, and with assistance from Paralegal Specialists Melina Piatti-Chayan, Isha Jayadev and Teresa Dolan.

The Defendant:

ASANTE KWAKU BERKO

Age: 52

United Kingdom / Ghana

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 20-CR-328 (DG)”

See the post below:

@ghnow_ KKD and legendary musician Kojo Antwi arrive at the funeral ceremony of the late Beverly Afaglo to pay their final respects. 🕊️💔 #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ Nana Ama McBrown and Kobby Kyei arrive at the funeral ceremony of the late Beverly Afaglo to pay their final respects. 🕊️💔 #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

Ken Ofori-Atta’s case back in court August 27 – OSP reveals

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Ken Ofori-Atta’s case back in court August 27 – OSP reveals

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has disclosed that the trial involving former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta is set to resume on Thursday, August 27, 2026.

The development follows the Supreme Court which unanimously ruled that the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has the constitutional authority to independently investigate and prosecute corruption-related offences.

The apex court, in a unanimous judgment delivered on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, dismissed the challenge and upheld the constitutionality of the OSP Act.

However, the Supreme Court ruled that the Attorney General retains the constitutional authority to discontinue criminal prosecutions initiated by the OSP through a nolle prosequi.

The OSP made a post on social media on Monday, August 10, announcing the resumption of proceedings.

It will be recalled that Ofori-Atta is facing 28 counts of corruption and corruption-related offences arising from investigations into revenue assurance contracts between the Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

Ken Ofori-Atta is standing trial alongside former GRA Commissioners-General Emmanuel Kofi Nti and Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah; former Customs Commissioner Isaac Crentsil; former Customs Commissioner Kwadwo Damoah; SML Chief Executive Officer Evans Adusei; and former Chief of Cabinet to Mr Ofori-Atta, Ernest Darko Akore.

Earlier, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has said former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta is still a fugitive from justice in Ghana.

According to the OSP, there is a valid warrant by the High Court for the arrest of Ken Ofori-Atta.

The OSP statement follows a US Immigration Judge David Gardey ruling that the OSP failed to present credible evidence linking Ken Ofori-Atta to any criminal wrongdoing.

Judge Gardey disclosed that the OSP submitted a 200-page affidavit which included more than 70 criminal counts against Mr Ofori-Atta, but found the evidence presented did not persuasively demonstrate that he committed wrongdoing as Finance Minister.

The US immigration judge made this known, explaining his decision to approve Mr Ofori-Atta’s permanent residency application.

According to the US Immigration Judge said, the OSP’s affidavit was “full of conclusory allegations” and did not provide “credible or reliable facts” showing that the former minister engaged in criminal conduct.

Reports suggest the judge’s comments were contained in his June 15, 2026 ruling, providing the court’s reasoning for why it found Ghana’s embattled Ken Ofori-Atta is deserving of immigration relief despite the corruption-related charges brought against him in Ghana.

The Judge is quoted as having said, “The lack of any persuasive evidence indicating any kind of criminal wrongdoing or criminal conspiracy involving the respondent in the OSP’s affidavit is powerful evidence”.

The Judge disclosed that while the allegations from Ghana described serious claims of corruption, the OSP had not provided sufficient evidence to support those claims.

Judge Gardey further revealed that Ofori-Atta had testified credibly and denied receiving anything of value from companies or individuals involved in the investigations, or benefiting personally from decisions he made while serving as a government official.

Reacting to the development, the OSP in a Public notice stressed that the credibility or otherwise of the criminal charges against Mr Ofori-Atta is a matter for determination by the courts in Ghana, which have jurisdiction to determine his guilt or innocence.

They added that such matters are not determined by an immigration court in the United States.

The OSP also disclosed once again that they are not involved in Ken Ofori-Atta’s immigration hearings in the United States.

@ghnow_ Kumawood star Bill Asamoah arrives at the funeral ceremony of the late Beverly Afaglo to pay his final respects. 🕊️💔 #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – Kobe Boujee
@ghnow_ KKD and legendary musician Kojo Antwi arrive at the funeral ceremony of the late Beverly Afaglo to pay their final respects. 🕊️💔 #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

How OSP provided evidentiary assistance that nailed Asante Berko in $1m Power plant bribery case

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How OSP provided evidentiary assistance that nailed Asante Berko in $1m Power plant bribery case

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has revealed the role it played in the conviction of Ghanaian-American businessman and former Goldman Sachs investment banker, Asante Berko, in a $1 million bribery case.

According to the OSP, they provided evidentiary assistance to the FBI to nail Asante Berko in a $1m Power plant bribery case.

The OSP disclosed that its assistance was provided through Ghana’s established mutual legal assistance framework and was acknowledged by the United States Department of Justice (DoJ).

The OSP said in a public notice issued on Monday, August 10, 2026 stated, “Conviction of Asante Kwaku Berko

International Cooperation in Action

On 6 August 2026, a federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, convicted Asante Kwaku Berko (a dual citizen of Ghana and the United States and former Managing Director of Tema Oil Refinery and former Executive Director in the Investment Banking Division of the U.S. based Goldman Sachs group) of conspiring to pay and paying more than $1m in bribes between 2014 – 2015 to multiple Ghanaian officials in connection with the development and financing of a power plant in Ghana under a deal between the Republic of Ghana and Aksa Enerji Uretim A.S., a Turkish energy company and Goldman Sachs client. 

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) provided investigation and evidentiary assistance to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States through Ghana’s established mutual legal assistance framework. The involvement of the OSP has been acknowledged by the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) as providing “significant assistance to this prosecution”.

Berko faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. The sentence will be handed down on 10 November 2026. This case highlights the effectiveness of international cooperation in combating cross-border corruption crimes. The cooperation between the FBI and the OSP on this case occurred behind the scenes, and its public outcome of a successful prosecution is a testament to the importance of mutual legal assistance”.

Meanwhile, Asante Kwaku Berko, the former Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) Managing Director, is facing up to 30 years in US prison after conviction in power plant bribery.

The former TOR MD was convicted by a federal jury in the United States over a bribery and money laundering scheme linked to a power plant project in Ghana.

Asante Kwaku Berko, a dual US-Ghanaian citizen, was convicted in Brooklyn on August 6, 2026, on all counts in the indictment, following a nine-day trial before US District Judge Diane Gujarati in the Eastern District of New York.

According to information gathered, Asante Berko and others conspired to pay more than US$1 million in bribes to Ghanaian government officials to help secure a multimillion-dollar power plant deal for Turkish energy company Aksa Enerji Uretim A.S.

The shady deal centres on a power plant deal that was under development and financing between December 2014 and July 2015.

Asante Berko, who was then an executive director in the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs at the time, was involved in managing the transaction between the bank’s client, Aksa Enerji, and the Republic of Ghana.

In July 2024, Asante Berko was extradited to the United States after living in the United Kingdom and being arrested in November 2022 following an Interpol Red Notice.

The US prosecution also accused him of using the American financial system to facilitate the movement of illicit payments connected to the deal.

Asante Berko was convicted of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), violating the FCPA and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

He has since been remanded in custody pending sentencing, which is scheduled for November 10.

See the post below:

@ghnow_ Ibrahim Mahama departs the funeral ceremony of the late Beverly Afaglo in his Brabus truck after paying his final respects. 🚘🕊️ #GHNow #fyp ♬ Biggest Nathaniel – N.E records & lasmid
@ghnow_ Kumawood star Bill Asamoah arrives at the funeral ceremony of the late Beverly Afaglo to pay his final respects. 🕊️💔 #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – Kobe Boujee

Ex Power Minister, MPs, others – Names fingered in the million-dollar Turkish Power Plant bribery deal 

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Ex Power Minister, MPs, others – Names fingered in the million-dollar Turkish Power Plant bribery deal 

Following the Deputy Attorney General, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, in a social media post revelation that the Government of Ghana, through the Office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, is working with the United States (US) authorities to bring to book other persons linked to the million-dollar Turkish Power Plant bribery deal, details have emerged of Ghanaian government officials link to the bribery scandal.

The former TOR MD Asante Berko was convicted by a federal jury in the United States over a bribery and money laundering scheme linked to a power plant project in Ghana.

Asante Kwaku Berko, a dual US-Ghanaian citizen, was convicted in Brooklyn on August 6, 2026, on all counts in the indictment, following a nine-day trial before US District Judge Diane Gujarati in the Eastern District of New York.

According to information gathered, Asante Berko and others conspired to pay more than US$1 million in bribes to Ghanaian government officials to help secure a multimillion-dollar power plant deal for Turkish energy company AKSA Enerji Uretim A.S.

The shady deal centres on a power plant deal that was under development and financing between December 2014 and July 2015.

However, details provided by US court documents disclosed that several Ghanaian officials allegedly received bribes to facilitate a power plant deal during Ghana’s power crisis in 2014 and 2015.

The US court document, however, did not provide any names but provided institutions connected to AKSA Enerji’s emergency power project bribe.

The court document detailed that Asante Berko and his co-conspirators paid and conspired to pay bribes to individuals at various levels of the Ghanaian government to ensure that the said company AKSA won its bid to build and operate the power plant.

  • The Power Minister (2015)

In April 2015, Berko and his co-conspirators discussed paying $1 million to the Ghanaian Minister of Power, who was responsible for securing key approvals for the project.

  • Senior adviser to the Power Minister

The court documents also indicate that $250,000 was discussed as a payment to the Power Minister’s senior adviser to enable the project to progress.

  • 5 Ghanaian officials who travelled to Turkey

Bribes were also allegedly paid to five Ghanaian officials during an all-expenses-paid trip to Turkey to inspect equipment for the proposed power plant, and each of them allegedly received $5,000.

The court documents detailed that after the power plant deal was ratified by Ghana’s Parliament in July 2015, Berko and his co-conspirators exchanged detailed emails regarding the alleged bribe payments.

  • Members of Parliament

The US court documents further indicate that members of Ghana’s Parliament were among the alleged recipients of bribes.

They disclosed that in August 2015, Berko and his co-conspirators discussed $250,000 in bribe payments to various individuals, including $46,000 to Members of the Ghanaian Parliament who had ratified the agreement between Aksa and the Government of Ghana, revealing that payment to the MPs was made by Berko himself.

  • Unnamed individuals

The court documents also refer to other unnamed individuals who were allegedly involved in the scheme. The co-conspirators reportedly discussed how one alleged recipient was waiting for the “holy rain”, a term they used to refer to the bribe payment.

However, Kay Codjoe, an Associate of IMANI Africa, in a post on Facebook, lifted the veil on the individuals fingered in the million-dollar Turkish Power Plant bribery deal.

Kay Codjoe, in his Facebook post, wrote, “So let us begin lifting the veil. The Senior Ghana Official is readily identifiable from the public record as Dr Kwabena Donkor, then Minister of Power. The strongest documentary match for Ghana Official 1 is Francis W. K. Dzata, Technical Adviser to the Minister. His documented functions closely resemble those attributed by American prosecutors to the adviser who communicated the Minister’s concerns, helped organise the Turkey inspection and circulated the March 11 Emergency Project Team.

Ghana Official 2 remains less certain. John Abdulai Jinapor, then Deputy Minister of Power, is presently the strongest candidate in my reconstruction. William Owuraku Aidoo, also Deputy Minister, remains within the relevant universe. Neither should be labelled Ghana Official 2 until documentary evidence settles it. An investigation must unveil people, not invent them.

The Turkish Energy Company was AKSA Enerji. The Turkish holding company was Kazancı Holding. The American financial institution was Goldman Sachs. The Presidential Relative remains publicly unresolved. Co Conspirator 1 was a Ghanaian director of Ghana Consulting Company 1. Co Conspirator 4 was a Ghanaian and United States permanent resident who was a principal of both Ghana consulting companies. Co Conspirators 2 and 3 were senior Turkish AKSA executives. The corporate leadership universe includes Cüneyt Uygun and Nesim İbrahimhakkıoğlu, although the public material does not conclusively assign either man to a particular pseudonym.

Then comes Parliament. The recomposed Mines and Energy Committee was chaired by Amadu Bukari Sorogo, now Chairman of the National Fertilizer Council, with Adam Mutawakilu, now Managing Director of Ghana Water Limited, as Vice Chairman; Kobina Tahir Hammond, former MP for Adansi Asokwa and former Trade and Industry Minister, as Ranking Member; and Edward Ennin, former MP for Obuasi East, as Deputy Ranking Member.

The remaining members were Mahama Toure Naser, who later remained MP for Ayawaso East until his death in January 2026; Gershon K. B. Gbediame, former MP for Nkwanta South; Salifu Ameen, former MP; Kwadwo Emmanuel Agyekum, now MP for Nkoranza South and Minister of State responsible for Special Initiatives; Michael Coffie Boampong, former MP for Bia West, who died in 2018; Cletus Apul Avoka, former MP for Zebilla and former Majority Leader; Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, now MP for Asawase and Minister for the Interior; Mathias Kwame Ntow, former MP for Aowin; Dr Stephen Nana Ato Arthur, former MP for Komenda Edina Eguafo Abrem; Isaac Kwame Asiamah, former MP for Atwima Mponua and former Youth and Sports Minister; William Owuraku Aidoo, former MP for Afigya Kwabre South and former Deputy Energy Minister; Mustapha Ussif, current MP for Yagaba Kubori and former Youth and Sports Minister; Benjamin Kofi Ayeh, former MP for Upper Denkyira West; and Joseph Cudjoe, former MP for Effia and former Minister for Public Enterprises.

These are not eighteen accused MPs. They are the parliamentary investigative universe against which DOJ’s US$46,000 must be tested. Some remain politically active. Some occupy important state positions. Some have left Parliament. Some have died. Time does not erase the evidentiary question. It makes reconstruction more urgent. Who attended the relevant proceedings? Who dealt with the promoters? Who appears in Berko’s communications? Which MPs, if any, intersect with the money trail?

The institutional trail reaches the Energy Commission, GRIDCo, PURC, ECG and VRA. The contemporary leadership and technical universe includes Alfred Ofosu Ahenkorah, William Amuna, Samuel Kwadwo Sarpong, Emmanuel K. Annan, Robert Dwamena, Kirk

Then comes perhaps the most consequential document Ghana has yet to produce publicly. On March 11, 2015, Ghana Official 1 circulated an Emergency Project Team comprising representatives of agencies responsible for completing tasks necessary for AKSA. Ghana Official 2 was on that team. Later, the bribery correspondence describes an eight-person “Power Team,” with Ministry of Power and ECG representatives considered particularly important. Were they the same people? If so, one document could unlock several identities simultaneously.

Koffi and senior GRIDCo engineers including Samuel F. Kwofie, Bernard Modey, Eric Asare, Norbert Anku, Suraj Amadu and Isaac Akesseh. Their positions establish no wrongdoing. They tell investigators where to look. America has supplied the fingerprints. Ghana has the personnel files. Match them”.

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@ghnow_ Guess what A Plus told Vicky Zugah? 🤔🤣 Watch closely and tell us what you think he said! 😂👇 #GHNow #fyp ♬ sonido original – 🄹🄰🅁🄺🄺🄾 🅅🄸🄳🄰🄻
@ghnow_ Salma Mumin shares a warm and heartfelt moment with Jackie Appiah at the funeral ceremony of the late Beverly Afaglo. 🕊️❤️ #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

“GoldBod has never made a loss” — Sammy Gyamfi insists

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“GoldBod has never made a loss” — Sammy Gyamfi insists

Sammy Gyamfi, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), has debunked claims suggesting the institution is making losses.

The GoldBod CEO argued that the institution is financially sound since it began operations under its current mandate.

According to Sammy Gyamfi, GoldBod’s financial performance is supported by audited accounts, adding that claims suggesting that GoldBod is financially distressed do not reflect the organisation’s actual financial position. 

He revealed that their audited financial statements have been made available to the public through the institution’s official website.

Speaking on Twitter Spaces on Sunday, August 9, Sammy Gyamfi stated, “GoldBod has never made a loss, and our audited financial statement is on our site.”

“GoldBod is very financially sound”, he boldly added.

His comment comes on the heels of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revealing that the Bank of Ghana (BoG) lost $1.7 billion through the Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD).

In a post shared by Data Scientist and Policy Analyst, Alfred Appiah, on X detailed that the Bank of Ghana’s losses on its 2025 Domestic Gold Purchasing Programme (DGPP) via GoldBod reached $1.7 billion, far above the previously reported $214 million.

Alfred Appiah also shared an excerpt of the IMF report confirming the scaling of operations led to these losses primarily from G4R doré purchases, service fees, and discounts.

The Policy Analyst in a post detailed, “It turns out the Bank of Ghana lost far more on its domestic gold purchasing programme, implemented through GoldBod, in 2025 than was initially reported.

The $214 million that generated so much discussion was only a fraction of the total. According to the latest disclosures in the IMF report, the Bank of Ghana recorded losses of about $1.7 billion on the programme in 2025, compared with about 400 million dollars in 2024. In effect, the Bank of Ghana lost about 14.5 dollars for every 100 dollars worth of gold purchased in 2025.

To be fair, roughly half of those losses arose from the exchange rate differential between the Bank of Ghana’s accounting exchange rate and the forex bureau rate used to purchase gold from artisanal and small-scale miners.

Even after accounting for that, the losses remain substantial. They are large enough to erode GoldBod’s trading capital and create significant fiscal risks, particularly now that the government intends to make budgetary provisions to support GoldBod’s operations. The government says it will reduce the cost to 5 dollars for every 100 dollars worth of gold purchased. We will have to monitor whether that target is achieved.

In my view, Goldbod also needs to maintain a permanent discount on ASM gold purchases to help offset some of these trading costs. The prices paid for ASM gold are currently among the highest in the region. At the same time, the ASM sector contributes very little in taxes despite accounting for the majority of Ghana’s gold exports, while the environmental destruction from illegal mining continues.

As it stands, we are paying premium prices for galamsey gold while bearing much of the environmental and fiscal cost”.

Also, Bright Simons, the Vice President of Policy Think Tank IMANI Africa, reacting to Alfred Appiah’s post, argued that the exchange rate differential between forex bureau purchases from ASM miners and the BoG’s official accounting rate represents a real public subsidy rather than benign accounting.

He wrote, “The exchange rate differential is not benign or the result of mere accounting conventions. It is a real loss to the Bank of Ghana since it implies a public subsidy. It is tantamount to the government buying dollars at the “forex bureau” rate and selling at the reduced central bank official rate. Because this situation might now transfer to the Finance Ministry (as it takes over from the BoG as the funder of GoldBod’s gold purchases), I will be saying more about it soon.

The IMF did not account for the costs of sterilisation, which is the extra cost (due to interest) of borrowing to remove the cedis the BoG pumped into the market to buy the gold in the first place.

In short, we were right to make noise to force the government, through the Finance Ministry, to transparently pick up the tab for the policy instead of hiding behind the Bank of Ghana’s seemingly bottomless balance sheet”.

@ghnow_ Friends and sympathisers pay their final respects to the late Beverly Afaglo as they bid her farewell. 🕊️💔 #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ Guess what A Plus told Vicky Zugah? 🤔🤣 Watch closely and tell us what you think he said! 😂👇 #GHNow #fyp ♬ sonido original – 🄹🄰🅁🄺🄺🄾 🅅🄸🄳🄰🄻

 7.1 metric tonnes of gold bought by GoldBod in 2026, refined in Ghana – Sammy Gyamfi

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 7.1 metric tonnes of gold bought by GoldBod in 2026, refined in Ghana – Sammy Gyamfi

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) Sammy Gyamfi, has disclosed that a total of 7.1 metric tonnes of gold purchased were refined locally.

Sammy Gyamfi disclosed that the move helps Ghana retain refining fees while supporting job creation and economic activity.

He detailed that local refineries had the capacity to produce gold of high purity, however noting that existing capacity remained insufficient to process all the gold.

Speaking in a Space conversation on X on Sunday, August 9, 2026, Sammy Gyamfi stated, “Some refineries will give you minimum 99.5 without more, others will give you 999, or four nines or five nines, depending on the kind of processes they have,” he said.

“So the refineries we have in Ghana are able to give us three nines. Royal Gold can give us three nines. Gold Coast can even give us four nines because they have the capacity to do electrolysis that can give you that kind of purity, which means that the metal that comes from the refinery is now pure gold, almost close to 24 karat gold,” he said.

He added, “Currently, we are not refining all locally, all the gold we buy locally because of limited or constrained local capacity”.

“The two refineries that we have, we project can do at optimum capacity levels, one ton, that is 1,000 kilograms of gold refining per week,” he said.

Sammy Gyamfi added that the GoldBod had adopted a gradual approach to increasing the volumes processed by the refineries.

“But we have decided to help them to crawl before they walk and before they run. So even though the agreements we have with them allow them to refine up to a ton, we’ve adopted a piecemeal gradualist approach,” he said.

“As we speak, 7.1 metric tons of the gold that the GoldBod has bought this year were refined in Ghana,” he said.

“The refining fees that would have ended up in Dubai, India, Hong Kong and other advanced countries stayed in Ghana, supporting job creation and supporting our economy,” he said.

In related news, Sammy Gyamfi, has said they are finalising a new agreement to establish one of the World’s largest gold refineries in Ghana.

The GoldBod CEO revealed that the refinery will have a processing capacity of 600 tonnes, which will make it one of the largest on the continent.

According to Sammy Gyamfi, the sod cutting for the commencement of the project will be later this year, with completion expected in 2027.

He further disclosed that the project forms part of the government’s agenda to position Ghana as a leading gold refinery hub in Africa.

Speaking to members of the National House of Chiefs during a meeting in the Ashanti Region on Friday, May 29, Sammy Gyamfi disclosed, “We’re in the process of signing a new agreement that will see to the establishment of what is going to be one of the biggest refineries in the World in Ghana.

“We will cut a sod for the establishment this year [2026], and we hope to complete it by next year [2027]. It’s going to be a 600-tonne-capacity refinery. It will refine all the gold we produce here [Ghana]; it can also refine gold from Burkina Faso, Togo, and other places. The idea is to make Ghana a hub for gold refinery,” he announced.

Also, Sammy Gyamfi has said President John Dramani Mahama wants Ghana to establish its own Gold Souk.

Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen, the GoldBod CEO said, “President Mahama wants us to have our own mini gold souk like Dubai has. Dubai does not have gold, but they have a gold souk where people trade in gold jewellery.

He wants us to create a golden kilometre, and on that kilometre stretch of road, we will be selling only gold jewellery, so that if anyone comes to Ghana and wants to see our gold, they can be taken there”.

A Gold Souk is dedicated to trading gold jewellery, precious stones, and rare metals.

See the post below:

@ghnow_ Yvonne Nelson arrives at the funeral ceremony of the late Beverly Afaglo to pay her final respects. 🕊️💔 #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ Friends and sympathisers pay their final respects to the late Beverly Afaglo as they bid her farewell. 🕊️💔 #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

OSP must lead Ghana’s investigation into the Turkish Power Plant bribery scandal – Kay Cudjoe

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OSP must lead Ghana’s investigation into the Turkish Power Plant bribery scandal – Kay Cudjoe

Kay Cudjoe, an Associate of IMANI Africa, has said the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) must lead Ghana’s investigation into the million-dollar Turkish Power Plant bribery deal.

In a Facebook post, Kay Cudjoe argued that AKSA Enerji’s emergency power project is no longer an allegation following the conviction of Asante Kwaku Berko, the former Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) Managing Director.

He argued that Ghana was not standing outside the US prosecution waiting for the August 6 verdict, adding that the OSP was already part of the investigation.

The IMANI Africa associate highlighted that the investigation requires institutional distance, as Dominic Ayine was Deputy Attorney General, and John Jinapor was Deputy Minister of Power. Today Ayine is Attorney General, and Jinapor is Energy Minister. William Amuna, then GRIDCo Chief Executive, now chairs ECG. Their former offices prove no misconduct.

Kay Cudjoe, in his post, detailed, “Ghana, the scandal is no longer an allegation. On August 6, 2026, a federal jury in Brooklyn convicted Asante Kwaku Berko, former Executive Director at Goldman Sachs, of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, violating the FCPA and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The United States says Berko participated in a scheme involving more than US$1 million in bribes to Ghanaian officials connected to AKSA Enerji’s emergency power project. Berko now awaits sentencing. Ghana should be awaiting names.

The numbers are staggering. US$1 million was discussed for Ghana’s Minister of Power. US$250,000 was discussed for his senior adviser. Five Ghanaian officials travelled to Turkey at AKSA’s expense and allegedly received US$5,000 each. Correspondence described US$120,000 associated with PURC, US$20,000 for GRIDCo engineers, US$20,000 for three Ministry officials called the “MoP Girls,” US$25,000 for an eight person “Power Team,” and approximately US$46,000 paid to Members of Parliament. These were not anonymous institutions. People occupied those offices.

So let us begin lifting the veil. The Senior Ghana Official is readily identifiable from the public record as Dr Kwabena Donkor, then Minister of Power. The strongest documentary match for Ghana Official 1 is Francis W. K. Dzata, Technical Adviser to the Minister. His documented functions closely resemble those attributed by American prosecutors to the adviser who communicated the Minister’s concerns, helped organise the Turkey inspection and circulated the March 11 Emergency Project Team.

Ghana Official 2 remains less certain. John Abdulai Jinapor, then Deputy Minister of Power, is presently the strongest candidate in my reconstruction. William Owuraku Aidoo, also Deputy Minister, remains within the relevant universe. Neither should be labelled Ghana Official 2 until documentary evidence settles it. An investigation must unveil people, not invent them.

The Turkish Energy Company was AKSA Enerji. The Turkish holding company was Kazancı Holding. The American financial institution was Goldman Sachs. The Presidential Relative remains publicly unresolved. Co Conspirator 1 was a Ghanaian director of Ghana Consulting Company 1. Co Conspirator 4 was a Ghanaian and United States permanent resident who was a principal of both Ghana consulting companies. Co Conspirators 2 and 3 were senior Turkish AKSA executives. The corporate leadership universe includes Cüneyt Uygun and Nesim İbrahimhakkıoğlu, although the public material does not conclusively assign either man to a particular pseudonym.

Then comes Parliament. The recomposed Mines and Energy Committee was chaired by Amadu Bukari Sorogo, now Chairman of the National Fertilizer Council, with Adam Mutawakilu, now Managing Director of Ghana Water Limited, as Vice Chairman; Kobina Tahir Hammond, former MP for Adansi Asokwa and former Trade and Industry Minister, as Ranking Member; and Edward Ennin, former MP for Obuasi East, as Deputy Ranking Member.

The remaining members were Mahama Toure Naser, who later remained MP for Ayawaso East until his death in January 2026; Gershon K. B. Gbediame, former MP for Nkwanta South; Salifu Ameen, former MP; Kwadwo Emmanuel Agyekum, now MP for Nkoranza South and Minister of State responsible for Special Initiatives; Michael Coffie Boampong, former MP for Bia West, who died in 2018; Cletus Apul Avoka, former MP for Zebilla and former Majority Leader; Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, now MP for Asawase and Minister for the Interior; Mathias Kwame Ntow, former MP for Aowin; Dr Stephen Nana Ato Arthur, former MP for Komenda Edina Eguafo Abrem; Isaac Kwame Asiamah, former MP for Atwima Mponua and former Youth and Sports Minister; William Owuraku Aidoo, former MP for Afigya Kwabre South and former Deputy Energy Minister; Mustapha Ussif, current MP for Yagaba Kubori and former Youth and Sports Minister; Benjamin Kofi Ayeh, former MP for Upper Denkyira West; and Joseph Cudjoe, former MP for Effia and former Minister for Public Enterprises.

These are not eighteen accused MPs. They are the parliamentary investigative universe against which DOJ’s US$46,000 must be tested. Some remain politically active. Some occupy important state positions. Some have left Parliament. Some have died. Time does not erase the evidentiary question. It makes reconstruction more urgent. Who attended the relevant proceedings? Who dealt with the promoters? Who appears in Berko’s communications? Which MPs, if any, intersect with the money trail?

Then comes perhaps the most consequential document Ghana has yet to produce publicly. On March 11, 2015, Ghana Official 1 circulated an Emergency Project Team comprising representatives of agencies responsible for completing tasks necessary for AKSA. Ghana Official 2 was on that team. Later, the bribery correspondence describes an eight person “Power Team,” with Ministry of Power and ECG representatives considered particularly important. Were they the same people? If so, one document could unlock several identities simultaneously.

The institutional trail reaches the Energy Commission, GRIDCo, PURC, ECG and VRA. The contemporary leadership and technical universe includes Alfred Ofosu Ahenkorah, William Amuna, Samuel Kwadwo Sarpong, Emmanuel K. Annan, Robert Dwamena, Kirk Koffi and senior GRIDCo engineers including Samuel F. Kwofie, Bernard Modey, Eric Asare, Norbert Anku, Suraj Amadu and Isaac Akesseh. Their positions establish no wrongdoing. They tell investigators where to look. America has supplied the fingerprints. Ghana has the personnel files. Match them.

Now the present government enters the story. Dominic Ayine was Deputy Attorney General. John Jinapor was Deputy Minister of Power. Today Ayine is Attorney General and Jinapor is Energy Minister. William Amuna, then GRIDCo Chief Executive, now chairs ECG. Their former offices prove no misconduct. They prove something else: this investigation requires institutional distance.

The OSP should lead Ghana’s investigation as the specialised independent anti corruption body. The Attorney General has an important but different function as Ghana’s central authority for international criminal cooperation, facilitating requests and transmitting evidence between jurisdictions. The distinction matters because an investigator examining politically exposed persons must be able to follow evidence into the political executive without depending upon that executive to decide where the investigation goes.

This case began under an NDC government, remained unresolved through eight years of NPP government and has now returned to another NDC administration. Governments change. Ministers change. Attorneys General change. Evidence must not change with them. That is why the FBI’s cooperation with the OSP makes institutional sense. Only months ago Ghana was debating the importance and independence of the OSP. AKSA is the answer to that debate.

So when Deputy Attorney General Justice Srem Sai says Ghana is now engaging America, the question is unavoidable: Engaging America to discover the case, or retrieving evidence Ghana already helped America build?

Ghana was not standing outside this prosecution waiting for the August 6 verdict. The OSP was already inside the investigation. DOJ says it provided significant assistance to the American prosecution, while the Attorney General’s International Cooperation Unit performed its international cooperation role. Ghana therefore had an institutional connection to this prosecution before the Brooklyn jury returned its verdict.

The Ministry can produce the March 11 Emergency Project Team. GRIDCo can identify its engineers. ECG can identify its representative. PURC can reconstruct its regulatory chain. Immigration records can identify the five Turkey travellers. Parliament can determine which MPs intersect with the US$46,000. Company records can identify the people behind the Ghanaian consulting companies. Banks can identify account owners, signatories, transfers, withdrawals and beneficiaries. America can remove whatever pseudonyms remain.

None of this requires partisan theatre. The NDC must not protect yesterday’s officials because they belong to its political family. The NPP cannot suddenly discover outrage after governing for eight years following the public emergence of the Berko allegations. Neither party should determine where the evidence stops.

A foreign country has prosecuted a man for corrupting our public institutions. America has convicted the payer. The aliases are beginning to fall. The documents exist. The institutions know their people.

Now Ghana must answer the only question that matters: who collected?”

See the post below:

@ghnow_ The funeral ceremony of the late Beverly Afaglo is currently underway at the forecourt of the State House in Accra, where family, friends, colleagues, and loved ones have gathered to pay their final respects to the actress and entrepreneur. 🕊️💐 #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ Yvonne Nelson arrives at the funeral ceremony of the late Beverly Afaglo to pay her final respects. 🕊️💔 #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

 “We are so small-minded; We allow politics to just crush our thinking” – Mensa Otabil on National Cathedral

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 “We are so small-minded; We allow politics to just crush our thinking” – Mensa Otabil on National Cathedral

Pastor Mensa Otabil, the Founder and General Overseer of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) has criticised what he describes as political divisions over Ghana’s stalled $97million National Cathedral project.

According to Mensa Otabil, Ghanaians are so small-minded and allow politics to just crush their thinking.

He argued that the project, which was intended to serve as a significant Christian landmark, should have received broader support rather than political divisions.

Pastor Mensa Otabil added that Christians should support efforts to build projects “massively to the glory of God”, adding that some Christians had also spoken against the cathedral.

Speaking in a viral video, Pastor Mensa Otabil stated, “Ghana wanted to build a national cathedral, and Christians beat it up with their own mouths. Others are building things all over.

We are so small-minded, so small-minded, that we allow politics to blind us. We allow politics to just crush our thinking. We need to build [the National Cathedral] massively to the glory of God”

In related news, Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, has revealed that embattled former finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta authorised all National Cathedral payments.

According to Dr Dominic Ayine, Ken Ofori-Atta authorised all National Cathedral payments, including the $47 million paid to internationally acclaimed architect and designer David Adjaye.

The Attorney General made this known while speaking to Bola Ray on StarrChat.

He was quoted as saying, “All National Cathedral payments, including the $47 million paid to the architect, were authorised by Ken Ofori-Atta”.

Also, President John Mahama has once again promised that anyone found to have embezzled state funds in the $97 million used to dig the pit for the National Cathedral will be prosecuted.

Speaking during a sod-cutting ceremony for the Sunayi-Atronie-Achrensua project on Sunday, December 21, 2025, President Mahama stated that the investigations into the National Cathedral have not been abandoned.

President Mahama, at the sod-cutting, stated, “The $97 million used to dig the pit for the National Cathedral will be thoroughly scrutinised. We have requested the Auditor-General to conduct a forensic audit to expose any wrongdoing.

Anyone found to have embezzled state funds will face the law, so we have not abandoned the matter; investigations are ongoing.”

Meanwhile, David Adjaye, the internationally acclaimed architect and designer of the National Cathedral, in 2025 broke his silence regarding the stalled project.

According to Architect David Adjaye, the National Cathedral project is not dead, although he feels the John Mahama administration might just want to trash it.

He asserted that the Mahama administration wants to understand the National Cathedral project through a forensic examination, so it is just on pause.

Speaking during a podcast interview with renowned British journalist Tim Abrahams, David Adjaye detailed, “No, it’s not dead. It is funny. I keep thinking this administration might just want to trash it, but I think there was a lot of misunderstanding in the beginning. Because the process was private in a way — it was government, but it was private. So I think there’s a sense with this administration of really understanding what is going on. It may not be a priority, but it is certainly …

“It is definitely a national project. Love or hate it, there’s something about this project which activates a sense of urgency about the infrastructure that’s required,” he added.

David Adjaye added, “We know this administration is careful, making sure that they have done their forensic examination. So that they can say whether they think there were bad practices or good practices.

“So far, it has passed its tests, but we know they’re still carrying on with forensic testing. But in the meantime, it’s on pause. It is just on pause,” he reiterated.

Watch the video below:

@ghnow_ Beverly Afaglo’s husband and daughter share their final goodbye as they pay their last respects to their beloved wife and mother. 💔🕊️ #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ Traditional rites are performed to formally separate Beverly Afaglo’s husband from his late wife as part of the funeral ceremony. 💔🕊️ #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – Wasako Lyrics

Former TOR MD Asante Berko faces up to 30 years in US prison after conviction in power plant bribery

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Former TOR MD Asante Berko faces up to 30 years in US prison after conviction in power plant bribery

Asante Berko, the former Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) Managing Director, is facing up to 30 years in US prison after conviction in power plant bribery.

The former TOR MD was convicted by a federal jury in the United States over a bribery and money laundering scheme linked to a power plant project in Ghana.

Asante Kwaku Berko, a dual US-Ghanaian citizen, was convicted in Brooklyn on August 6, 2026, on all counts in the indictment, following a nine-day trial before US District Judge Diane Gujarati in the Eastern District of New York.

According to information gathered, Asante Berko and others conspired to pay more than US$1 million in bribes to Ghanaian government officials to help secure a multimillion-dollar power plant deal for Turkish energy company Aksa Enerji Uretim A.S.

The shady deal centres on a power plant deal that was under development and financing between December 2014 and July 2015.

Asante Berko, who was then an executive director in the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs at the time, was involved in managing the transaction between the bank’s client, Aksa Enerji, and the Republic of Ghana.

In July 2024, Asante Berko was extradited to the United States after living in the United Kingdom and being arrested in November 2022 following an Interpol Red Notice.

The US prosecution also accused him of using the American financial system to facilitate the movement of illicit payments connected to the deal.

Asante Berko was convicted of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), violating the FCPA and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

He has since been remanded in custody pending sentencing, which is scheduled for November 10.

Read the full text below:

“Asante Kwaku Berko, a dual citizen of the United States and Ghana, was convicted today by a federal jury in Brooklyn on all counts of an indictment charging conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), violating the FCPA, and money laundering conspiracy for paying bribes to Ghanaian government officials in connection with the development of a power plant in Ghana. The verdict followed a nine-day trial before United States District Judge Diane Gujarati.

When sentenced, Berko faces up to 30 years in prison. Berko was ordered remanded pending sentencing.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, A. Tysen Duva, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and James C. Barnacle, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office, announced the verdict.

“Today’s verdict marks another significant victory in this Office’s longstanding commitment to rooting out corruption,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “The defendant abused his access to high-level foreign government officials and his platform as an investment banker at a prestigious American firm to line his own pockets with millions of dollars.”

“We live in a global economy that American companies must be able to compete in fairly,” said Assistant Attorney General Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

“This defendant corrupted that fair competition. He abused his position at a world-renowned American investment bank by helping bribe Ghanaian officials, so he and his co-conspirators, including senior executives at a Turkish company, could make money.

Today’s conviction makes clear that criminals who undermine our country’s interests by corrupting foreign governments and cutting off fair competition will face the full force of the Department of Justice.”

“Today’s verdict highlights the importance of domestic and international partnerships, and the magnitude of success that working together creates.

The FBI is thankful for the assistance from the Department of Justice and the United Kingdom – specifically to the Office of International Affairs, U.S. Marshals Service, and INTERPOL – in pursuing justice to protect our country’s financial integrity,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Barnacle.

U.S. Attorney Nocella also expressed his appreciation to the Government of the United Kingdom, the U.K. National Centre Bureau for INTERPOL, the Embassy of the United States in London, the Department’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Marshals Service for providing substantial assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of the defendant.

As proved at trial, Berko conspired to pay more than $1 million in bribes to multiple Ghanian government officials in connection with the development and financing of a power plant estimated to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in profits.

Beginning in December 2014, Berko, a former Executive Director in the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs group, was responsible for securing and managing a deal between the Republic of Ghana and Aksa Enerji Uretim A.S. (Aksa), a Turkish energy company and Goldman client, for the construction and financing of a power plant in Ghana amidst a national energy crisis in the country.

During the scheme, Berko and his co-conspirators paid and conspired to pay bribes to individuals at numerous levels of the Ghanaian government to ensure that Aksa won its bid to build and operate the power plant.

For example, in April 2015, Berko and the conspirators discussed paying $1 million to the Ghanaian Minister of Power who was responsible for securing key approvals enabling the project to progress and $250,000 to his senior adviser. Bribes were also paid to five Ghanaian officials during an all-expenses-paid trip to Turkey to view equipment for the power plant.

After the power plant deal was ratified by the Ghanaian parliament in July 2015, Berko and his co-conspirators exchanged detailed emails regarding bribe payments. For example, in August 2015, they discussed $250,000 in bribe payments paid to various individuals, including $46,000 to members of the Ghanaian Parliament, which ratified the agreement between Aksa and the government of Ghana, paid by Berko himself.

Also in August 2015, the co-conspirators discussed how a bribe recipient was waiting for the “holy rain” (i.e., the bribe payment) and “would appreciate it sooner rather than later.”

To conceal the scheme from Goldman and others, Berko lied to the compliance team at Goldman that was responsible for vetting the deal. Berko also used his personal email account, instead of his Goldman business email account, to discuss the deal and the bribe payments and directed his co-conspirators to do the same.

In addition, Berko and his co-conspirators concealed and laundered the bribe payments using shell companies, sham invoices, nominee account holders and cash withdrawals. Payments in furtherance of the bribery scheme were laundered through U.S. and foreign bank accounts. Goldman ultimately withdrew from the deal due to corruption concerns.

The government’s case is being handled by the Business and Securities Fraud Section of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

Assistant United States Attorneys Jessica Weigel, Nick M. Axelrod and Tara McGrath are prosecuting the case with Assistant Chief Katherine Raut and Senior Trial Attorney Katherine Nielsen, and with assistance from Paralegal Specialists Melina Piatti-Chayan, Isha Jayadev and Teresa Dolan.

The Defendant:

ASANTE KWAKU BERKO

Age: 52

United Kingdom / Ghana

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 20-CR-328 (DG)”

@ghnow_ Actors Van Vicker and Ro doer arrive to pay their final respects to the late Beverly Afaglo. 🕊️💔 #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ Beverly Afaglo’s husband and daughter share their final goodbye as they pay their last respects to their beloved wife and mother. 💔🕊️ #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

Mahama Ayariga’s removal linked to a disagreement with Speaker Bagbin – Martin Kpebu drops bombshell

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Mahama Ayariga’s removal linked to a disagreement with Speaker Bagbin – Martin Kpebu drops bombshell

Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has suggested that Mahama Ayariga’s removal as Majority Leader may be linked to a disagreement with Speaker Alban Bagbin over the anti-LGBTQ+ Bill.

Martin Kpebu argued that Ayariga’s position that the bill was validly passed would have made it difficult for the Speaker and President to pursue reconsideration.

According to Kpebu, the appointment of James Agalga as Majority Leader could be connected to the disagreement between Ayariga and the Speaker

Kpebu said the appointment of James Agalga as Majority Leader could be connected to the disagreement between Ayariga and the Speaker.

Speaking on TV3 Key Point, Martin Kpebu stated, “The one that has intrigued me is Agalga’s promotion to that position. Analysts are saying that it appears because Mahama Ayariga challenged Speaker [Bagbin] on the passage of the LGBTQ law, that’s why Ayariga has been removed. You know, the Speaker said the bill had not been passed, and Ayariga too says it’s been properly passed.

“And you know how the international community is breathing down our necks on that particular law, so it means that for as long as Ayariga stays as a majority leader, there’s going to be a problem going forward with that bill. So it appears very reasonable.

“So they say that it appears it’s because of it that Ayariga has been removed so that the proposals that the Speaker has put forward, like the consideration can be done again, etc,” he suggested.

Kpebu cautioned, “You know, the bill has been kept somewhere. We’ve moved on. But look, we should be careful. If we don’t sort out that issue once and for all, the NDC will pay dearly for it. Let’s not make a mistake. The opposition are watching. They’ll just wait, and near elections, they will raise it again, so it’s better this bill and these issues are dealt with once and for all”.

“So my understanding is that this removal is perhaps a paved way for the reconsideration, as the Speaker has mentioned, because Ayariga has been very clear that as far as he’s aware, the bill has been passed by Parliament. So it’s left with the presidential assent, but the Speaker is saying otherwise,” he added.

In related news,  President John Dramani Mahama has made a ministerial reshuffle as part of a cabinet shake-up aimed at filling key government positions.

Mahama nominated Bawku Central MP Mahama Ayariga as Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, while reassigning two other ministers to new portfolios.

Subsequently, James Agalga, the Member of Parliament for Builsa North, has been named as the new Majority Leader in Parliament.

The decision follows President John Mahama’s nomination of Mahama Ayariga as Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs-designate.

Earlier reports had suggested James Agalga, the Builsa North Member of Parliament, was tipped to replace Mahama Ayariga as Majority Leader following his appointment as Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs.

Sources within the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Caucus in Parliament made this known.

According to reports, the NDC chose James Agalga over South Dayi MP Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, who was also considered for the position.

However, the decision is yet to be announced by the NDC parliamentary leadership.

The Builsa North MP is currently serving as Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee.

The information gathered suggests that Dafeamekpor, the Majority Chief Whip, was regarded as a strong contender for the position due to his experience; however, the NDC caucus favoured Mr Agalga’s approach and experience.

Also, the possible selection of Mr Agalga maintains the NDC continuity in the parliamentary leadership structure, as both he and Mahama Ayariga are from the Upper East Region.

Watch the video below:

@ghnow_ Ibrahim Mahama donates 2 billion to Beverly Afaglo’s burial #GHNow #fyp ♬ son original – Cœur Brisé 💔
@ghnow_ Actor and entrepreneur Salma Mumin arrives at the funeral ceremony of the late Beverly Afaglo to pay her final respects. 🕊️💔 #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

See the areas in Accra hit with ECG’s planned 4-day power outages

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See the areas in Accra hit with ECG’s planned 4-day power outages

The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has announced a four-day planned maintenance exercise that will cause temporary power outages in parts of Greater Accra.

ECG announced that the exercise will run from Monday, August 10 to Thursday, August 13, with outages scheduled between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm each day.

According to ECG, the exercise is part of planned maintenance works to improve electricity service delivery.

The areas include:

“Monday, August 10: Affected areas include Teiman, Oyarifa, Smith, parts of Ogbodjo, Tsmasiwaa Hospital, Ability and surrounding areas.

Tuesday, August 11: Areas affected include Ashiyie, parts of Dodowa, Tobinco, Oasis Estate, Manet Junction and surrounding areas.

Wednesday, August 12: The outage will affect parts of Labone, Agbogba Zongo, Adenta SDA, Tot-to-teen School, Top Herbal Clinic, parts of Madina, Libya Quarters and surrounding areas.

Thursday, August 13: Achimota School and surrounding areas will be affected”.

Also, the ECG has advised customers in the affected areas to expect temporary power supply interruptions during the maintenance period.

In other news, Data Scientist and Policy Analyst, Alfred Appiah, has detailed that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) posted a 2.5 billion loss in 2025 despite a ¢12 billion forex windfall.

The policy analyst, in a post shared on social media, disclosed that ECG reported an operational loss of GHS14.35 billion in 2025, which was reduced to a net loss of GHS2.52 billion after a GHS12.16 billion forex gain from cedi performance, contrasting with an GHS 8.3 billion loss in 2024 driven by opposite forex effects.

He further cited that in 2024, the government provided GHS17.03 billion as a grant in 2024 and GHS20.86 billion as a repayable loan in 2025 for power purchases, totalling nearly GHS 38 billion in support that diverts funds from infrastructure like roads, schools, and health facilities to cover ECG’s shortfall.

Alfred Appiah detailed that efficiency at ECG is not a technical concern but a fiscal one.

He argued that, stripping out forex movements and government support, ECG loses roughly 15 billion cedis a year from its core operations, with distribution losses also about the same, 26.88% in 2024 against 27.05% in 2025.

The policy analyst argued that underscored that efficiency gains in collections and loss reduction are essential to end ongoing taxpayer-funded bailouts.

In a post shared on X, Alfred Appiah detailed, “ECG has published its 2025 audited financial statements, and as expected, the cedi’s performance did magic for its bottom line. ECG buys power in dollars and collects revenue in cedis, so exchange rate movements matter significantly.

Operationally, ECG lost about 14.35 billion cedis in 2025. A forex gain of 12.16 billion cedis then pulled the reported loss down to 2.5 billion after tax, from 8.3 billion in 2024. That 2024 figure was also driven by the exchange rate, in the opposite direction.

Government support is the other half of the story. In 2024, ECG received a grant of 17.03 billion cedis, booked as income. In 2025, government paid 20.86 billion cedis to independent power producers and fuel suppliers on ECG’s behalf, but this time it was recorded as a loan ECG must pay back. Ato will take his money back.

But it’s nearly 38 billion cedis of state support across two years. Money from the Consolidated Fund that could have gone to classrooms, roads, clinics and sanitation systems. Every cedi that covers ECG’s shortfall is a cedi not spent somewhere else.

This is why efficiency at ECG is not a technical concern. It is a fiscal one. Strip out forex movements and government support, and nothing has changed. ECG loses roughly 15 billion cedis a year from its core operations. Distribution losses are also about the same, 26.88% in 2024 against 27.05% in 2025.

Until the losses come down and collections improve, the bailouts continue, and taxpayers shoulder the burden”

@ghnow_ Ibrahim Mahama departs the funeral ceremony of the late Beverly Afaglo in his Brabus truck after paying his final respects. 🚘🕊️ #GHNow #fyp ♬ Biggest Nathaniel – N.E records & lasmid
@ghnow_ Ibrahim Mahama donates 2 billion to Beverly Afaglo’s burial #GHNow #fyp ♬ son original – Cœur Brisé 💔

Immigration officer captured in viral video demanding ‘breakfast’ from passenger transferred

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Immigration officer captured in viral video demanding ‘breakfast’ from passenger transferred

The Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) has confirmed that the Ghana Immigration officer seen in a viral video demanding money from a passenger for “breakfast” has been transferred from the airport.

In a statement issued on Thursday, August 6, 2026, the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) disclosed that the Immigration Service has confirmed that the officer involved in the video is no longer stationed at the airport.

Portions of the statement read, “Management has also taken note of a viral video showing a Ghana Immigration Service officer demanding money for “breakfast” from a passenger. The Ghana Immigration Service has confirmed that the officer in question has since been transferred from the airport”.

Also, GACL said two Port Health officers were also found to have extorted money from a foreign passport holder for the issuance of a Yellow Fever Card.

GACL disclosed that the approved fee for foreign passport holders is $20, while Ghanaian passport holders are required to pay GH₵100. Nevertheless, the two officers allegedly charged the passenger $40.

“On 5th August 2026, two Port Health officers working inside Terminal 3 were found to have extorted money from a foreign passport holder for the issuance of a Yellow Fever Card. The approved fees are USD20 for foreign passport holders and GHS100 for Ghanaian passport holders. However, the officers charged the passenger USD40,” it stated.

“Immediate action has been taken: Their ID cards to operate in the terminal have been withdrawn and deactivated. As of Thursday, 6th August 2026, the two officers are no longer permitted to work at Accra International Airport or any other GACL-operated airport,” the statement added.

The development comes on the back of new governance data released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), which has disclosed that unofficial payments to access public services in Ghana rose sharply in the second half of 2025.

According to the GSS, the proportion of Ghanaians who paid a bribe increased from 14.3% in the first half of 2025 to 18% in the second half.

They disclosed that one in six people paid a bribe to a public official during the second half of 2025.

The GSS data reveals that nearly 7 in 10 citizens who encountered bribery reported that public officials demanded extra payments.

On Tuesday, August 4, 2026, Government Statistician Dr Alhassan Iddrisu, speaking at a Governance Series event organised by Three Reports and the GSS, made this known.

 Dr Alhassan Iddrisu stated, “The most recent six months, which is July to December 2025, got harder compared to the previous six months, which is January to June 2025”.

“Over the last six months of 2025, the share who paid a bribe rose from 14.3% in the first half of 2025 to 18% in the second half of 2025. That is about one in six paid a bribe to a public official.”

He further disclosed that requests for extra payments increased even more sharply, rising from 51% in the first half of 2025 to 69% in the second half of 2025.

“So the pressure sits at the counter. The problem now is less what citizens offer and more of what officials would ask,” Dr Iddrisu said.

“The full year, which is 2025, got better compared to 2024. Both of these stories are true, and that’s the beauty of the six-monthly survey that we do, to be able to look at trends within waves and even compare between years,” he said.

The GSS findings cover citizens’ experiences between July and December 2025 and were collected during the first quarter of 2026 during interviews with household heads.

Watch the video below:

@ghnow_ Nana Ama McBrown and Kobby Kyei arrive at the funeral ceremony of the late Beverly Afaglo to pay their final respects. 🕊️💔 #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ Ghanaian businessman Ibrahim Mahama arrives at the funeral ceremony of the late Beverly Afaglo to pay his final respects. 🕊️💔 #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

‘Early presidential ambitions a betrayal’ – Prof Opoku-Agyemang

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‘Early presidential ambitions a betrayal’ – Prof Opoku-Agyemang

Prof Opoku-Agyemang, the Vice President of Ghana, has said early presidential ambitions among some officials of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) are a betrayal of the cause of the people.

According to Prof Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, Ghanaians voted massively for the NDC to address Ghana’s challenges and not for the party to be jostling to succeed President Mahama as the next presidential candidate.

The Vice President argued that the fortunes of any NDC official aspiring to lead the party would depend largely on the performance of President John Dramani Mahama’s government.

Speaking in an interview with KSM on August 7, 2026, Prof Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang stated, “They voted for us for a reason. They voted massively, and we remain grateful. They didn’t vote for us today to be talking about going or not going. They said we should come and solve the problems. We have an agenda. What we inherited was a very, very tough situation. We have work to do”.

“Whether we are going or coming depends on the work we are doing. It depends on the support we are giving our president, who is leading the charge, and it depends on the quality of support we are giving,” she stated.

Prof Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang highlighted that it was too early for members of the party to focus on the next presidential race.

She added, “And if you’re already going left and right and centre and back, and it’s not even time, I think it’s a betrayal of the cause of the people. And I don’t think it is right. So please help us to fulfil the dreams of this beautiful country that we know can do much better, even than it is doing now.

“Let us focus on getting the job done, and I think that, speaking for myself, that is what I want to do. Keep the focus, build a nation, deliver results,” she added.

In related news, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has refused to rule out contesting for the flagbearership position of his party.

According to Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, he would make his intentions known when the time was right, adding that his political options remain wide open.

He argued that ambition was an essential part of politics, adding that politicians without ambition are in the wrong profession.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah stated, “Ambition is a very useful thing in politics. If you are a politician and you have no ambition, you are in the wrong profession”.

“I have told you how I would clearly declare it when the time is up for me to do so,” he said.

“How do you hide pregnancy? If you hide your intention to contest for a position, how do you campaign?” he asked.

When directly asked by the host whether he personally aspired to become President, the NDC Chairman stated, “Is the time up? That is the question I’m asking you. Wait till my time is up, and then I will let you know”.

“Sitting here, I can choose to become the next national organiser of NDC. There is no law that bars me. I can choose to become a general secretary again, and contest with my brother and very good friend Fifi Kwetey.

“I can decide to remain the national chairman, and I can decide to contest and go back to parliament. I can decide to be the presidential candidate, and so all these are options that are open.”

“There will be nothing wrong with that. You need to keep people guessing. Guessing is also part of the game.”

When pressed again on whether he was deliberately refusing to rule out a presidential bid, Asiedu Nketiah stated, “No, no, no, no, no. I have never ruled any position out in my life. I’m not ruling any position out.”

Watch the video below:

@ghnow_ “We cannot sit in Accra alone to shape policies for all Ghanaians.” — Osman Abdulai Ayariga, CEO of the National Youth Authority (NYA). #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ The moment the national Chief Imam departed the National Mosque #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

“We need more speedy trials” – Manasseh Azure tells Chief Justice 

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“We need more speedy trials” – Manasseh Azure tells Chief Justice 

Investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has told Ghana’s Chief Justice, Paul Baffoe Bonnie, that Ghana needs more speedy trials.

Manasseh Azure Awuni, in his post, backed the decision by the Chief Justice, Paul Baffoe Bonnie, to allow some criminal trials to proceed during the legal vacation.

According to Manasseh Azure, if he had his way, corruption trials would take place on weekends and on Christmas Day.

In a post shared on his Facebook page on August 6, 2026, Manasseh Azure stated, “I have witnessed criminal and civil trials in the courts of Ghana. I have witnessed the physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion our judges endure. I support legal vacation for the simple but crucial fact that the judges need some rest.

I also support the arrangement that allows some courts to sit during legal vacations, especially in corruption cases. If I had my way, corruption trials would take place on weekends and on Christmas Day.

We cannot and must not normalise looting with impunity, especially when the actors know that their lawyers can play delay games until their party comes into office to free them. These tricks aren’t new.

If I were a lawyer in a case and knew my client was innocent, my client and I would be happy for a speedy trial to clear my client.

If the criminal birds of our ruling class have learnt to fly without perching, the hunters of justice must devise ways to shoot those in flight without missing.

Dear Chief Justice, we need more speedy trials”.

However, Lawyers representing Abdul-Hanan Wahab and former National Signals Bureau Director-General Kwabena Adu-Boahene, Godfred Dame and Atta Akyea, have filed a separate petition to the Chief Justice, protesting the decision to allow their criminal trials to proceed during the judicial legal vacation.

Former Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame for Abdul-Hanan Wahab and Samuel Atta Akyea for Kwabena Adu-Boahene are the two legal teams that contend that commencing the trials during the vacation is inconsistent.

According to the two legal teams, the trial of criminal cases involving NPP people during the vacation is unprecedented and discriminatory.

The two legal teams’ objection follows a ruling by Justice Francis Achibonga, who adjourned the separate cases to August 11 and 12 after receiving authorisation from the Chief Justice to sit during the vacation period.

On August 5, in their respective letters, the two lawyers boldly informed the Chief Justice that they would not participate in proceedings scheduled during the legal vacation.

Godfred Dame, in a letter on behalf of Abdul-Hanan Wahab, said the trial judge informed the parties at the previous sitting that he had received authorisation to hear the case during the vacation and advised them that any concerns should be directed to the Chief Justice.

Dame argued that vacation courts have historically been reserved for hearing motions, highlighting that even in civil proceedings, substantive trials are generally not conducted during the vacation unless all parties agree.

The former Attorney General, therefore, describes the authorisation for Justice Achibonga to hear the criminal case without the consent of the parties as irregular and unsupported by law.

The defence lawyers also say the decision undermines their clients’ constitutional right to legal representation of their choice, arguing that members of their legal teams had already made long-standing professional and personal commitments during the judicial legal vacation.

Similarly, Samuel Atta Akyea, acting for Kwabena Adu-Boahene, raised objections to the vacation hearing, arguing that no exceptional circumstances warranted the matter being heard during the judicial recess.

Atta Akyea, in his petition, argued that requiring counsel to appear during the vacation disrupts planned engagements and effectively extends the legal year for the defence team while other practitioners are on recess.

He highlighted that his firm had worked throughout the legal year, from October 2025 to July 2026, representing clients across the country.

The two lawyers further caution that selecting only a limited number of criminal cases for hearing during the vacation could create a view of unfair treatment within the justice system.

Godfred Dame argued that choosing a handful of cases from the numerous criminal matters pending before the courts in the Greater Accra Region is without precedent and risks fuelling allegations of unfair or discriminatory treatment.

The two lawyers are therefore urging the Chief Justice to review and withdraw the directive permitting the cases to be heard during the legal vacation.

See the post below:

@ghnow_ The moment the national Chief Imam departed the National Mosque #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ “We cannot sit in Accra alone to shape policies for all Ghanaians.” — Osman Abdulai Ayariga, CEO of the National Youth Authority (NYA). #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow

“If anything happens to me; NDC members and their descendants will be wiped away” – Adenta Kumi

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“If anything happens to me; NDC members and their descendants will be wiped away” – Adenta Kumi

Alfred Ababio Kumi, popularly known as Adenta Kumi, a New Patriotic Party (NPP) activist, has said that should anything happen to him, members of the NDC and their descendants will be wiped away.

According to Adenta Kumi, he has taken steps to protect himself by submitting names of people he believes should be held responsible if anything happens to him.

Speaking to the media during the New Patriotic Party (NPP) “Democracy Under Attack Demonstration”, Adenta Kumi stated, “I have gone to my hometown. I have even submitted names if anything happens to me. All those involved and their descendants will be wiped away”.

“We (NPP) won’t take it lightly. If we handle it physically and you don’t like it, we will tackle the issue spiritually. If you have power in the physical realm, so we will also handle it spiritually,” he added.

It will be recalled that Adenta Kumi’s was arrested in May 2025 following a petition he submitted to President John Mahama calling for the dissolution of the committee investigating the removal petition against former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo.

Adenta Kumi accused members of the committee of misconduct, alleging that their actions could affect the integrity of the process.

In other news, Adenta Kumi has said the NPP will stop at nothing to win the 2028 general election.

According to Adenta Kumi, if the NDC takes 100 of our girls, we will take 500 of theirs.

He declared that the NPP is ready to do whatever it takes to win the 2028 election; even if they have to go to hell to campaign.

Speaking in a viral video, Adenta Kumi stated, “If the NDC takes 100 of our girls, we will take 500 of their girls. Whatever we have to do to win the 2028 general election, we will do; even if we have to go to hell to campaign, we will go there, and campaign, and we will not let anybody silence us.

You know what the NDC is doing; they are trying to keep us mute, so that at the time of election they can do what they want, but I have told them you can kill the messenger, but yoy can never kill the message. You can never kill the message of change because Ghanaians themselves are saying that they tasted water and tasted alcohol, and they do not know which one is good for life”.  

Watch the video below:

@ghnow_ The National Chief Imam offered prayers for President John Dramani Mahama during a courtesy visit by officials of the National Youth Authority ahead of the National Youth Week celebrations. #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ The moment the national Chief Imam departed the National Mosque #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
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