Ahmed Ibrahim, the Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, has disclosed that his ministry has established a specialised multi-sectoral committee to create a comprehensive national database of shrines and religious sites across Ghana.
He announced this during an appearance before Parliament’s Committee on Assurances.
Ahmed Ibrahim explained that the working group would bring together officers from the Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Directorate, the Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit, and the Research, Statistics and Information Management Unit, with support from Regional Coordinating Councils across the country.
The Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs also disclosed that before any counting could begin, the government first needed to settle on a clear and legally sound definition of what constitutes a shrine.
Speaking at the Parliament’s Committee on Assurances, Ahmed Ibrahim stated, “A shrine can be a pen. It can be a picture. It can be anything. And these are spiritual issues. The lawyers may disagree with you. So we need to have a very firm foundation”.
“This is simply because a shrine is not just a place. It could be anything. If I want to count shrines, I need to be given the power to be able to remove your shirt and do a body check”, he said.
Ahmed Ibrahim also broadened the conversation to cover the government’s overall interest in documenting all forms of religious practice in the country, like mosques, churches and traditional African religious sites.
“Don’t you think that you need to know the records of mosques, churches and the traditional African religious places we have in this country?” he said.
He acknowledged that the question of the definition remained open, saying, “As to what a shrine is, we have to decide if a shrine is a house or someone’s pocket or someone’s singlet”.
Meanwhile, a netizen reacting to the development has argued that Ghana does not need a committee to set up the database for shrines.
In a post on X, he detailed, “Every Assembly Member submits the names and locations of shrines in their electoral areas to their MMDCEs within one week.
The MMDCEs transmit the same to the Ministry of Local Government within one week.
The Ministry uploads the data onto its website.
We don’t need a committee to do this.
This can be done in less than a month”.
In related news, Ahmed Ibrahim, the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, has issued a stern warning to traders and shop owners ahead of the two-day national cleanup exercise.
According to the Local Government Minister, all markets and shops across the flood-affected regions must be shut down during President John Dramani Mahama’s upcoming two-day national clean-up exercise.
Ahmed Ibrahim warned against taking the President’s directive lightly, adding that traders and persons who defy the order will face the full force of the law.
Speaking to the media and stakeholders in Accra on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, Ahmed Ibrahim stated, “Friday, all other political activity must be suspended; everybody must be on board. All markets and shops must be closed. And this one, the CDS is on board. And the IGP is on board. And the Controller-General is on board. So if you go and open your shop, you will be on fire”.
“If the President speaks and you want to take it for granted, the law will deal with you. He is the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces. All shops will be closed, all markets will be closed”, he said.
“The markets got flooded, and the water got into some of the shops. So if we don’t close them and sweep and collect all the debris and disinfect most of the places, they will be buying and selling all those things for us to eat, and there will be an outbreak of diseases”, he said.
See the post below:
Every Assembly Member submits the names and locations of shrines in their electoral areas to their MMDCEs within one week.
— Dr Fred (@F_Edzeamey) July 9, 2026
The MMDCEs transmit the same to the Ministry of Local Government within one week.
The Ministry uploads the data onto its website.
We don’t need a… pic.twitter.com/7IxBIRVXeK
