Author: Richard Cudjoe

More than 6,000 people were killed in just three days when Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized the city of el-Fasher last year, according to victims and witnesses cited in a UN report. “It was like a scene out of a horror movie,” recalled one person, who saw bodies thrown into the air as RSF fighters opened fire on 1,000 people sheltering in a university building last October. The report cites evidence of mass killings, summary executions, torture, abductions and sexual violence against civilians. These amount to war crimes and possible crimes against humanity, it says. The RSF has…

The Advertising Association of Ghana (AAG) has expressed concern over the ongoing billboard demolition exercise in the Greater Accra Region, calling on President John Dramani Mahama and the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs to intervene and restore order. In a statement issued on Friday, February 13, the AAG affirmed its commitment to supporting efforts to sanitise the outdoor advertising space, enhance public safety, and improve the aesthetics of Ghana’s skylines. However, the association expressed serious concern over the way the demolition exercise is being carried out. The statement pointed to a lack of direct engagement with industry…

Ghana -The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has renewed calls for Parliament to be housed in a permanent facility, urging the executive to release a land near the State House for the development of a dedicated Parliamentary complex. Speaking at the launch of Parliament’s Corporate Strategic Plan for 2026–2030 on Thursday, February 12, Mr. Bagbin lamented that Parliament continues to operate as a tenant at the State House, describing the arrangement as limiting and unsuitable for an independent arm of government. “We have been crying, and I hope you will support us so that at least we should be liberated…

For the first time since at least 2020, Ghana has reduced the cocoa farmgate price by 28% in response to falling global cocoa prices and mounting payment arrears owed to farmers. In announcing the reduction, alongside a broader set of reforms, the Finance Minister stated that unpaid cocoa farmers would be settled. “Cabinet has directed COCOBOD to commence immediate payment of all affected cocoa farmers,” he said. What was not fully clarified at the time, however, was the source of funding, particularly given COCOBOD’s well-documented liquidity challenges in recent years. Speaking on Top Story on Joy FM, the Deputy Finance…

The Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr Frank Amoakohene, says investigations are actively underway into the JoyNews Hotline Documentary, which revealed that some district assemblies in mining communities are collecting fees from operators of banned mining equipment, a practice described as a “galamsey tax” system. Speaking on JoyNews’ National Dialogue on Illegal Mining on Thursday, February 12, during a discussion on whether Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) have become the weakest link in Ghana’s fight against illegal mining, Dr Amoakohene stated that a formal process had already been triggered to establish the facts. “As Regional Minister, the issues have come…

Deputy Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission, Elikem Kotoko, has suggested that Ghana may have reached a critical point where the use of tougher measures, including brute force, may be necessary to address illegal mining (galamsey). Speaking during a JoyNews national dialogue on illegal mining on Thursday, Mr Kotoko, who is also a spokesperson of the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), said the fight against the canker must be strengthened with decisive action to prevent further degradation of forests. “There has been concern about the use of brute force, but I feel that we’ve gotten to that point where that must…

Government has directed the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to commence immediate payment to all affected cocoa farmers who are owed money, Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has announced. Dr Ato Forson disclosed this at a press briefing today, February 12, following an emergency Cabinet meeting convened on Wednesday to address the deepening crisis in the cocoa sector. The Finance Minister revealed that the Cabinet has approved comprehensive reforms to guarantee fair prices to cocoa farmers, secure the financial viability of the cocoa sector, and ensure the long-term sustainability of the industry. “To bring relief to unpaid cocoa farmers, Cabinet…

President John Dramani Mahama has sworn in the Presidential Advisory Group on the Economy (PAGE) at the Jubilee House, pledging to draw on experience, diversity and institutional memory to steer Ghana’s economic recovery and long-term transformation. Speaking during the ceremony, President Mahama said he was guided by clear principles in constituting the body, which he will chair personally. The Group brings together leading figures from academia, public service and the private sector. The Vice President, Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, will serve on the advisory body alongside a distinguished list of economists, financiers and business leaders. Members include Mr Ishmael Yamson,…

President John Dramani Mahama has outlined the key principles underpinning the composition of the Presidential Advisory Group on the Economy (PAGE), stressing experience, diversity and inclusivity as central to its mandate. Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony at the Jubilee House, the President said the formation of the Group had been guided by “several principles”, foremost among them experience and institutional memory. “Some members of PAGE have served across different administrations, including during my earlier tenure in office. This continuity is important,” President Mahama stated. He explained that drawing on individuals with prior governmental and policy experience would help ensure that…