Author: Gifty Baoateng

Australia’s Environment Minister, Murray Watt has slapped a $55m penalty on a leading US industrial corporation specializing in aluminum production, Alcoa, for unlawful preparation of a land for bauxite mining in the Western Australia’s jarrah forests, south of Perth. Western Australia is the largest state in the Commonwealth of Australia, covering the western third of the continent. Aside the “unprecedented” corrective order, Watt says he has also granted the firm an exemption to clear further habitat for 18 months while the government considered a proposal for an extension of the company’s mining operations to 2045. The Minister said the penalty…

Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu Agyare, has announced that government will build two (2) cashew factories this year, 2026. According to her, the factories will be located in the Bono and Bono East Regions. The beneficiary regions are known to be heavy on the crop aside cocoa. Ofosu-Agyare said this when she answered questions on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, February 17. The two factories, she explained that, will be funded by the Ghana Exim Bank. The construction of the factories is a fulfillment of a campaign promise by the National Democratic Congress (NDC). During the…

In the wake of the challenges bedeviling the cocoa sector, Ghana Cocoa Board staff have announced pay cuts. The reduction affects its executive management and senior staff as part of measures to address ongoing liquidity constraints within the cocoa industry. In a press release dated February 16, 2026, signed by Chief Executive Officer, Dr Randy Abbey, the Board disclosed that the salary cuts take immediate effect and will remain in place for the remainder of the 2025/2026 crop year. According to the statement, executive management has taken a 20 per cent reduction in salaries, while senior staff have agreed…

 Hilife musician, Kwabena Kwabena, has expressed his admiration for President John Dramani Mahama for what he has achieved so far during his second term. According to the artist, he is impressed with the performance of the President even though he did not vote for him. He maintains that since the president took over, he has performed incredibly well and needs to be applauded for bringing hope to Ghanaians. Speaking in an exclusive interview on Kingdom FM in Accra, the ‘Asor’ singer brushed off a tag that he is a sympathizer of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP). He said the…

After more than a year of boycotting all Media General (MG) platforms, including TV3, the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has returned to all platforms of the organization. The other platforms are 3FM, Onua FM and Onua TV, Akoma FM, Connect FM. The official comeback was announced by the party’s General Secretary Justin Frimpong Kodua today, Friday, February 13 during a visit to TV3. Recall that the party early last year officially announced its decision to boycott the platforms following what it calls consistent bias. The boycott was officially announced by Richard Ahiagbah, the Communications Director, after months of allegations…

Cocoa farmers have described the recent cut in cocoa price as unfortunate as it is going to make them worse of but they say they are willing to live with it in order to sustain the sector. Government through the Minister for Finance Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, announced new price for cocoa farmers yesterday, Tuesday, February 12, after prices at the world market reduced sharply. The price is now pegged at GHc2, 587 away from the previous GHc3, 625 following an emergency Cabinet session last Wednesday to address broadly the crises of the sector. This means that the farmer is…

By Nelson Ayivor Finance Minister, Ato Baah Forson has announced that cocoa farmers who are owned and have been agitating over the past weeks will be paid immediately. According to the minister, the Dr Randy Abbey-led COCOBOD has been instructed to do this from tomorrow, Friday, January 13. Meanwhile, the Minister has also announced the reduction of producer price of cocoa for the remainder of the 2025/2026 crop season, setting it at GH¢2,587 per bag, down from the GH¢3,625 set at the start of the season. He disclosed this at a press briefing today, February 12, following an emergency Cabinet…

The National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) has been criticized heavily for arresting and detaining the immediate past Chief Executive Officer (CEO) National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), Kofi Ofosu Nkansah. It follows the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Communication Team member’s publication of a claim during a radio programme and subsequent invitation to the NIB offices. Nkansah during the radio programme, he alleged that he knows someone that paid money to secure a government-funded scholarship to study abroad. His claim was not taken lightly by President John Dramani Mahama who tasked the NIB to investigate the matter. In a statement dated February…

President John Dramani Mahama has ordered an immediate investigations into allegations that the Amansie Central District in the Ahsnati Region, has been collecting fees from illegal miners operating using banned mining equipment. The Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Ahmed Ibrahim, has been assigned to spearhead this. The move is a directive response to a JoyNews Hotline Documentary exposé that uncovered what it described as a “tax for galamsey” in the district, where miners allegedly pay GH₵6,000 annually to operate prohibited changfang machines with the tacit approval of local authorities. The investigative documentary revealed that despite a nationwide…

President John Dramani Mahama, has summon an emergency Cabinet session to tackle the brewing issues at the cocoa sector. The session will seek to address all issues affecting the sector which for years as served as a backbone of the economy. The meeting is slated for Wednesday, February 11, 2026. The decision was announced by Minister for Government Communications and spokesperson to the president, Felix Kwakye Offosu on Tuesday, February 10. “President Mahama has called an emergency cabinet session for tomorrow, Wednesday, 11 February, 2026, to address all issues affecting the cocoa sector”, he posted on Facebook. The decision follows…