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Parliament Passes Landmark Fisheries Bill to Protect Ghana’s Marine Resources and Secure Global Market Access

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Parliament has approved the Fisheries and Aquaculture Bill, 2025 — a major legislative milestone aimed at modernising Ghana’s fisheries sector and enhancing its sustainability and global competitiveness.

 

The bill introduces a robust legal framework to govern the development, conservation, and regulation of the fisheries and aquaculture industry, a sector critical to Ghana’s economy through job creation, food security, and foreign exchange earnings.

 

A key objective of the bill is to curb illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing through tougher penalties and the introduction of an Electronic Monitoring System. This move is in response to growing international pressure, particularly from the European Union and the United States, which require legal and traceable sourcing of seafood.

 

Preventing Trade Sanctions

Ghana’s current Fisheries Act, enacted in 2002, has been criticised as outdated and ineffective in addressing modern challenges. In 2021, the European Commission issued Ghana a “yellow card” for failing to adequately combat IUU fishing — a warning that could escalate to a “red card” and an export ban. Such a sanction could cost Ghana nearly $426 million in lost revenue.

 

To avoid this, the new bill consolidates and reforms existing laws and regulations, setting up a Fisheries Commission to oversee long-term resource management and aligning local legislation with international commitments such as the Port State Measures Agreement.

 

Driving Sustainable Development

The bill was presented to Parliament by Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Emelia Arthur on June 3, 2025, and reviewed by the Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs. The committee’s report, signed by Chairman Dr. Godfred Seidu Jasaw, emphasised the urgency of legal reforms to address current gaps in areas like aquaculture practices, post-harvest handling, inland fisheries, gear technology, and climate resilience.

 

Earlier reviews by the World Bank and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) highlighted inconsistencies in Ghana’s fragmented legal structure. The new law addresses these shortcomings by providing a unified, modernised legal framework that supports long-term ecological sustainability and market viability.

 

Once signed into law by the President, the Fisheries and Aquaculture Bill, 2025, will be a game-changer — positioning Ghana’s fisheries sector for future growth, international compliance, and environmental stewardship.

 

 

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Politics

EC Sets December 30 For Kpandai Parliamentary Rerun

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The Electoral Commission has scheduled a fresh parliamentary election for the Kpandai Constituency on Tuesday, 30 December 2025.

This follows a ruling by the Tamale High Court on Monday, 24 November 2025, directing the Commission to conduct a rerun within thirty days. The EC later received an official notice from the Clerk to Parliament on Monday, 8 December 2025, confirming that the Kpandai seat had been declared vacant.

According to Mr Fred Tetteh, Deputy Director of Research, Monitoring and Evaluation at the Electoral Commission, the rerun will involve only the three candidates who contested the 2024 parliamentary race in the constituency. He urged residents and stakeholders to take note of the new date.

The Commission assured the public of a transparent, credible process as it works to meet the court’s directive.

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Politics

NDC CREATIVES MATTER TOO

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In the quietness of time, while commemorating, with great joy, one year of Ghana’s second Independence, let us as a family pause and ask ourselves the right questions and endeavour to answer them right without picking on people.

 

How have the soldiers that stood on the battlefront for the overwhelming victory be catered for?

 

What is the state of their hopefulness—that even without appointments, they would benefit from the resources (human and/or capital) they invested in that needed warfare?

 

What is their value in the Party’s ecosystem?

 

Well…I WRITE FOR THE “CREATIVES FOR NDC”: those who with their little or ‘restricted’ finances and BIG or small fame/popularity walked the streets of Ghana campaigning for the change we have now. Those who didn’t run for positions but campaigned for the sector for the love of the party, President (then candidate), country and prayer to see the sector grow?

 

The simple question during the commemoration of the 1 year anniversary of the NDC 2024 Elections victory is……

 

“Who has taken the pain to even give them the ‘befitting’ audience—towards seeing to it that AS THE PRESIDENT DESIRES, the betterment of creatives/artists is experienced by them?

 

Creatives who stood with the party suffered victimization in the last eight years and the irony is that their party is in power and STILL, they’re in opposotion—as those (NPP creatives) who enjoyed during the past 8 years for affiliating to the NPP have broken their 8. Sad situation.

 

In the corridors of most NDC creatives are whispers of disappointment and sorrows. Grand disappointment. No one REGARDS them. They have to force themselves to be noticed. SAD REALITY!

 

What is the plan to assist the NDC Creatives towards building them for the next elections? Or it is the case again that “after elections we are all Ghanaians”?

 

Hmmmmmm.

 

Anyways, it is just too early to have NDC Creatives murmur in regret for sacrificing their little earned fame and time and resources to campaign only to be treated as Second class Party members.

 

For me, and in all sincerity one group of people to be easily assisted to help others are the creatives; it doesn’t take much to do so. It takes simple ideas, grand plans, little resources and actions to do it.

 

1 year is dead. After next year, the ‘Market season’ begins. The retailers that have no relevance today, time would remind all of their relevance at that time of the ‘Marketing Season’.

 

Some of us are surviving the bile and well braced for it but true is; MAJORITY can’t wrap their heads around it. If this situation is left to run its natural course, then we should be magnanimous in mocking the NPP and rather learn the art of surviving their present as our immediate future.

 

The ground is very slippery. Friction REQUIRED!

 

The truth is bitter and very difficult to tell ourselves; but if we don’t tell it to ourselves, who would?

 

The Creatives for NDC have been ABANDONED even by their own. It is WORRISOME.

 

#NDCCreativesMatter

#InternalResetNow

#SupportCreativesforNDC

Oswald Okaitei

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Former President Kufuor Breaks Silence: Confirms NPP’s Failures, Admits Arrogance and Mismanagement Cost Ghana

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The National Democratic Congress has observed with keen interest the recent reflections of former President John Agyekum Kufuor on the governance record of the New Patriotic Party under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo His candid remarks, acknowledging missteps and failures within his own party, are significant and deserve the attention of all Ghanaians.

 

President Kufuor has openly admitted that the NPP rode on his achievements to secure electoral victory in 2016, only to abandon prudent governance and embark on policies that have brought untold hardship to the Ghanaian people. He has further revealed that he was not consulted on major national decisions, including the controversial National Cathedral project, the Domestic Debt Exchange programme that devastated pensioners and investors, and scandals such as PDS.

 

These admissions confirm what the NDC consistently highlighted during the period of governance: that the NPP was driven by arrogance, unilateralism, and disregard for collective wisdom.

 

While we respect President Kufuor’s stature as a former Head of State, we can not overlook the fact that his long silence during the years of reckless decision-making contributed to the suffering of ordinary citizens. His recent comments, though welcome, come only after the NPP has suffered electoral defeat and internal disunity. This raises legitimate questions about why he chose not to speak when Ghanaians most needed his voice.

 

The NDC has always maintained that leadership must serve the people, not vanity projects or narrow partisan interests. Governance should be rooted in accountability, consultation, and prudent use of resources.

 

President Kufuor’s belated admission only strengthens our case that the NPP has failed Ghana and betrayed the trust of the people.

As the nation looks ahead to the future, the NDC stands ready to provide the kind of leadership that listens, consults, and places the welfare of citizens above all else. We urge Ghanaians to reflect on these revelations and recognize that the NPP, by its own admission, has lost its way.

 

Ghana deserves better. Ghana deserves leadership that is honest, accountable, and people-centered. That is the leadership the NDC offers.

 

Issued by:

Godwin Ako Gunn

Deputy National Communication Officer NDC

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