President John Dramani Mahama has approved a reorganisation of the National Security Council Secretariat, resulting in new appointments and reassignments of key security officials.

The changes, announced by the Spokesperson to the President and Minister for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, take immediate effect.

Under the reorganisation, retired Major General William Ayamdo, former Chief of Army Staff, has been appointed Deputy National Security Coordinator in charge of Operations.

Former National Security Coordinator, Yaw Donkor, has also been reassigned as Director of Intelligence and Research at the Office of the National Security Advisor.

Mr. Adamu Saaka has been appointed Director of Logistics and Transport, while Ms. Faustina Effah-Boadi takes charge of the Human Security Department as Officer in Charge.

DCOP (Rtd.) Peter Ndekugri has been appointed Officer in Charge of the Special Investigations Unit.

Meanwhile, ACP Alhassan Osman has been reassigned to the Ghana Police Service for further deployment.

The Presidency said the appointments and reassignments form part of efforts to reorganise the National Security Council Secretariat and take effect immediately.

The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Hon. Eric Opoku has launched the Ghana Agricultural Fund for Educational Transformation (GAFET), an initiative aimed at strengthening agricultural education, research and skills development to support Ghana’s agricultural transformation agenda.

Speaking during the launch, the Minister insisted, GAFET is not merely another funding programme but represents a collective national effort to build institutions capable of producing the skilled workforce needed to transform the agricultural sector.
“This programme is not merely another launch but building on institution with collective commitment that will outlive all of us and serve generations unborn,” the Minister stated.

He said the initiative would support the development of agricultural engineers, extension professionals, researchers, technicians, entrepreneurs and agribusiness leaders to make Ghana’s agricultural sector more productive and competitive.
The Minister noted that the transformation of agriculture goes beyond roads and mechanisation, stressing the need for investment in irrigation, finance, machinery, research and human capital.

He explained that GAFET seeks to enhance food production, modernise farming, strengthen mechanisation, expand irrigation, promote agro-processing, reduce dependence on food imports, increase exports and create sustainable jobs, particularly for young people in agribusiness.

The Minister also stressed the importance of strengthening Ghana’s agricultural colleges, saying these institutions have for decades produced professionals whose expertise and technological knowledge underpin modern agriculture.
However, he acknowledged that many of the institutions require renewed investment in laboratories, workshops, demonstration farms, modern machinery, digital learning tools, research, scholarships and industry-responsive curricula.

He therefore reaffirmed government’s commitment to supporting the institutions to attain their rightful place in Ghana’s agricultural transformation.
According to him, the GAFET fund will provide a dedicated national platform through which government, the private sector, development partners, financial institutions and citizens can collectively invest in agricultural education and sustainable agribusiness.

The Minister commended Mr. Steven Nhyira Odarteifio and Hon. Kwesi Etu Bonde, for their efforts in bringing the vision to life.

He called on all stakeholders to support the initiative, emphasising that national development is a shared responsibility.
“Government cannot do it alone; government must lead, society must build. National development is a shared responsibility,” he said.

In wrapping up Hon. Opoku commended the five Ghanaian based agribusiness namely , GrowForMe, FarmerLine Ltd, New age, Agrisolve Consult and Tradeline Consult for providing Ghc 3.5 million as seed fund for the GAFET initiative. The fund he said is expected to reach Ghc 10 million by December 2026 and Ghc 100 million by the year 2028.

By Maurice Otoo

The Attorney-General has filed processes opposing an application by convicted illegal miner Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, for bail pending the determination of his appeal.

The State argues that Mr Boasiako’s intended appeal has no reasonable prospect of success and therefore does not provide sufficient grounds for his release from custody.

According to the Attorney-General, there are also no special circumstances that would warrant granting the former Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) bail while his appeal is pending.

Mr Boasiako’s bail application follows his conviction and sentencing by the Accra High Court over offences linked to illegal mining activities at Samreboi in the Western Region.

On July 20, 2026, Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay sentenced Mr Boasiako to 20 years in prison with hard labour after finding him guilty of offences including assigning mineral rights without the required approval and facilitating unlicensed mining.

The court also imposed a fine on Akonta Mining Company Limited, in which Mr Boasiako is a shareholder and director. It further ordered the confiscation of mining equipment, firearms and cash seized during investigations.

Following his conviction and sentence, Mr Boasiako filed an appeal challenging the High Court’s decision and subsequently applied for bail pending the determination of the appeal.

His lawyers maintain that there are grounds for the appellate court to review the conviction and sentence and have asked the court to release him while the legal process continues.

The Attorney-General, however, has rejected the application, insisting that the proposed appeal does not have a reasonable chance of success.

The State’s latest filing will now be considered by the court as it determines whether Mr Boasiako should be granted bail or remain in custody until his appeal is heard.

The case arose from investigations into alleged illegal mining activities on the Samreboi concession. Mr Boasiako was charged alongside Akonta Mining Company Limited and another accused person in connection with the activities.

Source:myjoyonline

The North East Regional Police Command has arrested four suspects and intercepted 118 bags of cocoa beans weighing 11,800 kilogrammes at Bunkpurugu in the North East Region.

The consignment, suspected to have been destined for neighbouring Togo through the Bunkpurugu-Togo border, was intercepted on August 9, 2026, following a tip-off received by the Police about a truck transporting cocoa under suspicious circumstances.

The suspects have been identified as Dickson Asante, 35, the driver of the truck; Gideon Tab, 19, his mate; Mohammed Mumin, 22; and Ernestina Akugre, 23, who claimed ownership of the consignment.

According to the Ghana Police Service, the suspects were travelling in a Hyundai Rhino truck with registration number AS-3272-25. The vehicle was loaded with plantain and cocoa and was heading towards the Togo border.

A Police patrol team intercepted the truck at the Bunkpurugu Police Snap Check Point and arrested the four occupants.

The vehicle was subsequently escorted to the Customs Office, where a joint security team searched. The team included personnel from the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Immigration Service, Defence Intelligence, the GRA Customs Division and National Security.

During the search, the security team discovered 118 bags of cocoa beans weighing 11,800 kilogrammes concealed underneath the plantain.

The Police said the plantain appeared to have been used as a decoy to conceal the cocoa beans and facilitate their movement towards the Togo border.

The four suspects remain in Police custody and are assisting with investigations. They are expected to be brought before court to face the law.

The Ghana Police Service disclosed the arrest and seizure in a statement published on its social media platforms on August 11, 2026.

https://x.com/GhPoliceService/status/2087117791094563103?s=20

The Deputy Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, has clarified that Ghana’s legal vacation should not be interpreted as a period during which lawyers can unilaterally decide whether court proceedings should continue.

According to him, the legal vacation, which runs from August 1 to September 30 each year, is intended to significantly reduce the workload of the superior courts but does not amount to a complete shutdown of the judiciary.

Dr Srem-Sai explained that the period represents a traditional reduction in judicial activity rather than a suspension of the operations of the courts.

His comments come after a letter from the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) to the Chief Justice, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, urging him to ensure that judges respect what the association described as established traditions governing the legal vacation.

The GBA has raised concerns about lawyers being directed to appear in court during the vacation period despite informing the courts that they would be unavailable.

The association argued that Vacation Courts were traditionally established to deal with urgent and interlocutory matters and were not intended to conduct trials.

The GBA further maintained that where a lawyer has indicated an inability to appear during the legal vacation, the affected matter should be adjourned instead of proceeding in the lawyer’s absence.

Dr Srem-Sai, however, disagreed with the interpretation that the legal vacation amounts to a holiday for lawyers or a period when court activities must come to a halt.

He stressed that the legal vacation is not a lawyers’ vacation and that the courts remain operational throughout the period.

He explained that the Chief Justice determines which judges will sit during the legal vacation by issuing warrants authorising them to perform judicial duties during the period.

“The key point here, however, is that the courts scale down on work significantly – they do not shut down,” Dr Srem-Sai said.

He explained that the scope of proceedings a Vacation Judge may handle depends on whether the case originates from the judge’s own court or from another judge’s court.

According to him, a Vacation Judge may hear both interlocutory and substantive proceedings in cases that originated from the Vacation Judge’s own court.

However, where a case originates from the court of another judge, the Vacation Judge may generally be limited to dealing with interlocutory matters.

Dr Srem-Sai said this distinction is important because the substantive judge assigned to a particular case remains the judge responsible for ultimately determining the matter.

He maintained that the existing arrangement is intended to strike a balance between reducing the workload of the superior courts and ensuring that the administration of justice continues without unnecessary interruption.

The Deputy Attorney-General also noted that the arrangement allows judges to take their own vacation periods at appropriate times while ensuring that the courts retain sufficient capacity to deal with matters that require judicial attention.

The clarification comes amid the ongoing discussion between the Ghana Bar Association and the judiciary over how court proceedings should be managed during the legal vacation.

Source:myjoyonline