Hot!
8 people arrested for encroaching on land for monitoring earthquake in Accra
Eight people were on Wednesday arrested for encroaching on a land belonging to the Ghana Geological Survey Authority (GGSA) at Tuba and Oblogo, where the GGSA has equipment installed for monitoring earthquake in the earthquake-prone areas.
The eight were caught putting up illegal structures at earthquake-prone areas that straddle the GGSA earthquake monitoring station at Oblogo and Tuba in the Weija-Gbawe and Ga South municipalities in the Greater Accra Region.
The are in police custody for preparation for court.
The arrest of the eight was on the directive of the Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources in charge of Mines, George Mireku Duker.
The deputy minister, who led a team of police officers to embark on an unannounced operation in the Weija-Gbawe and Tuba areas to clampdown on illegal sand winning, also directed all unauthorised buildings within the GGSA monitoring area be pulled down within one week.
The team found that estate developers and private individuals had chipped off the base of the hilly GGSA enclave, leaving cracks on the hill.
The lacerations on the hill left many of the residential buildings on the top at risk of collapsing.
Buildings that were at the base of the hill were also at the mercy loose boulders.
Observation
Graphic Online observed that although the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the Weija-Gbawe Municipal Assembly had written “stop work” notices on buildings that were springing up at the base of the hill, the developers ignored the order and continued their activities.
Chippings, blocks and other building materials and personal effects was seen there, giving indication that the perpetrators of the illegality may have absconded the minister’s team got there.
The visibly angry deputy minister ordered the arrest of four persons who were seen putting up a building at the Oblogo hill.
At Tuba in the Ga South municipality, it was observed that sand winners and miners of gravel had reduced the restricted earthquake zone into gullies.
Scores of illegal structures had sprang up in the hilly earthquake zone.
Here again, four persons were arrested for building illegally.
Punitive action
Mr Duker said the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources would go all out to weed out the miscreants behind the illegality.
“It is an earthquake zone and no one has the permission to work here or put up a building. The assemblies must work and ensure that this people are cleared out,” he said.
The deputy minister said the Minerals Commission had not given any permit to anyone to win sand in that area so the assemblies must crack the whip on culprits.
He also called on the security agencies to support the local assemblies to protect the country’s heritage.
Threats
The Head of Geoharzard Department of GGSA, Nicholas Opoku said the residents of the earthquake zone faced eminent threats of earthquake for which reason urgent action must be taken to stop further developments within that enclave.
He said it was worrying that despite numerous warnings by the GGSA, many people continued their illegal activities in the area.
For his part, the Director of Fiscal Planning Department at the Ga South Municipal Assembly, Thomas Dettor, said the assembly would do all things possible to stop the illegal activities.
He said the Municipal Security Council (MUSEC) in the area had firmed up a strategy to crackdown on the illegal activities.
Source: www.graphic.com.gh
Ghana Tourism Authority is leading Ghana’s participation at ITB Berlin, which opened in Berlin with a vibrant national pavilion highlighting Ghana’s rich cultural heritage, tourism destinations and investment opportunities.
March 5 has been designated as Ghana Day, a special platform to promote Ghana’s languages, cuisine, Kente, festivals and business prospects to the global tourism community. The stand has already drawn strong interest with traditional arts and crafts displays, immersive multimedia presentations and popular Ghanaian snacks.
Seven private-sector players are exhibiting alongside government officials as part of efforts to deepen trade partnerships, expand market access, and attract investment across the hospitality, heritage tourism, ecotourism, and creative arts sectors.
Ahead of the official opening, the Ghana delegation also engaged young Ghanaian investors in Germany in collaboration with V Afrika-Verein and the Ghana Embassy, strengthening diaspora investment linkages and highlighting opportunities within the tourism value chain.
Ghana’s coordinated presence at ITB Berlin 2026 reinforces its strategy to position the country as the Gateway to Africa and a competitive destination for leisure travel and global investment.
The Member of Parliament for Nsawam Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh Dompreh, has expressed concern over delays in the release of the District Assemblies Common Fund, warning that the situation is stalling development across the country.
On his facebook page, he described as a matter of urgent national importance, the Minority Chief Whip pointed to what he sees as a growing crisis of unpaid contractors, abandoned projects, and halted infrastructure works in many districts.
He noted that several communities are grappling with half completed schools, unfinished health facilities, abandoned markets, deteriorating roads, and stalled sanitation projects.
According to him, many contractors who have executed projects for district assemblies have not been paid, forcing some construction firms to demobilise from sites while workers lose their jobs.
He stressed that the District Assemblies Common Fund is not a discretionary allocation but a constitutional requirement under Article 252 of the 1992 Constitution, intended to support development at the local level.
In his view, years of delayed releases and accumulated arrears have weakened district development financing and disrupted projects meant to improve living conditions in communities.
He further argued that some payments made in recent years were largely the settlement of old debts rather than funding for new or ongoing projects, a situation he believes has affected contractor confidence and local economic activity.
He described the issue as more than a budgetary challenge, characterising it as a development emergency and a governance concern.
He therefore urged the appropriate authorities to pay outstanding DACF arrears, settle contractors who have completed their work, and ensure that transfers to districts are automatic and predictable.
He maintained that decentralisation can only succeed when district assemblies receive adequate and timely funding to carry out development projects.
He emphasised that stalled projects directly affect ordinary citizens, since they rely on such infrastructure for education, healthcare, transportation, sanitation, and economic activities.
He called for renewed attention to grassroots development, insisting that national progress should not be concentrated only in major cities but extended to all communities.
By: Jacob Aggrey
