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Parliamentary Select Committee on Human Rights visits witches camp, pushes for anti-witchcraft bill
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The Parliamentary Select Committee on Human Rights, working with Amnesty Ghana, has begun a three-day visit to alleged witches’ camps in Northern Ghana to assess living conditions and push for the speedy passage of the Criminal Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2025, also known as the Anti-Witchcraft Accusations Bill.
Led by Chairman Ernest Yaw Anim, the Committee first paid homage to the Chief of Gambaga, Alhaji Tahiru Tia, before touring the Gambaga Witches’ Camp.
The visit highlighted major human rights concerns, including unsafe shelters, lack of basic amenities, and the struggles of residents who are unable to care for their families due to confinement.
Currently, the Church of Pentecost supports the camp by helping alleged witches engage in productive work to earn income. While some residents say the camp offers them refuge, others lament being cut off from their families.
To ease the situation, the Chief of Gambaga has allocated land to some of the women so they can resettle with their families.
Addressing the residents, Ernest Yaw Anim, assured them of Parliament’s support, stressing that the Committee will work closely with civil society and government to reintegrate victims into society.
He pledged to champion the passage of the Anti-Witchcraft Bill to protect vulnerable people from harmful accusations.
The Committee donated a television set and cash to the camp as part of their visit.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The Parliamentary Select Committee on Energy has appealed to the Ministry of Finance to release GH¢5.6 million to the Petroleum Commission to enable it to establish and operate a world-class data centre.
According to the Committee, access to the funds will strengthen the Commission’s capacity to manage critical upstream petroleum data and improve its operations.
Speaking during the appeal, Chairman of the Committee, Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, said the move was crucial to efforts to revitalise Ghana’s upstream petroleum industry and increase oil production.
He noted that although investment and hydrocarbon production had declined in recent years, Parliament’s approval of an extension of the petroleum agreement to 2030 had attracted additional funding and contributed to an increase in production from about 80,000 to 120,000 barrels per day.
Meanwhile, concerns have been raised over repeated budget allocations for oil exploration in the Voltaian Basin.
Mr. Bedzrah stressed that funds approved for exploration must produce tangible results, adding that the Committee would require clear evidence of progress before supporting future budget allocations for the programme.
The appeal was made during a working visit to the Petroleum Commission as part of the Committee’s oversight activities to assess its operations and management procedures.
During the engagement, the Chief Executive Officer of the Petroleum Commission, Emeafa Hardcastle, took the Committee through the Commission’s working procedures and mandate, which includes regulating, managing and coordinating upstream petroleum activities.
She disclosed that since assuming office in 2025, government had pursued measures to reverse the decline in crude oil production, sustain output and reposition Ghana as an attractive destination for investment in Africa’s increasingly competitive petroleum sector.
In addition, she said government had secured fresh commitments of about US$35 billion to help revitalise the sector.
As part of the oversight exercise, the Committee is expected to conclude its monitoring visit with engagements at the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL).
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
News
“No civilisation deserves to be annihilated” – Mahama calls for dialogue on global conflicts at UNGA 81
President John Dramani Mahama has called for solidarity and dialogue in resolving global conflicts, insisting that no civilisation deserves to be wiped out.
“No human civilisation deserves to be annihilated, certainly not a member state of the United Nations,” President Mahama stated in his address at the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
He called for solidarity with nations facing terrorism, especially the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), and for a uniform approach to conflicts in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
On the Middle East, the President called for a return to negotiations, saying “The current Middle East crisis is having a deleterious effect on the world economy.”
“I believe that dialogue can resolve even the most intractable of problems,” he added.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
