News
IMANI, partners call for full audit of Gold-for-Oil programme.
IMANI Africa and a group of oversight organisations say Ghana’s Gold-for-Oil programme has lost the country billions of cedis through weak controls and possible corruption.
In a statement issued in Accra on Monday, the policy think tank said an international forensic review of the scheme found “serious governance failures, fiscal leakages and potential illicit financial flows.”
The programme was meant to use Ghana’s gold to pay for imported fuel and stabilise foreign exchange reserves.
But IMANI said the review showed it was badly managed and created “corridors for revenue loss and illicit enrichment.”
According to the group, the gold part of the programme ran without proper contracts between the Bank of Ghana and the Precious Minerals Marketing Company.
It said this allowed weak pricing controls, secret exchange rate practices and smuggling of gold.
IMANI also said about GHS 7.5 billion in tax exemptions were granted on fuel imports but poor tracking meant the state may have lost GHS 7.2 billion in revenue.
It added that some of the international suppliers chosen for the scheme had opaque ownership and links to high-risk trading networks.
The group called for all contracts, pricing benchmarks and audits to be published regularly to improve transparency.
It warned that any delay in taking action would amount to complicity.
Former National Economic Dialogue chair Dr. Ishmael Evans Yamson said the revelations showed how some people in government had worked with local and foreign actors to “undermine Ghana’s development efforts” and called for tough action.
IMANI president Franklin Cudjoe said the findings confirmed the think tank’s fears that the programme had been “systematically weaponised against the state.”
He urged the government to carry out a full vessel-by-vessel and ounce-by-ounce audit, recover lost money, and prosecute those responsible.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The Tema Regional Police Command has arrested a 30-year-old driver, Bismark Kpormeno, for possession of a large quantity of compressed plant materials suspected to be Indian hemp.
The arrest was made on Sunday, 31 May 2026 by officers of the Tema Highway Patrol Unit during an operation along the Tema-Ada road.
According to police, the suspect was driving a Hyundai Mighty I container truck and failed to stop when signaled. He attempted to evade arrest but was pursued and apprehended at Bondase.
A search of the vehicle revealed twelve 12 sacks and eighty 80 parcels of compressed plant materials concealed in a container and wrapped in sellotape.
Preliminary investigations show the narcotics were allegedly loaded at Kpeve in the Volta Region and were being transported to Ada.
The suspect is currently in police custody assisting with investigations. The truck and exhibits have been impounded for evidential purposes.
The Tema Regional Police Command says it remains committed to combating drug trafficking and other criminal activities.
They also urged the public to support law enforcement by providing timely and credible information on suspicious activities.
Firefighters from the Peki Fire Station of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) responded swiftly to a fatal head-on collision involving a Mercedes-Benz container truck (WR 1553-C) travelling from Nkwanta to Accra and a Mercedes-Benz passenger bus (GR 3215-E) travelling from Battor to Kabiti in the Oti Region.
The crash occurred at Peki-Tsame near Peki Senior High School in the early hours of Tuesday, 2nd June 2026.
A total of forty (40) persons were involved, comprising twenty-one (21) males, fifteen (15) females, and four (4) children.
Through a coordinated rescue operation, firefighters extricated 25 injured casualties, including 23 adults and two children.
Sadly, 15 persons lost their lives, made up of nine males and 6 females.
The injured were conveyed to the Peki Government Hospital for treatment, while the deceased were handed over to the Police, who conveyed them to the hospital mortuary for preservation and further investigation. The cause of the accident remains under investigation.
The Ghana National Fire Service has extended its deepest condolences to the bereaved families and urges all motorists to observe road traffic regulations, avoid dangerous driving practices, and exercise maximum caution on the roads to help prevent accidents and save lives.
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