News
Ghana Leads Global Call to Recognise Transatlantic Slave Trade as Crime Against Humanity
The Vice President of Ghana, Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, has announced that Ghana is leading efforts at the United Nations to have the transatlantic slave trade formally recognised as one of the greatest crimes against humanity.
She made the remarks while serving as Guest of Honour at a citizenship ceremony organised by the Diaspora Affairs Office and the Ministry of the Interior, where about 150 members of the African diaspora were granted Ghanaian citizenship at the Accra International Conference Centre yesterday.
The Vice President emphasised that recognising the transatlantic slave trade would affirm global commitment to truth, remembrance and justice for people of African descent.
She also highlighted Ghana’s continued role as a place of reconnection for the diaspora, referencing historic sites such as Cape Coast Castle and Elmina Castle.
In his remarks, the Minister for Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, said that the ceremony represented the culmination of a legal and administrative process through which individuals with strong ties to Ghana have formally become citizens of the Republic.
He noted that through the Ministry of the Interior and its partner institutions, the Government of Ghana remains committed to ensuring that the process of acquiring citizenship is transparent, credible, and consistent with the laws of Ghana.
Addressing the ceremony, the Director of Diaspora Affairs at the Office of the President, Kofi Okyere-Darko said the occasion symbolises far more than the formal granting of nationality.
“What we mark today extends far beyond the granting of citizenship; it represents the restoration of a connection shaped by history carried across continents through generations and now meaningfully reaffirmed here in the land from which it first began,” he said.
Darko noted that while citizenship is often seen as a legal status, it also carries a deeper emotional and cultural significance.
He explained that many members of the African Diaspora have long felt a strong connection to the continent through ancestry and cultural heritage, making their decision to become Ghanaian citizens a full-circle moment.
“For many of you, the path that led here was guided by ancestry, by a cultural memory, by a persistence sense that somewhere on this continent that was where it all begun.
“Today that history comes full circle. Ghana is not welcoming strangers; Ghana is receiving family,” he said.
The ceremony was also attended by Minister for Tourism, Abla Dzifa Gomashie.
Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Ahmed Ibrahim, has revealed that in the whole of 2024, only GHS 362 million was released to MMDAs in Common Fund.
Contrary to this, In 2025 alone GHS 5 billion was released to the MMDAs with the following breakdown as follows.
The Minister made this revelation when he took his turn at the Government Accountability Series held today.
In breakdown, the minister nonted that 1st Quarter – 790,372,058.40 was released for 2025.
He added that for the 2nd Quarter, 1,464,983,309.60 was released.
3rd Quarter saw the release of 1,188,921,640.80 and
1,592,706,391.20 for 4th Quarter.
The Minister added tha each of the MMDAs were required to undertake the following; at least 2-CHPS compounds, 3 Classroom blocks, 10 Boreholes, and Completion of legacy projects.
Additionally, 25% of the Common Fund was allocated for the Construction of 24-Hour Economy Model Markets.
Ahmed Ibrahim noted that as a result of the timely and unprecedented release of Funds, a total of 494 CHPS compounds, 761 Classroom Blocks, 4,029 Boreholes, and 2,755 Legacy projects are currently at various stages of completion.
Also, he added that 261 24-Hour Economy Model Markets have all been awarded on contracts and construction has begun on many of them.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Christian Tetteh Yohuno, together with members of the Police Management Board (POMAB), on April 17, 2026, decorated nineteen (19) senior officers who have been promoted to their next ranks based on the recommendations of the Police Council and approval of the President, John Dramani Mahama.
The ceremony, held at the National Police Headquarters in Accra, forms part of efforts to recognise merit, dedication, and long-standing service within the Ghana Police Service, while strengthening leadership across key operational and administrative levels.
The officers promoted from Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) to Commissioner of Police (COP) are Dr. Luke Asue-In-Yeng Zakpaa, Mr. Frederick Agyei, Mr. Duuti Tuaruka, Mr. Arthur Osei-Akoto, Mr. Darko Offei Lomotey, Mr. Eric Ken Winful, Mr. Barnabas Nambont Nasumong, and Mr. Desmond Owusu Boampong.
The IGP and members of POMAB congratulated the officers and urged them to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and integrity in the discharge of their duties.
