News
Coconut Revitalisation Programme launched in Volta Region
The Coconut Revitalisation Programme (CRP) was launched in Ho last Wednesday with the distribution 26,416 coconut seedlings to producers of the fruit in five districts and municipalities in the Volta Region.
The beneficiaries are from the Afadzato South, Ho West and Adaklu districts.
The rest are from the Ketu North and Ketu South municipalities.
The programme, which is under the supervision of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), is meant to promote the cultivation of coconut in those areas, not only for domestic consumption but more importantly for export.
The Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, who launched the programme, assured coconut growers of good returns for the venture, saying the cultivation and sale of coconut had become a lucrative business for the farmers and others in the value chain in recent times.
“The exportation of the raw coconut and the processed products has been identified as another viable source of foreign income for our dear nation,” he added.
Apart from that, Dr Letsa stated that the CRP fell in line with the Planting for Food and Jobs, and Planting for Export and Rural Development initiatives.
Therefore, the Regional Minister urged farmers to embrace the CRP to reap the guaranteed benefits of good income.
Earlier, the Regional Officer of GEPA, Mr Hope Amrado said that coconut had been identified as one of the vital non-traditional crops that had bright and reassuring prospects for export.
He gave the assurance that the GEPA would also collaborate vigorously with the Department of Agriculture to provide coconut producers with the appropriate support for the success of the programme.
To ensure the success of the CRP, he said that the beneficiary farmers would sign an undertaking, pledging the proper use of the seedlings.
FROM ALBERTO MARIO NORETTI, HO
A 30-year-old man has been sentenced to 25 years imprisonment with hard labour by the Bekwai Circuit Court for his role in a 2022 robbery at a mining site at Manso Akwasiso in the Ashanti South Region.
The convict, Dominic Ofori, also known as Fanta, was arrested on 16th February 2026 after years on the run. He pleaded guilty before the Bekwai Circuit Court to robbery contrary to Section 149 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 Act 29, and was accordingly sentenced to 25 years imprisonment with hard labour.
On March 20, 2022, the Manso Adubia District Police received intelligence that a group of armed men from Manso Abodom were planning to attack a mining site at Manso Akwasiso to rob the owner of gold concentrate. Acting on the information, police mounted a coordinated operation and laid an ambush at the site.
At about 5:30 pm the same day, four-armed men arrived at the site, fired indiscriminately, and robbed the miners of their gold concentrate. The police team on surveillance intervened, resulting in an exchange of gunfire.
Three of the suspects, Abu Abubakar, Musah Latif, and Gideon Takyi, sustained gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead on arrival at St Martins Catholic Hospital at Agroyesum. Dominic Ofori escaped at the time but was later arrested and put before the court.
The Ashanti South Regional Police Command has assured the public of its continued commitment to combating violent crimes and bringing offenders to justice.
The Ashanti Regional Police Command has arrested 45-year-old Isaac Boafo, also known as “Duabo King,” for allegedly publishing false news intended to cause fear and panic.
Police said the arrest follows a viral TikTok video in which Boafo claimed that four officers at the Central Police Station in Kumasi engaged in inappropriate conduct with commercial sex workers during night patrols in Asafo.
Officers from the Police Intelligence Directorate (Ashanti Region) apprehended Boafo after receiving intelligence about the video.
During questioning, he admitted to creating the video to attract views and engagement online, and acknowledged that he could not prove the allegations.
Boafo also admitted making comments about the President of the Republic for content purposes and could not defend those statements.
He has been formally charged and is in detention as investigations continue.
The Ashanti Regional Police have warned the public against publishing or sharing false information on social media, noting that such acts can cause fear, panic, and damage reputations.
They said anyone found engaging in similar conduct will face legal action.
By: Jacob Aggrey
