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Economic Partnership Agreement between EU and Ghana, enhances opportunities for Ghanaian exporters- Nicholas Gebara
Mr Nicolas Gebara, Team Leader of Compete Ghana, has said the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the European Union (EU) and Ghana reduces trade barriers between the two entities and this enhances Ghanaian exporters’ opportunities for export to the EU.
He said among the Agreement allows Ghanaian companies to enjoy access to EU markets “duty free, quota free”.
“But there are also some requirements that every exporter must comply with, such as EU quality standards and norms, rules of origin and certifications.
In the process of implementing the EPA, a number of public stakeholders are play a key role in guiding the private sector in their efforts to export to the EU.
Therefore the Compete Ghana Programme has embarked on building the capacity of public institutions and assessed the needs of individual institutions to be involved in the effective implementation of the EPA.
Following individual consultations with public institutions, The Compete Ghana programme organised a validation workshop in Accra to discuss training public institutions on key areas of the EPA in Accra.
Mr Gebara said the EPA secretariat at the Ministry of Trade and Industry are monitoring the processes required in implementing the EPA, and that there were joint committee meetings between Ghana and EU to discuss the progress so far.
He said the EU was financing the capacity enhancement of government institutions that were directly and indirectly related to the implementation of the EPA.
“Every institution has a role to play in guiding the private sector on how to enhance their exports to the EU market, and so we have identified and invited thirteen institutions to know the level of skills they will require to implement the agreement efficiently,” Mr Gebara stressed.
Mrs Justina Mensah, a capacity building expert, said it was very important that the Minisgtry of Trade and Industry and the EU support and make the necessary arrangements to facilitate access to the priority resources identified in the capacity needs assessment of the thirteen institutions.
She said the thirteen public institutions should also use innovative approaches to support the capacity development process of their institutions.
Mr Raffaele Quarto, Trade Counselor, EU Delegation, said they were implementing the project to develop the capacity and skills of Ghanaian businesses and authorities to be able to benefit fully from the agreement.
He indicated that the delegation was implementing other programmes on vocational training, agriculture, and other areas not related to business.
The Compete Ghana Programme is in the context of the Ghana beyond aid vision, to improve economic governance and the business environment, and to maximise the benefits of the EPA for Ghana.
It also would strengthen the competitiveness of Ghana’s exports and enhance Ghana’s integration into the regional and international trading system.
Following the validation workshop and the active feedback provided by the participants, the Compete Ghana Programme will be organising over the next months, training sessions on key areas of the EPA to strengthen the capacity of the selected public institutions to support exporters, manufacturers and farmers in increasing production and meeting standards and quality.
President John Dramani Mahama has commissioned four career diplomats as ambassador-designates to represent Ghana in four countries.
The commissioning ceremony took place on Friday, October 16, 2026.
The new envoys are Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo, Ambassador-Designate to Angola; His Excellency Louis Kwame Obeng, Ambassador-Designate to Qatar; Her Excellency Evelyn Korantemaa Ofosu-Amable, Ambassador-Designate to Israel; and His Excellency Jedidiah Reuben Adogla, Permanent Representative-Designate to Switzerland.
President Mahama charged them to advance Ghana’s national interests through strategic partnerships, economic diplomacy, investment mobilization, and expanded access to international markets.
He said Ghana’s diplomatic engagements must deliver tangible economic benefits, create jobs, and strengthen the country’s standing on the international stage.
The four envoys are career diplomats with over 27 years of experience.
On behalf of her colleagues, Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo thanked the President for the confidence reposed in them and pledged their commitment to emulate his leadership and deliver on the mandate given to them.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The professor who spends his days exploring the intricacies of African languages found himself at the centre of a different kind of lesson on Friday, October 2, 2026. 
This time, there were no lecture notes, academic arguments or university classrooms. Instead, there was the weight of tradition, the rhythm of a community celebration and the solemnity of an oath at a royal palace.
Professor Ọbádélé Kambon, a full Professor of African Linguistics at the University of Ghana, was enstooled as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene of Akuapem Mampong in the Eastern Region in a ceremony that brought academia and traditional authority together.
For the professor, the occasion was more than a new title. It was a moment that connected his academic interests in African languages and indigenous knowledge with the living traditions of an Akan community.
The day’s events unfolded through a series of customary observances. Kambon was first taken to the compounds of the Ɔkyeamehene and Gyasehene, where the preparations for his installation continued.
Then came the application of hyire, the white kaolin powder associated with traditional rites.
With the customary proceedings underway, the new chief was lifted onto the shoulders of celebrants and carried along the main thoroughfare of Akuapem Mampong.
The procession transformed the streets into a public stage for a ceremony rooted in the community’s traditional institutions.
There was something striking about the image, a university professor, accustomed to the measured language of academic discourse, being carried through the town in a display of traditional recognition.
Yet the celebration was not complete with the procession.
A ram was sacrificed at the Mamponghene’s compound before Kambon was taken to the palace, to swear the oath associated with his new offices.
The ceremony brought him formally into his roles as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene.
Beyond the colourful proceedings, the titles themselves carry layers of historical meaning.
Kambon in his research explores the historical connections between Apagya and Akan political and military organisation.
Accounts cited in his work linked Apagya to an asafo, or military company, while historical writing traces an Apagya stool in Asante to the reign of Opoku Ware I in the eighteenth century.
These historical associations offer a glimpse into the institutions that have shaped Akan society over generations, although they do not automatically define the precise responsibilities of the office in Akuapem Mampong.
Kambon’s own professional life reflects a similar interest in preserving and examining African knowledge.
His work encompasses Akan language structure, naming practices across the Black world, proverbs and indigenous intellectual traditions.
Through Abibitumi, the platform he founded, he also promotes language learning, scholarship and cultural engagement.
But tradition was only one part of the story that day.
When the formal ceremony gave way to a reception, the occasion expanded into a celebration of three milestones: Kambon’s enstoolment, his promotion to full professor and his daughter Ama’s admission to the University of Ghana.
The gathering therefore carried a personal significance that went beyond the honours bestowed on one man. 
It celebrated professional advancement, the continuation of family aspirations and a connection to cultural heritage.
For a father, seeing a daughter gain admission to the same university where he holds a distinguished academic position offered another reason to celebrate.
For the professor, the moment placed family achievement alongside his own professional and traditional milestones.
Kambon had already established a place in the traditional life of Akuapem Mampɔn through an earlier installation as Banmuhene Kyidɔmhene, recorded in 2017.
His latest enstoolment adds another chapter to that relationship.
In Akuapem Mampɔn, the day brought together the university, the palace and the family table in one celebration. And for Kambon, the journey from the lecture room to the traditional procession showed how scholarship, cultural responsibility and family achievement could converge in a single memorable occasion.
By Enoch Ntiamoah Siaw
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