News
Effiduase SSNIT flat residents receive threats from encroachers
• The encroachers operate at night
Residents of Effiduase SSNIT flats in the New Juaben North Municipality of the Eastern Region of late have been receiving threats of ejection from encroachers.
The reason is that some unscrupulous persons who are parading as land owners have been selling portions of land belonging to SSNIT to people in the community.
Other reason given indicated that, the government gave the land to SSNIT without paying any compensations to the land owners.
According to Mr Asiamah Yirenkyi, a resident and a management committee member of Effiduase SSNIT flats, all the metal drying lines, farms and playing ground in the area had been destroyed.
He mentioned the most affected areas as, Blocks 7,8,9 and 10 and called on the authorities concerned to protect them from such harassments.
He said the danger associated with their activities was that they operated in the night so it had been difficult for them to be recognised.
Mr Yirenkyi said the operatives came to the area about two weeks ago with bulldozers to pull down a warehouse belonging to SSNIT and started developing new houses.
“They have sold parts of the land, destroyed our farms and even portions of the drains that carry waste water from our homes have also been destroyed” he said.
He said the leaders of the SSNIT flats association had written to the Eastern Regional Minister, SSNIT Management, the Police, Town and Country Planning, Lands Commission, the two MCEs of New Juaben North and South, to come to their aid.
When The Spectator contacted the office of SSNIT in Koforidua, Mr Twum Twumasi, Deputy Data Operations Manager, confirmed the situation and said management was working hard to ensure that those selling government properties be are brought to book.
He said the SSNIT Legal Department had taken the matter up and requested for court injunction over the activities of the people.
The Eastern Regional PRO of SSNIT Mr Royal Nii Krotey Donkor also said that all the documents in possession of SSNIT showed that the land belonged to Trust and that compensations had been duly paid to beneficiaries and, therefore, no one had the right to own it.
He appealed to the people selling such lands and harassing occupants of SSNIT properties to desist from it, assuring the residents that his outfit would do everything possible to protect them.
By Spectator Reporter
News
Criminal and Seditious Libel Law was repealed in 2001 yet we still face harassment – NPP
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has criticised the government for what it calls a return to the “culture of silence” in Ghana, despite the repeal of the Criminal and Seditious Libel Law more than two decades ago.
In a press statement issued on Wednesday, the party said the arrest and detention of its Bono Regional Chairman, Kwame Baffoe, also known as Abronye, for allegedly insulting the Inspector General of Police (IGP) was the latest sign of political intimidation.
According to the NPP, eight months into President John Dramani Mahama’s administration, state security had been “weaponised” not to fight illegal mining or protect citizens, but to intimidate and punish dissenting voices.
The party said insecurity in areas such as Bawku, Nkwanta and Gbeniyiri in the Savannah Region had claimed more than 32 lives and displaced over 50,000 people, yet the police and national security were more focused on arresting opposition supporters and social media users for their posts.
The NPP noted that Ghana abolished the Criminal and Seditious Libel Law in 2001 under President John Agyekum Kufuor to protect free speech and media freedoms.
It described the recent arrests of opposition members as an erosion of those democratic gains.
The party said it did not condone insults or vulgar language in public discourse but stressed that anyone who felt defamed should seek redress through civil defamation suits, not criminal prosecution.
It also accused the government of undermining the judiciary by “weaponising” it against political opponents, citing the removal of the Chief Justice.
“The growing climate of intimidation and criminalisation of speech is a serious assault on Ghana’s democracy,” the statement signed by NPP General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong said.
The NPP called on all Ghanaians to resist what it described as a return to tyranny and pledged to roll out a series of actions to protect the country’s democratic gains.
By: Jacob Aggrey
News
NIA opens Premium Centres to register children
The National Identification Authority (NIA) has started registering Ghanaian children aged between six and 14 years at all its Premium Centres across the country.
The Authority says the exercise is part of its duty to register every Ghanaian, both at home and abroad, so that all citizens can have a secure and verifiable national identity.
It explained in a statement issued today that the registration will help build a complete and inclusive National Identity Register (NIR) that captures every Ghanaian from childhood.
According to the NIA, the fee for first-time registration at Premium Centres is GHS 310, which is the approved charge for premium services.
The Authority said the requirements are the same as for applicants aged 15 years and above.
It affirmed that Parents or legal guardians were required to present either a valid Ghanaian passport of the child, the original copy of the child’s birth certificate, or be a Ghana Card holder who can vouch for the child.
The NIA also announced that from Monday, September 15, 2025, its online registration and booking system will be extended to the remaining 11 Premium Centres nationwide.
This it said will allow parents and guardians to schedule appointments more conveniently and avoid delays at the centres.
It further stated that information on the issuance of Ghana Cards for children aged six to 14 years who had already registered will be shared later.
In the coming weeks, the Authority plans to extend this registration service to all NIA District Offices to make it easier for more people to access the service.
By: Jacob Aggrey
