News
Finance Minister Designate: Ato Forson’s appointment sensible- Franklin Cudjoe
Founding President and chief executive officer of IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, Franklin Cudjoe has lauded President John Dramani Mahama for his recent appointment.
The President has announced Dr.Cassiel Ato Baah Forson,Minister for Finance Designate, John Abdulai Jinapor, Minister for Energy Designate and Dominic Akuritinga Ayini – Attorney -General and Minister for Justice Designate as his first batch of appointments.
In a Facebook post, Mr.Cudjoe noted that “Hon. Ato Forson for Finance Minister. Sensible appointment. Thankfully, he is not an overhyped investment banker who would have wet dreams of some delusional $50bn century bond his predecessor entertained in spite of the odious debts he had accumulated. Worse, he was planning to mortgage our gold resources through very bad deals like Agyapa. Agyapa was horrible and kudos to IMANI and our cousins at ACEP for leading the charge to kill it. Whoever advised Agyapa must be lashed 38 times.”
He added that “Anyway, last April 2024, l had an opportunity to engage Ato Forson up close to discuss what must be done to prevent further damage to our jalopy economy. I had invited him to meet a small team of Ghanaian and British consultants the British Government recently engaged to design a modest new, £5m programme – the Financial and Economic Resilience in Ghana (FERG) programme – to complement existing work-streams, and those of other development partners, to address Ghana’s long-standing challenges with fiscal and macroeconomic instability.”
“The interaction was eye-opening and worth every second of the two-hour encounter. I was convinced that Hon.Ato Forson had earned the stripes to be a successful finance minister,” he revealed.
He concluded, “As deputy team leader of the mission, I will endorse the release of the £5m as soon as possible to help Ato Forson strengthen ministerial budget preparation to cut out waste and capacitate Ghana’s debt management office to slow down debt-happy finance ministers among many others.Good luck Ato.”
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
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
