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Five envoys present letters of credence to President Mahama
The President of the Republic, John Dramani Mahama on Wednesday March 13, 2025, received the Letters of Credence of five Envoys at a ceremony held at the Jubilee House.
At the ceremony to present their credentials were H. E. Ms. Laura Ranalli, Ambassador of the Republic of Italy, H. E. Mr. Julio Enrique Pujol Torres, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba, H. E. Mrs. Musu Jatu Ruhle, Ambassador of Republic of Liberia.
The rest were H. E. Dr. Abdulla Murad Sulaiman Mohammed Al Mandoos, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates, and H. E. Mr. Ali Ghomshi, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
During the ceremony, the envoys congratulated John Dramani Mahama for his election to the Presidency and expressed their excitement to be serving in Ghana.
The envoys enumerated several programmes they would be executing in collaboration with the Government as they took turns to present their Letters of Credence.
Additionally, the envoys, assured the President of their cooperation and collaboration during their tenure to further deepen the ties between Ghana and their respective countries.
President Mahama welcomed and congratulated the Envoys on their appointments, stating that he was looking forward to more fruitful collaborations with their respective countries, which he envisaged would grow during their tenures in Ghana.
He mentioned that Ghana was looking forward to partnerships in the agribusiness sector to reduce food inflation, improve value addition, especially with cocoa and sugar production.
He informed the envoys that Ghana was in the process of initiating the signing of the Ghana Labour Export Programme agreement with her various partners, where trained Ghanaian youth would be sent abroad to legally work to curb exploitation and trafficking.
Other areas raised included the formalisation of the export of gold through the Gold Board, the revamping of the national airline, among others.
In the health sector the President sought for partnerships in completing and managing the uncompleted hospitals to augment the quality and availability of health care delivery in the country.
Concerning peace and security, the President encouraged collaboration to help countries in the Sahel Region to mitigate terrorist activities and maintain lasting peace in the region and the ECOWAS Sub-Region.
The ceremony ended with the newly accredited Envoys reaffirming their commitment to upholding the good and friendly relations that exists between Ghana and their various countries.
Also present at the ceremony were, the Chief of Staff, Mr. Julius Debrah, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa (MP), the Executive Secretary to the President, Dr. Callistus Mahama and the Legal Counsel to the President, Mrs. Marietta Agyeiwaa Brew, Officers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other government officials.
The family of Ambassador James Victor Gbeho, a distinguished statesman and diplomat, has paid a courtesy call on President John Dramani Mahama. They officially informed him of his passing.
The delegation, representing the Gbeho family, noted that it was culturally and diplomatically important to formally notify the President of the loss before making a public announcement of his death.
Ambassador Gbeho was a towering figure in Ghanaian and international politics. He served in many diplomatic missions, including New York. He was Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, a Member of Parliament for the Anlo constituency, and President (formerly Executive Secretary) of the ECOWAS Commission.
He was widely respected for his role in regional integration and his contributions to global diplomacy at the United Nations.
President Mahama expressed his condolences and shared reflections on Ambassador Gbeho’s contributions to the country, West Africa and the world.
Funeral details will be announced later.
The Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, has revoked all firearm permits in Ghana with immediate effect and announced a new registration process for all gun owners.
The minister made the announcement on Tuesday, June 23, at the information service department saying all individuals who currently hold licences to own firearms or sidearms must undergo a fresh registration process.
“From this afternoon, all permits that have been granted to any individual that you are holding a sidearm or firearm is hereby revoked,” Mr Muntaka said.
He explained that the government had identified gaps in the country’s firearm registration system and needed to introduce stricter measures to improve public safety.
“We are opening the window where everyone will have to come forward again to register or re-register the gun because we’ve changed the procedure,” he stated.
According to him, the government decided not to wait until the end of the year to make the changes because lives could still be saved within the next six months.
The Interior Minister said one of the new requirements would be mandatory mental health screening for applicants seeking firearm licences.
“We’ve seen that people with mental health have already gone through and have the sidearm. Now we are introducing mental health. Before we give you the sidearm, we have to be sure that you have the mental stability to hold the firearms,” he said.
Mr Muntaka also announced that applicants would be required to undergo drug tests before being granted licences.
“We’ve also realised that people who are on drugs are also holding their arms and they are legitimate because it’s been registered. Now you have to go through drug tests to be sure that you are not on drugs before you can hold sidearms,” he added.
The minister said the new measures form part of efforts by the government to tighten firearm control and prevent legally registered weapons from falling into the wrong hands.
He urged all firearm owners to cooperate with the new registration process once details of the exercise are announced.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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