News
Gender Minister inaugurates 3 water projects in Agona West
The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Mrs Cynthia Morrison, has inaugurated three water projects to provide potable water to some communities within the Agona West Municipality.
The project formed part of a broad initiative in ensuring that potable water becomes accessible to residents of the area and adjoining communities.
It was part of her ‘Safe Water’ campaign in the Agona West Constituency with support from DirectAid Society, an international non-governmental organisation, and geared towards reducing acute water shortage in the communities.
The beneficiary communities are Agona Samuel, Upper Bobikuma and Otsenkorang.
Mrs Morrison, who is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Agona West, in her remarks, said the project was conceived as a priority initiative to the beneficiary communities which she said, had witnessed difficulty in accessing water for a long time.
She said, a total number 20 water projects would be constructed across the constituency to ensure that all residents have access to potable water.
“It is said that, ‘water is life’. So, access to clean water is essential for humanity. My clean water campaign is on the right track in line with the global ‘Water For All’ agenda” she said.
Mrs Morrison said Agona West Constituency had vast land of water bed that would be effective for the provision of mechanised boreholes in every community, adding that, “the government is committed to ensure that social amenities such as potable drinking water, electricity supply, health facilities and good roads, among others, are fairly provided to improve standard of living.”
In his remarks, Ebusuapanyin Kojo Osam, Regent of Agona Otsenkorang, commended Mrs Morrison for fulfilling a promise made to the people which centred on the provision of potable water.
He said members of the community were overwhelmed with the speedy completion of the project, and appealed to the MP to also facilitate processes that would lead to the reshaping of the bad road linking the community to Agona Nyakrom.
The Minister later visited Agona Bosompa to inspect progress of work on a six-unit classroom block being constructed for the community, where the chief of area, Nana Kojo Gyesi I, expressed his gratitude to Mrs Morrison for the prompt response to their request for a school.
The Minister was accompanied by the Agona West Municipal Chief Executive, Mrs Justina Marigold Assan and officials from DirectAid Society.
FROM DAVID O. YARBOI-TETTEH, AGONA SWEDRU
News
Government orders evacuation of Excavators from Tema Port
The Government of Ghana has directed that all excavators currently at the Port of Tema be moved to military installations in Tema, Shai Hills, and Accra.
The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), which issued the directive on Friday, August 22, 2025, said the exercise is being carried out in collaboration with security and regulatory agencies.
According to the GPHA, the move is aimed at regulating the importation of excavators and ensuring that they are kept safely until their owners complete the necessary clearance processes.
The GPHA explained that the evacuation will also help decongest the Port and create more space for other goods.
It revealed that existing customs clearance procedures will still apply. However, once importers complete their clearance, they will now have to collect their equipment from the designated military facilities.
The GPHA added that all costs involved in transporting the excavators to the military sites, as well as custody charges, will be the responsibility of the consignees.
The Authority appealed to stakeholders to comply with the directive, stressing that the exercise is in the interest of both national security and smooth trade operations.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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
