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Government Is Implementing Policies To Control The Degradation Of Ghana’s Coastal Landscape – VP Bawumia
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The Vice President and newly elected flagbearer of the NPP, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has highlighted a number of interventions the government has undertaken to control the degradation of Ghana’s coastal landscape.
Speaking at the third Biennial Conference on Fisheries and Coastal Environment in Accra, on Monday September 6, 2023, Dr. Bawumia said, inspite of the enormous benefits from the ocean to the country, degradation of the ocean threatens its sustainability and benefits.
The degradation, Dr. Bawumia noted, “includes coastal erosion caused by sea level rise, pollution from municipal waste such as plastic and chemical pollution from illegal mining activities, and so on.”
“It also involves over exploitation of fisheries resources through illegal unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing amongst others.”
The Vice President, who lamented how the health of our ocean and its accompanying resources have been rapidly deteriorating “as a result of both anthropogenic and natural causes,” also outlined steps the government has undertaken to address the problem and ensure sustainable ocean economy.
“In recent times, the Government of Ghana has embarked on various activities to ensure sustainable ocean management. The first of the activities was the president joining the high-level panel for a sustainable ocean economy,” Dr Bawumia noted.
“The Ocean Panel as it is called is a special global initiative of seventeen (17) world leaders who pledged themselves to a new ocean programme to work at attaining a sustainable ocean economy. To strengthen this effort, a two-day maiden National Blue Economy Summit was held in Accra in May/June, 2023 under the theme “Our Ocean’s Heath, Our Prosperity, Our Planet’s Security”.
“Secondly, the government has approved a loan of 150 million USD from the World Bank on the West Africa Coastal Area (WACA) programme to stem the tide of coastal degradation occurring in our coastal areas.”
‘Also, the government has begun various activities to fight illegal unreported and unregulated fishing in our waters. We are seriously regulating the license of foreign fishing vessels especially their fishing gears, where they fish and whether they have licenses or not. In fact, some of these foreign vessels have been denied licenses already. We have also digitized the access to pre-mix fuel for artisanal fishing activities.”
The introduction of a digitized premix fueling station, Dr. Bawumia said, was meant to automate the pre-mix fuel system to reduce issues such as hoarding, politicization and diversion amongst others.
He added that government has also begun efforts to reduce the number of boats in the artisanal fishing sectors.
“Just like the Africa Union and taking from the AU submissions, our government believes that the ocean presents a huge opportunity to accelerate development and improve upon the well-being of the people of this country. Ghana, with its extensive coastline, is committed to leading the charge towards a sustainable and inclusive Blue Economy,” Dr Bawumia said.
The third Biennial Conference on Fisheries and Coastal Environment, was under the theme : “Inclusive Blue Economy in Africa: Towards Sustainable Transformation and Resilience of the Marine Environment.”
It was organized by the Centre for Coastal Management – Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience (CCM-ACECoR) of the University of Cape Coast and other strategic partners, including the World Bank, WACA, USAID, Vulnerability to Viability Global Partnership and others.
General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Justin Kodua Frimpong, has filed his nomination to contest the position of General Secretary again as the party begins its rebuilding efforts ahead of the 2028 general elections.
He was accompanied by party stalwarts and supporters who were in high spirits, expressing confidence that he is the right person to hold the position.
Speaking after filing his nomination, Mr Kodua Frimpong assured the rank and file of the party that he would not disappoint them.
“I can assure you that the faith the rank and file of the party have had in me, I will never disappoint them,” he said.
He also pledged to run a clean campaign devoid of personal attacks.
“I can assure you that our internal campaign will be devoid of personal attacks,” he told his fellow contestants and the rank and file of the party as he seeks to retain his position.
His tenure has seen the party through the 2024 general elections, where the NPP lost power to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) after eight years in government.
The party is currently in a rebuilding phase, with internal elections scheduled to elect new national executives to lead its reorganization towards the 2028 polls.
The General Secretary position is considered one of the most influential in the party’s administrative structure, responsible for the day-to-day running of the party secretariat and implementation of party decisions.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) has disputed claims made on social media by comedian Michael Blackson concerning the treatment given to his late mother, saying a review found that the allegations did not accurately reflect what happened during her stay at the hospital.
In a statement issued in Accra on August 5, 2026, the management of UGMC expressed condolences to Mr. Blackson and his family over the death of his 83-year-old mother, who died at the facility on July 16, 2026.
The hospital said it had taken the concerns raised by Mr. Blackson seriously and conducted a thorough review in line with its clinical and administrative procedures.
According to the statement, the facts presented by Mr. Blackson on social media contained “numerous inaccuracies” and did not accurately reflect the medical care provided to his mother.
UGMC explained that she was referred to the facility from another hospital and received treatment there from May 27 to July 16, 2026, a period of about eight weeks.
The hospital stated that it would not release details of her diagnosis, treatment, medical records or other aspects of her care because it had a duty to protect patient confidentiality, even after death.
It said the decision was intended to respect the dignity of the deceased and the privacy of her family.
UGMC further stated that all clinical decisions at the facility are made by qualified healthcare professionals based on medical judgment, established standards of care and the best interests of the patient.
The statement added that such decisions are made in consultation with authorised family representatives where necessary and that billing and financial procedures are governed by institutional policies and are separate from clinical decision-making.
The hospital noted that it values feedback from patients and their families and considers both positive and negative comments important for improving the quality of care.
Mr. Blackson had earlier used social media to criticise the care his mother received at UGMC, prompting the hospital’s response.
By: Jacob Aggrey
