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GREL pays GH¢1.35 million bonus to loyal rubber farmers
● Mr Loenel Barrre, MD GREL
The Ghana Rubber Estates Limited (GREL) has paid GH¢1.35 million to 790 rubber outgrower farmers who have continuously sold rubber to the company.
The payment known as “Fidelity Bonus’ was to reward the rubber outgrower farmers who demonstrated total loyalty to the company by delivering rubber cup lumps to the weigh bridges and processing factories for eight consecutive months during the 2022-2023 agriculture season.
In a communique to the outgrower farmers, the GREL said it really appreciated the long-standing relationship with its outgrower farmers and the payment was to show appreciation and to boost their morale and also to encourage other outgrower farmers to be loyal to the company.
GREL started as a small private plantation established by R. T. Briscoe in 1957 at Dixcove with a plantation size of 923 hectares.
The plantation was nationalised into Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC) in 1960 and later, State Farms Corporation in 1962. At that time, the rubber plantation had expanded to Abura and Subri.
The Ghana Government, in 1967, established a joint venture company with Firestone Tyre Company of USA to take over the rubber plantation. This joint venture company was Ghana Rubber Estates Limited (GREL).
GREL became wholly state-owned in 1980 when Firestone sold its shares in GREL to the Ghana Government.
However, the Ghana Government entered into a financing agreement with the then Caisse Française de Development (CFD) now Agence Française de Development to rehabilitate and manage the company’s rubber plantation and to build a new rubber processing plant at Apimenim.
After the rehabilitation in 1996, the French management company, Societe Internationale d Plantation d’ Hevea (SIPH) became the major shareholder of the company.
By Peter Gbambila
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Prof Alidu Seidu files nomination for Tamale Central seat
The newly elected parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Tamale Central, Prof Alidu Seidu, has submitted his nomination forms to the Electoral Commission.
As of 10:00 a.m. today, he was the only person who had filed to contest the seat.
Nomination of candidates will close at the end of the day.
Associate Professor and Head of the Political Science Department at the University of Ghana Legon, Prof. Alidu Seidu won the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary primaries in the Tamale Central constituency with a landslide victory.
The elections, supervised by the party’s Elections and IT Directorate in the Northern Region, saw Prof. Seidu poll 840 votes out of the total valid ballots cast.
His closest contender, Lawyer Hanan Gundadow Abdul-Rahaman, secured 536 votes.
The other aspirants could not make significant gains, with Dr. Seidu Fiter obtaining 44 votes, Aliu Abdul-Hamid 23 votes, and the rest recording fewer than 10 votes each.
In all, 1,500 ballots were cast, with 6 ballots rejected and 7 spoilt ballots recorded.
The results were signed and declared by Dr. Arnold Mashud Abukari, NDC Northern Regional Director of Elections and IT.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) held parliamentary primaries in Tamale Central to choose a candidate for the upcoming by-election following the death of the sitting Member of Parliament, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed. Dr. Mohammed, who also served as Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, tragically died in a military helicopter crash in the Adansi Akrofuom District on August 6, 2025, alongside seven others.
His passing left the Tamale Central seat vacant, as required by Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
The Electoral Commission has scheduled the by-election for September 30, 2025. While the NDC moved quickly to open nominations and vet aspirants, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) announced it would not contest the seat, citing the need to respect the somber circumstances and promote national unity.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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Ghana to locally refine its gold starting October 2025 – Sammy Gyamfi
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board, Sammy Gyamfi, has announced that plans are far advanced for the establishment of a state-owned gold refinery in the country.
Speaking at the 2025 Minerals and Mining Convention, Mr Gyamfi said the refinery will process locally mined gold into bullion instead of exporting it in its raw state.
According to him, it is unacceptable that Ghana, despite being a leading gold producer in Africa, continues to export raw gold known as dore.
He explained that the Gold Board, working with the Bank of Ghana and local refineries, will from October 2025 begin refining gold locally.
He also disclosed that an ultramodern assay laboratory will be built to ensure international standards in testing gold quality.
Mr Gyamfi noted that the refinery will be wholly state-owned and will help Ghana move away from raw mineral exports to value addition.
This, he said, will boost foreign exchange earnings, create jobs, and position Ghana as a hub for gold refining and jewellery production in Africa.
The CEO stressed that the project forms part of government’s strategy to ensure the country benefits fully from its natural resources and to transform the mining sector into a driver of economic growth.
By: Jacob Aggrey
