Hot!
Health alert! Contaminated ‘shito’ floods market
Information available to this paper indicates that some unscrupulous dealers in hot pepper sauce (shito) in Accra are said to be selling contaminated product to the unsuspecting public in order to make more profit.
It is alleged the “shito” is usually made with unhygienic and discarded fish heads and scales of dried herrings (amane or Keta School boys) for sale.
But a trader at the Kaneshie Market (name withheld) in Accra, confirmed this in an exclusive interview with The Spectator when this reporter took it upon herself to interrogate the veracity or otherwise of the issue at stake.
She said the “shito” makers purposely came to the market to buy these discarded parts of the herrings and add a few uncontaminated ones to it before grinding them together in a near-by mill.
She said these illegal and criminal activities had been going on for a long time, but it was only now that, she had got the courage to expose them, following the COVID-19 outbreak which calls for consumption of healthy foods.
“I have always wondered why some hot pepper sauce (shito) bought from the market had so much sand in it,” a customer lamented.
“I was disappointed when I saw dried fish heads and scales poured on the bare floor and flies hovering all around it just in front of a fish seller’s basket at the Kaneshie market,” another said .
The informant said she approached the fish seller and asked her if the fish scales and heads were for sale and she responded in the affirmative.
Still surprised and wanting to know more, “I asked her what it was used for and she said “for shito.”
According to her, that was what most “shito” makers used in preparing their product .
Many health experts had predicted that, disease would hit consumers harder if the high level of insanitary conditions in the markets were not addressed.
In a telephone interview with a senior health official at the Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA) who pleaded anonymity, he confirmed that they had received reports of some women making “shito” with unhealthy and discarded fish parts.
He gave an assurance that their health officials would go round some of the markets in Accra to check on these aberrations and those found culpable would be brought to book or prosecuted in the law courts.
Dr Kojo Cobba Essel, a Medical Doctor and Chief Executive Officer of Health Essentials Limited, commenting on the subject was of the view that if the traders used only a part of the fish that is edible then there is no problem.
But “if (the traders), indeed, used fish scales then that should be a cause for worry because the “scales are not digestible,” he said.
He explained that the presence of sand in the hot pepper sauce (shito) could cause stomach disorders as the sand may contain other impurities.
For this reason, Dr Essel stressed the need for food inspection agencies to step up their game by conducting random checks at the markets and, where neccessary, issue warning whenever they identified contaminated products.
“Not everybody can go to the high-end places to buy their “shito”; many people would still buy from the street. So we are at the mercy of the enforcement agencies. Once they identify and blacklist people [through enhanced surveillance], those who sell unwholesome products would refrain from the practice,” he noted.
He has therefore advised individuals to prepare their own hot pepper or black sauce (shito) at home, if they can, or allow someone they trust to prepare it for them.
The Global Network of Export-Import Banks and Development Finance Institutions (G-NEXID) successfully held its sixth (6th) Exchange Programme, hosted by the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) Bank in Accra from March 22 to 23 March.
The event brought together member institutions, partner organisations and Ghanaian public entities to advance dialogue on South-South trade, investment and development finance, while also creating opportunities for knowledge-sharing and institutional cooperation.
Organised as a capacity-building and networking platform, the 2026 edition of the G-NEXID Exchange focused on GEXIM’s experience in developing innovative solutions to promote intra-African and extra-African trade.
It also highlighted trade and investment opportunities in Ghana, particularly in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and broader national development initiatives.
The Exchange Programme forms part of G-NEXID’s mandate to foster cooperation among export-import banks and development finance institutions in support of South-South trade and investment.
This 6th edition follows earlier successful programmes hosted by India Exim Bank (2016), BNDES (2017), Indonesia Eximbank (2018), Afreximbank (2019) and Saudi EXIM Bank (2025).
On the first day, participants were presented with G-NEXID institutional information and received an update on the Network’s 2026 work programme.
There were a series of substantive presentations, including an overview of the Ghanaian economy by the Ministry of Finance, with particular attention to debt-related challenges; a presentation by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), on investment opportunities in the country; and institutional presentations by GEXIM and Development Bank Ghana (DBG) on their respective mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Discussions during the sessions underscored strong interest in sector-focused webinars and business dialogues, particularly in agribusiness value chains such as poultry and rice.
Participants also emphasized the importance of continued information exchange and the sharing of best practices, especially in the area of guarantees.
The second day opened with a presentation on the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme, a national economic transformation strategy launched by President John Dramani Mahama in July 2025.
The initiative aims to enhance economic productivity through continuous industrial activity, accelerated export development and strategic import substitution.
As the programme is expected to mobilise both private and development capital, it presents concrete opportunities for G-NEXID members in areas such as co-financing, guarantees, trade finance and technical cooperation.
The programme also featured institutional presentations by guest organisations, namely the African Guarantee and Economic Cooperation Fund (FAGACE) and the West African Development Bank (BOAD), which shared their mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Following these exchanges, the G-NEXID Secretariat held bilateral discussions with both institutions as part of the Network’s ongoing membership drive.
Participants further benefited from a presentation by the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB), as well as a showcase of GEXIM’s key pipeline projects.
On the margins of the Exchange Programme, G-NEXID members also held their 20th Annual General Assembly Meeting to review progress and discuss strategic priorities.
Following the event, participants joined the GEXIM@10 International Conference, held from March 24-25, 2026 under the theme, “A Decade of Enabling Export Trade and Industrial Transformation: Resetting GEXIM for the Next Frontier.”
The conference provided an important platform for exploring how Ghana can strengthen its transition from a primary commodity exporter to a more competitive player in value-added trade and industrial development.
Source – G-NEXID
President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, signed five bills including three amendment bills passed by Parliament into law.
They are: Security and Intelligence Agencies Bill, 2025; University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Bill, 2025; Ghana Deposit Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2025; Growth and Sustainability Levy (Amendment) Bill, 2026; and Education Regulatory Bodies (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
In a brief remark after assenting to the bills, President Mahama explained that the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act, 2026, scraps the Office of Minister of National Security and frees the President’s to appoint any Minister to supervise the security agencies.
He said it also reverses the name of the office of National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), to the original name, Bureau of National Intelligence, (BNI).
This the President said, addresses the confusion between that security agency and a well-known Ghanaian financial institution, the National Investment Bank.
President Mahama also noted that the University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Act, 2026, establishes another University in the Eastern Region, at Bonsu, with three campuses – the main campus at Bonsu in the Eastern Region, with the second campus to be cited at Ohawu in the Oti Region.
The third, the Presdient assed will be located at Acherensua in the Ahafo Region.
Touching on the Amendment to the Growth and Sustainability Levy Act, the President said, “As you’re aware, the act was amended to increase it from 1% to 3%, and so this act reduces it again. That is the levy on mining companies. It reduces it again to 1%, because of the introduction of the sliding scale of royalties.”
He also spoke to the passage of the Government Education Regulatory Bodies Amendment Act, emphasising that amends Act 1023 to grant greater flexibility to private tertiary institutions and the option to Charter.
The Ghana Deposit Protection Amendment Act, the President concluded, is an amendment to an original act that was supposed to guarantee deposits held in commercial banks or financial institutions.
It basically expands protection to include mobile money wallets and other digital platforms, ensuring a wider scope of digital financial assets are secured.
The signing ceremony, was witnessed by the Clerk of Parliament, Mr. Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, Secretary to the President, Dr Callistus Mahama, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Dr Dominic Akrutinga Ayine, Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, a Senior Presidential Advisor and a Special Aide to the President, Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, and the Vice President, Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang.
