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IMANI, partners call for full audit of Gold-for-Oil programme.
IMANI Africa and a group of oversight organisations say Ghana’s Gold-for-Oil programme has lost the country billions of cedis through weak controls and possible corruption.
In a statement issued in Accra on Monday, the policy think tank said an international forensic review of the scheme found “serious governance failures, fiscal leakages and potential illicit financial flows.”
The programme was meant to use Ghana’s gold to pay for imported fuel and stabilise foreign exchange reserves.
But IMANI said the review showed it was badly managed and created “corridors for revenue loss and illicit enrichment.”
According to the group, the gold part of the programme ran without proper contracts between the Bank of Ghana and the Precious Minerals Marketing Company.
It said this allowed weak pricing controls, secret exchange rate practices and smuggling of gold.
IMANI also said about GHS 7.5 billion in tax exemptions were granted on fuel imports but poor tracking meant the state may have lost GHS 7.2 billion in revenue.
It added that some of the international suppliers chosen for the scheme had opaque ownership and links to high-risk trading networks.
The group called for all contracts, pricing benchmarks and audits to be published regularly to improve transparency.
It warned that any delay in taking action would amount to complicity.
Former National Economic Dialogue chair Dr. Ishmael Evans Yamson said the revelations showed how some people in government had worked with local and foreign actors to “undermine Ghana’s development efforts” and called for tough action.
IMANI president Franklin Cudjoe said the findings confirmed the think tank’s fears that the programme had been “systematically weaponised against the state.”
He urged the government to carry out a full vessel-by-vessel and ounce-by-ounce audit, recover lost money, and prosecute those responsible.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Ahyiresu and Abofrem, two quiet communities in the Atwima Mponua District, have been shaken to the core by a chilling midnight drama that reads like a nightmare.
A pastor and a young mother stand accused of attempting to bury a five‑month‑old baby girl alive, a crime that has ignited outrage and disbelief across the township.
According to police, Apostle Richmond Akwasi Frimpong, 36, Head Pastor of the Anointed Grace Prayer Ministry at Kuffour Camp, conspired with his uncle Emmanuel Appiah, 53, and the child’s mother, 23‑year‑old Beatrice Agyapomaa, to dispose of the infant, Anaya Achiaa, under the cover of darkness.
A fourth suspect, Emmanuel Donkor, remains on the run.
The suspects were caught near a refuse dump around 10 pm on April 9, 2026, after a vigilant resident, Akwasi Twezor, noticed their suspicious movements.
When confronted, they claimed the child was already dead and had palace approval for burial. But Twezor’s instincts proved right—the baby was still alive, gasping faintly for breath.
Chief Linguist, Nana Yaw Badu, later confirmed that Frimpong had misled him earlier in the evening, securing permission for burial by falsely declaring the child dead.
The infant was rushed to the Abofrem Clinic, where she is now responding well to treatment. Police described her as “very beautiful.”
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Evelyn Yitamkey, Commander of DOVVSU in Bibiani, confirmed that the suspects have been provisionally charged.
Frimpong faces attempted murder and conspiracy charges, while Agyapomaa and Appiah are charged with conspiracy and abetment.
They were remanded by the Bibiani Circuit Court, presided over by Judge Frank Asiedu Nimako, to assist investigations.
The docket has been forwarded to the Attorney General’s Department for advice, ASP Yitamkey indicated.
The attempted crime has provoked fury among residents, many suspecting ritual motives aimed at bolstering the pastor’s influence.
Crowds attempted to attack the suspects outside court, but police intervention prevented mob justice.
The Assembly Member for Ahyiresu, Yusuf Suleiman, has assured residents that justice will be pursued swiftly.
From Kingsley E. Hope, Kumasi
The forecourt of the African University of Communications and Business (AUCB) in Accra came alive on Friday with colour, creativity and innovation, as Level 300 students transformed the space into a lively exhibition of ideas.
Under the theme “Building meaningful brands beyond the logo,” the students invited patrons into a world where ordinary products were reimagined through storytelling, design and purpose.
From scented candles to innovative food concepts, each stand told a unique story, one that went beyond aesthetics to capture identity, value and human connection.
For many of the students, the event was more than just an academic exercise; it was a moment to dream out loud.
Guided by their lecturer, Peter Wonders, they explored what it truly means to build a brand in today’s competitive world where trust, consistency and experience matter just as much as logos and slogans.
Chairman of the occasion, Nana Kum Gyata VI, in his remarks said a brand is what people say about you when you are not present.
At the end of the presentations, awards were presented to deserving groups with Vida Nyaneba emerging as the overall best branding student.
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
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