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STMA to demolish ghettoes at European Town
• Some unauthorised structures (Ghettoes) dotted along the rail lines
at European Town, Sekondi
The Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) is set to demolish all unauthorised structures at the Sekondi Railway Station, close to European Town, at Sekondi, in the Western Region, where prostitution is said to be thriving.
Over 400 illegal structures are expected to be removed or demolished to make way for the relocation of traders towards the reconstruction of the Sekondi Market.
Although, STMA had explained that the action was to pave way for Sekondi Market Project, the rail line, near the Sekondi railway station, had generated much concern among the security architecture in the metropolis especially on the use of the base for prostitution, which had attracted foreigners mostly Nigerian girls.
Recently, Social Welfare and Community Development (SW&CD), expressed worry about the increasing rate of child prostitution in some coastal areas of the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis, particularly, European Town.
It said, some persons notably adults were exploiting children, even at age 16, to engage in sex work.
“No person can exploit the labour of children but this is ongoing in the Sekondi- Takoradi Metropolis, in European Town and Amanful. It’s not a joke. It’s against the law,” the Metropolitan Director of SW&CD, Ms Constance Baiden, revealed at a community campaign targeting the youth.
She reported that elderly men in these communities were those patronising the child prostitution, saying that “after school, these child prostitutes sleep with the men to get some income.”
Ms Baiden again reported that, girls under 16 were staying alone in makeshift(ghettoes) rooms dotted along the rail lines at European Town and collected GH¢20 for sleeping with men, and “nobody is asking questions.”
“Some of the men have no conscience and no morals, indeed, child prostitution and teenage pregnancy are worrying . We need to reduce the trend in the metropolis,” she said.
The Assembly member of Airport Ridge and Chairman of Social Services Sub-Committee of STMA, Mr. Michael Deku, also expressed concern about some married men who targeted the young girls to satisfy their sexual needs.
He blamed the European Town situation on some key people in the communities.
Also, Assembly member of European Town, Mr. Samuel Kojo Mensah, complained about the springing up of ghettoes along the rail line, fuelling prostitution (trade) in the Twin City (Sekondi -Takoradi).
Last Sunday afternoon domestic fire gutted scores of makeshift structures (ghettoes) dotted along the rail lines closed to the train station at European Town, Sekondi.
About 64 structures, mostly drinking bars, and makeshift rooms, were burnt, fas reported by the Ghana National Fire Service.
A 65-year-old woman collapsed in the process.
Six gas cylinders exploded during the fire while another 65 were retrieved to safety, to prevent further explosions.
STMA explained that the action follows the eviction notice served on owners of affected structures in 2021 and the subsequent stakeholder meeting held on Monday, October 24, 2022, at the Sekondi Youth Centre.
At the said meeting, the release added, that, all the squatters were given two weeks ultimatum, ending Sunday, November 7, 2022, to remove their structures.
“The Assembly, therefore, reminded and urged all affected persons to comply with the directive before expiration of the ultimatum. The exercise will be carried out on the said date without any further notice whatsoever,” it stressed.
Various personal belongings were also burnt, Regional Fire Public Relations Officer, Divisional Officer II, Emmanuel Bonney said.
From Clement Adzei Boye, Sekondi
President John Dramani Mahama has commissioned four career diplomats as ambassador-designates to represent Ghana in four countries.
The commissioning ceremony took place on Friday, October 16, 2026.
The new envoys are Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo, Ambassador-Designate to Angola; His Excellency Louis Kwame Obeng, Ambassador-Designate to Qatar; Her Excellency Evelyn Korantemaa Ofosu-Amable, Ambassador-Designate to Israel; and His Excellency Jedidiah Reuben Adogla, Permanent Representative-Designate to Switzerland.
President Mahama charged them to advance Ghana’s national interests through strategic partnerships, economic diplomacy, investment mobilization, and expanded access to international markets.
He said Ghana’s diplomatic engagements must deliver tangible economic benefits, create jobs, and strengthen the country’s standing on the international stage.
The four envoys are career diplomats with over 27 years of experience.
On behalf of her colleagues, Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo thanked the President for the confidence reposed in them and pledged their commitment to emulate his leadership and deliver on the mandate given to them.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The professor who spends his days exploring the intricacies of African languages found himself at the centre of a different kind of lesson on Friday, October 2, 2026. 
This time, there were no lecture notes, academic arguments or university classrooms. Instead, there was the weight of tradition, the rhythm of a community celebration and the solemnity of an oath at a royal palace.
Professor Ọbádélé Kambon, a full Professor of African Linguistics at the University of Ghana, was enstooled as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene of Akuapem Mampong in the Eastern Region in a ceremony that brought academia and traditional authority together.
For the professor, the occasion was more than a new title. It was a moment that connected his academic interests in African languages and indigenous knowledge with the living traditions of an Akan community.
The day’s events unfolded through a series of customary observances. Kambon was first taken to the compounds of the Ɔkyeamehene and Gyasehene, where the preparations for his installation continued.
Then came the application of hyire, the white kaolin powder associated with traditional rites.
With the customary proceedings underway, the new chief was lifted onto the shoulders of celebrants and carried along the main thoroughfare of Akuapem Mampong.
The procession transformed the streets into a public stage for a ceremony rooted in the community’s traditional institutions.
There was something striking about the image, a university professor, accustomed to the measured language of academic discourse, being carried through the town in a display of traditional recognition.
Yet the celebration was not complete with the procession.
A ram was sacrificed at the Mamponghene’s compound before Kambon was taken to the palace, to swear the oath associated with his new offices.
The ceremony brought him formally into his roles as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene.
Beyond the colourful proceedings, the titles themselves carry layers of historical meaning.
Kambon in his research explores the historical connections between Apagya and Akan political and military organisation.
Accounts cited in his work linked Apagya to an asafo, or military company, while historical writing traces an Apagya stool in Asante to the reign of Opoku Ware I in the eighteenth century.
These historical associations offer a glimpse into the institutions that have shaped Akan society over generations, although they do not automatically define the precise responsibilities of the office in Akuapem Mampong.
Kambon’s own professional life reflects a similar interest in preserving and examining African knowledge.
His work encompasses Akan language structure, naming practices across the Black world, proverbs and indigenous intellectual traditions.
Through Abibitumi, the platform he founded, he also promotes language learning, scholarship and cultural engagement.
But tradition was only one part of the story that day.
When the formal ceremony gave way to a reception, the occasion expanded into a celebration of three milestones: Kambon’s enstoolment, his promotion to full professor and his daughter Ama’s admission to the University of Ghana.
The gathering therefore carried a personal significance that went beyond the honours bestowed on one man. 
It celebrated professional advancement, the continuation of family aspirations and a connection to cultural heritage.
For a father, seeing a daughter gain admission to the same university where he holds a distinguished academic position offered another reason to celebrate.
For the professor, the moment placed family achievement alongside his own professional and traditional milestones.
Kambon had already established a place in the traditional life of Akuapem Mampɔn through an earlier installation as Banmuhene Kyidɔmhene, recorded in 2017.
His latest enstoolment adds another chapter to that relationship.
In Akuapem Mampɔn, the day brought together the university, the palace and the family table in one celebration. And for Kambon, the journey from the lecture room to the traditional procession showed how scholarship, cultural responsibility and family achievement could converge in a single memorable occasion.
By Enoch Ntiamoah Siaw
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