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Upper West Fire Service records high incidents institutional fires in first quarter
The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) in the Upper West Region recorded nine incidents of institutional fires from January to March, this year. The figure exceeded the three incidents recorded for the same period last year.
The nine incidents involved mostly second-cycle institutions in the region such as the Wa Technical Senior High School in the Wa Municipality as well as the Eremon and Lawra Senior High Schools in the Lawra Municipal.
The figure was presented to the Ghanaian Times at Wa on Monday by the GNFS in the region with a passionate appeal from the Regional Commander, Assistant Chief Fire Officer Grade One (ACFO I) Henry Asiedu for institutions in the region to adhere to fire safety precaution to prevent future accidents.
He intimated that fire audits were conducted in the affected schools and reports that contained recommendations were drafted and shared with the schools and other stakeholders in the region to guide adherence to fire safety principles.
He was worried that some of the institutions in the region did not have fire extinguishers to use in cases of emergencies and those who had them had not serviced them in years and hence were unable to make use of them in instances of fire.
On the whole, fire incidents reduced from 86 in the first quarter of last year to 74 this year and the regional commander was hoping to further beat down the numbers through proactive measures such as education and sensitisation of the public to fire prevention and fire safety.
“Contrary to popular assertion that the fire service delayed when called to duty, personnel of the GNFS are committed to their work and would not jeopardize anyone’s safety; however, the problem sometimes has to do with the brief distress call we receive which does not give a specific indication of the place of incident and we have to waste time calling back or trying to identify the exact location, among other challenges”, he added.
He debunked the assertion that personnel sometimes went to fire scenes with empty trucks and said no trained personnel would move an empty truck to a scene and further explained that the issue was sometimes about the unavailability of fire hydrants at vantage points for a refill when they had exhausted the water in the truck and had to go back to the station for more.
For his part, the Regional Staff Officer, Divisional Officer III, Alexis Kodi Suonyiri appealed to the public to support the work of the service and also take their safety seriously by ensuring that the structures they put up were safe enough for use.
DOIII Suonyiri intimated that domestic fires were reduced from 39 to 32 and said the figure could be further reduced if people put safety first when constructing their buildings by including fire safety gadgets and emergency exits.
FROM LYDIA DARLINGTON FORDJOUR, WA
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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