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We’ll do everything possible to stop reclassification of Achimota Forest – Suhuyini
The Member of Parliament for Tamale North, Alhassan Suhuyini, has stated that members of the Minority caucus will do everything within their capacity to stop the reclassification of the Achimota Forest.
Suhuyini, who is also the Ranking Member of Parliament’s Lands Committee, said allowing development in the forest will put the country at risk, particularly Ghanaians living in Accra.
“declassifying almost half of the Achimota Forest was going to put all of us at risk and the president has not explained to us how the declassification was going to help us,” He lamented in an interview with Caleb Kudah on the Citi Breakfast Show on Citi FM.
The Tamale North lawmaker also disclosed that the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) government has spent more than GH¢400 million on afforestation programmes aside from the annual Green Ghana Day and so it is preposterous that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will issue Executive Instrument 144 to reclassify the Achimota Forest for commercial and residential developments.
He said, “The government has spent some GH¢421 million on national afforestation programmes and that is aside from the Green Ghana Day and all of these are aimed at improving our forest cover, yet we have this same government declassifying the Achimota Forest.”
According to him, “Turning 361 acres of land into the concrete jungle and yet we can not point to any forest the government has created since spending all the GH¢421 million on afforestation programmes and this forest that has been created way before we were born and we are fixated at destroying it.”
Suhuyini added that “everything that we can do to save the forest, we must do and my committee’s intention was to visit the forest on Thursday to ascertain for ourselves whether they were indeed demarcating portions to the Owoo family because we cannot allow ourselves to be poisoned because the Achimota Forest saves and filters our air due to how choked Accra has become.”
Source: Citinewsroom.com
A member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr. Sammy Ayeh has picked up nomination forms to contest for the position of Deputy National Communications Officer position.
Announcing his intention, Dr. Ayeh said he is offering himself to help communicate the party’s vision clearly and connect its message with the aspirations of Ghanaians.
He expressed deep gratitude to the party’s National Communications Officer, Lawyer Sammy Gyamfi, describing him as an able leader on whose shoulders he has risen.
“His exceptional leadership, mentorship and confidence in me have shaped my journey and strengthened my resolve to serve,” Dr. Ayeh stated.
He said if elected, he will seek to build on that foundation by strengthening research-driven communication, empowering grassroots communicators, and enhancing strategic media engagement.
Dr. Ayeh humbly appealed to party members and supporters for their support.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The Data Protection Commission has called on the Minority Caucus in Parliament, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, JoyNews and other media houses to protect the personal information of 1,964 Ghanaians evacuated from South Africa.
In a press release issued on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, the Commission expressed concern over the public disclosure of the evacuees’ personal details, including their names, signatures and records of financial assistance received.
It warned that making such information public could expose the affected individuals to identity theft, fraud and other forms of harm, especially given the threats to their safety that some of them may have faced.
The Commission explained that the 1992 Constitution protects the dignity and privacy of every individual. It also cited the Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843), which sets out rules for the lawful collection, use and disclosure of personal information.
While acknowledging the importance of transparency, parliamentary oversight, the right to information and press freedom, the Commission stressed that these principles do not automatically justify the unrestricted publication of personal details.
It said the disclosure of the records by the Minority Caucus, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, JoyNews and other media organisations must be assessed based on the law, the purpose of the disclosure and the privacy rights of the individuals involved.
The Commission further noted that although the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Parliament are registered data controllers in good standing, their registration does not exempt them from their legal responsibilities under the Data Protection Act.
It has therefore urged all the parties involved to take appropriate steps to protect the affected individuals, including immediately restricting access to or removing personal details from publicly available records where their continued disclosure is not legally justified.
The Commission announced plans to conduct a regulatory review to determine whether the disclosures had a lawful basis, what safeguards were applied and whether the privacy rights of the evacuees had been adequately protected.
It said it would engage the relevant parties as part of the review and take appropriate regulatory action if any breach of the law is established.
The Commission reiterated that protecting personal information and respecting human dignity must remain central to efforts to promote public accountability.
By: Jacob Aggrey
