Services provided by state-owned telecoms operator Ethio Telecom have been completely cut, although those from the smaller private firm Safaricom remain operational.

Internet monitoring group NetBlocks earlier posted on X that network data indicated a sub-national internet shutdown in northern Tigray.

“Last night telecommunications got knocked out,” Duke Burbridge, an American humanitarian worker in Tigray’s capital, Mekelle, told the BBC’s Newsday programme.

The BBC has contacted Ethiopia’s authorities for comment.

Sources have told the Reuters news agency that the group which controls Tigray, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), ordered the communications blackout, with one suggesting it was to disrupt government drones.

The TPLF has not commented.

The BBC is unable to report from Tigray and surrounding areas.

Even before the current disruption, finding video and images to establish what is happening on the ground has been a challenge.

So far, other than footage from Mekelle, most of what has been shared online has been from outside the region.

Burbridge said there had been a scarcity of cash in Tigray for the past eight months, with people unable to access ATMs so the lack of internet services would be “devastating for everybody”.

Many people rely on banking and mobile money applications for transactions, with the majority using Ethio Telecom and Safaricom’s networks to access these services.

On Thursday a Mekelle resident who we are only identifying as Fitsum made a similar point.

He told the BBC “there is almost no cash” in the city.

With the outbreak of war, people were limiting their movements and the city was all quiet – “it’s like a curfew has been placed,” he said.

Clashes between Tigrayan forces and their allies and Ethiopia’s federal troops broke out on Wednesday, prompting fears of a return to a full scale civil war and reports of panic buying.

A humanitarian source in the neighbouring region of Afar told the AFP news agency there was “heavy fighting overnight”, including drone strikes, around the town of Abala in the mountains between Afar and Tigray, as “federal forces pushed the rebels from entering the town”.

There have also been reports of fighting near the town of Lalibela in the Amhara region, which is home to churches hewn out of rock, recognised as a UN World Heritage site. The US has warned against travel to all three regions.

During the two-year conflict which ended in 2022, Tigray was totally cut off from the outside world.

Limited access to cash, food and medicine pushed hundreds of thousands into famine-like conditions.

It was one of the most deadly conflicts this century – with estimates that some 600,000 people died as the fighting drove the region to the precipice of famine.

On Sunday, the TPLF announced an alliance with six other armed groups to oust the government.

On Wednesday, its forces seized control of three airports from federal police.

Following the seizure of the airports, Ethiopian Airlines has cancelled all flights to Tigray.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile, he said this was not the first time authorities had intercepted cocaine or other illicit drugs at the country’s exit or entry points.

“For us as a country, this has not been the very first time we have seen this. We have a large number of cases on narcortics,” he noted.

Mr Twum-Barimah said Ghana had recorded numerous drug seizures in the past and cautioned against treating the latest case as a partisan issue.

“In 2018, 56 kilogrammes of cocaine were intercepted in Ghana; here, in 2019, the same. 2020, 3rd September, at the airport, we had someone bringing in an amount of heroin from Kenya,” he noted.

The remarks follow the seizure of nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine by French customs at the port of Dunkirk.

The drugs were reportedly concealed in a container of plastic waste shipped from Ghana. Six people have appeared before a court in Accra in connection with the case.

The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called for the removal of heads of state agencies responsible for port security, customs and narcotics control, arguing that the shipment raises serious questions about how drugs could leave Ghana undetected.

Also read:

• Majority blames drug trafficking crisis on NACOC’s under-resourcing

• ‘I suspect sabotage’ – Mustapha Gbande on Ghana-linked drug seizures

The unveiling, held at the Devtraco Group headquarters, brought together homeowners, investors, business leaders, strategic partners, and other stakeholders for the official presentation of the development.

Located off Patrice Lumumba Street, Lotus comprises two 12-storey towers connected by a walkway and is positioned by the developer as a premium residential development combining contemporary living, wellness-focused amenities, smart-home technology and property management services.

Speaking to Adom News at the launch, Devtraco Plus Head of Sales Ewurabena Braye described the facilities at Lotus and said the company expects the apartments to appeal to buyers seeking luxury accommodation.

She also outlined what she sees as the project’s investment potential.

She said the development is approximately two minutes from Kotoka International Airport and within close proximity to embassies, international schools, business centres, hospitality facilities, and other amenities in the Airport Residential area.

She said Lotus features a range of amenities designed to support residents’ comfort and lifestyle, including a Zen garden, swimming pool, spa and wellness centre, gymnasium, rooftop lounge and a rooftop multipurpose sports area.

The development also incorporates smart-home technology, concierge services, secure access, car services, and on-site property management.

The Devtraco Plus Sales Manager Billy Tamatey said the development could cater to tourists, business travellers and other visitors to Accra, while also providing an opportunity for property investors.

He stressed that the long-term value of a property depends not only on its construction but also on how it is managed and maintained after completion.

Maintaining a property after construction is essential to preserving its value,” Tamatey said, while highlighting the development’s management and security arrangements.

He added that professional management could help ensure that the property remains properly maintained and attractive to occupants over time.

Devtraco Plus Development Director Sydney Quaye explained that the name Lotus reflects the thought and planning that went into the development.

According to him, the project was carefully planned to achieve the right balance between its size, design, functionality, and pricing.

He said the development was deliberately conceived to offer residents a premium living experience while remaining appropriately sized and competitively positioned within the market.

The launch of Lotus forms part of Devtraco Group’s 30-year history in Ghana’s real estate industry.

Devtraco Group Chief Executive Officer Francis Okoh said Lotus represents an important milestone for the company and reflects its evolving approach to premium residential development.

“Lotus represents an important milestone in our journey and a reflection of how our understanding of premium living continues to evolve,” Okoh said.

He said the company had approached the development with a focus on its location, architecture, amenities, and overall ownership experience.

“Our ambition is to create a landmark that reflects the expectations of today’s discerning buyer while carrying forward the quality and credibility associated with the Devtraco name,” he added.

According to him, this is subject to the airlines meeting the ongoing certification process by the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority.

The Director General of the GCAA disclosed this on PM EXPRESS BUSINESS Edition.

Rev. Arthur noted that “We still have that hope that those currently going through the five phases of certification could be completed on time for them to join the current operators”.

“We are hopeful when all these players come on board, that could go a long way to reduce fares and bring on board the required options for consumers within Ghana”, he added.

He was, however, quick to state that even though his outfit is encouraging more airlines, it will not compromise on safety in the regulator’s quest to stimulate competition in the aviation industry.

There are currently two airlines operating in Ghana’s domestic aviation market, down from the era where there were about five carriers.

Rev Arthur also mentioned other issues that led to some airlines collapsing, but not due to the unfavourable regulatory environment and taxes.

“W could look at lack of capital, board room wranglings, corporate governance issues and possibly cost of aviation fuel”.

High Domestic Fares

On concerns of high domestic airfares, Rev. Arthur said it will be difficult for the regulator to direct the airline on how to price their tickets, “but we believe that with effective regulation, competition and market forces, that could help to reduce prices”.  

The Director-General also revealed moves by the government to recently remove duties and taxes on spare parts for domestic airlines, saying, it is one of several measures being taken to reduce the cost of doing business for these domestic carriers.

He also added that the GCAA is working hard to improve the environment to attract more players, “because we cannot develop all these infrastructures and at the end of the day it is very difficult for people to fly in the country”.

“We are also working to improve the economy around this aviation infrastructure that government is building in the country,” he concluded.

Also read:

• Mahama outlines plans to transform Ho Airport into aviation hub

• Transport Minister urges domestic airlines to reduce fares amid cedi gains

For Saturday’s afternoon celebration, an altar has been built on the Place de la Concorde, and police have sealed off a large area around the Champs-Élysées.

Some 600,000 Catholic faithful are expected to cram the avenue up to the Arc de Triomphe and beyond.

Large crowds are also expected at other stages of the Pope’s itinerary, reflecting an enthusiasm the Church attributes to growing spiritual thirst among the French and other Europeans.

President Emmanuel Macron will greet the Pope at Orly airport on Friday morning, and then hold talks with him at the Élysée Palace on geopolitical issues and artificial intelligence (AI). He will also deliver a speech with the Pope in Metz.

However, the president will not be at any of the Pope’s Masses, largely to avoid breaching France’s strict separation of state and religion.

Instead, his wife Brigitte and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu will attend the Champs-Élysées Mass. Several candidates for next year’s presidential election are also due, including Marine Le Pen of the nationalist right, centrists Edouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal, and conservative Bruno Retailleau.

There were reports of tensions between Macron and the Vatican team sent to make arrangements, with the president allegedly frustrated in his wish for a more ceremonial aspect to the visit.

This was dismissed this week by Élysée officials, who said it was customary to offer a visiting head of state – which the Pope is – a range of high-profile events, such as a cavalry escort down the Champs-Élysées. But they said they never expected the Pope to take the offer up.

They did confirm that Pope Leo turned down Macron’s idea of a meeting with artisans who helped rebuild the fire-devastated Notre-Dame cathedral. They said his agenda was too tight.

After a Popemobile ride through crowds to Notre-Dame Cathedral on Friday afternoon, Pope Leo XIV will be joined in the evening by 80,000 young people at the Stade de France in northern Paris.

On Sunday 150,000 have signed up to attend mass in the Pyrenean sanctuary of Lourdes.

On Monday the Pope will be in Metz, in northeast France, where he will pay tribute to Robert Schuman (1886-1963), a founding father of the European Union and a fervent Catholic who is today a candidate for beatification.

The Pope will also meet a group of migrants in Paris, and in Lourdes some victims of sexual abuse by members of the Catholic clergy.

Born in Chicago in 1955, Pope Leo XIV was originally called Robert Prevost – a French name.

In fact his paternal grandmother was born in Le Havre in Normandy in 1894. When she married in the US many years later, she and her Italian husband took the name Prevost, her mother’s maiden name.

France has a historically complex relationship with the Catholic Church of Rome. The country was long known as the “Eldest Daughter of the Church” because, supposedly but inaccurately, it was the first kingdom to convert to Christianity. Actually, Armenia, Georgia and Ethiopia preceded it.

In the 14th century, the papacy came into exile in Avignon in southern France, and over the following centuries French armies periodically intervened in Italian politics, where popes were secular rulers as well as heads of the Church.

Napoleon held two popes in captivity.

Recent popes have all come to France, most notably John-Paul II, who came several times between 1980 and 2004, and Pope Francis who came three times, but avoided Paris, going instead to Strasbourg, Marseilles and Corsica.

Today France has secularised with the rest of Europe, and less than half of the population identifies as Catholic.

The number of regular worshippers has fallen from 35% of the population in 1960 to less than 5% today, while the number of priests has shrunk by two-thirds from 25,000 in 1990 to fewer than 9,000.

But in recent years there have been signs of a growing interest in religious tradition, with the number of adult baptisms more than doubling in five years to hit 10,000 in 2025.

“France has indeed secularised, but there is a void where God and values used to be,” said Cardinal François Bustillo, Bishop of Ajaccio.

“People are searching for something. Maybe they go to India or Tibet or the Amazon. And now the Pope comes here from Rome, bringing a reminder to people of their own roots.

“It was John-Paul II who awoke the East. Now Leo XIV will awake the West,” he said.

The protest, involving the Senior Staff Union (SSU) and Junior Staff Union (JSU), will take place across all ECG operational regions and end with the presentation of a petition to President John Dramani Mahama.

In a directive signed by SSU National Chairman Christopher Apawu and his JSU counterpart, Lucky Larry Agboka, divisional and branch leaders have been instructed to mobilise members for the exercise.

The petition will be submitted to regional ministers in the various operational areas for onward transmission to the President.

The demonstration is scheduled for 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

In Accra, participants will converge at the forecourt of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), while Kumasi-based workers will assemble at the ECG Regional Office near the Airport Roundabout.

Workers in other regions will gather at their respective ECG regional offices, with the routes to be announced subsequently.

After marching, participants will return to their designated assembly points for a briefing before bringing the exercise to an end.

The planned protest is the latest phase of industrial action announced by the unions earlier this month as they step up opposition to the proposed PSP arrangement.

As part of the ongoing action, ECG workers will continue wearing red armbands until the unions announce the next phase.

The Public Utility Workers Union (PUWU), which is coordinating the demonstration, will lead the nationwide exercise.

The unions said PUWU has also notified the Inspector General of Police of the planned demonstration in line with Section 1(2) of the Public Order Act, 1994 (Act 491).

National and regional committees are expected to coordinate the protest, with further arrangements to be communicated to workers through the relevant structures.

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• Gomoa Potsin in darkness after alleged attack on ECG staff

Mr Frimpong remains in custody in Amsterdam, with his extradition hearing scheduled for November 18, 2026.

Speaking on Accra-based Citi FM, Mr Dafeamekpor said the MP’s legal team had pursued both a substantive bail application and an appeal, but neither was granted.

“The extradition hearing will take place on the 18th of November 2026. He’s still in custody. He’s still in the hands of the Dutch government in Amsterdam. We have done two applications, one substantive, one appeal for his bail, but they all got refused,” he said.

Mr Frimpong was arrested at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam in May 2026 after travelling from Ghana. Parliament subsequently confirmed his detention and said it was engaging Ghana’s diplomatic mission in The Hague for further details.

His detention is linked to allegations involving romance scams and money laundering.

Mr Dafeamekpor said Parliament is now preparing for the substantive extradition hearing in November.

“So we are preparing to deal with the substantive hearing of the matter on the 18th of November,” he said.

He added that Parliament is also preparing a statement on the MP’s current status.

Mr Dafeamekpor has previously urged the media to avoid publishing unverified information about the case, noting that the legal team was still working to obtain official documents relating to Mr Frimpong’s arrest and detention.

Also read:

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• Lawyers file bail application for detained Asante Akyem North MP in Dutch court

In the petition dated Wednesday, September 23, 2026, Mr Awingobit expressed concerns about the location of the development at 10 Giffard Road in the Airport Residential Area, citing its proximity to military, defence and aviation installations.

The project, being developed by Sentuo Group, is expected to feature about 582 premium apartments, a 600-room hotel, a 2,500-capacity conference facility, healthcare facilities, a shopping mall and other commercial and recreational facilities.

Mr Awingobit said his concerns were not about the investment itself or Chinese participation in Ghana’s economy, but rather the strategic location and scale of the proposed development.

“My concern is specifically about the strategic location of this particular development and the possible national-security implications of placing a very large, high-rise, mixed-use private development in close proximity to sensitive national-security, defence and aviation infrastructure,” he said.

Calls for security assessment

The petitioner is asking the government to establish whether the Ghana Armed Forces, Ministry of Defence, National Security, Ghana Police Service, Ghana Civil Aviation Authority and other relevant institutions have undertaken a comprehensive security assessment of the project.

He wants such an assessment to examine the height and design of the proposed structures, technological infrastructure, access arrangements and their potential implications for nearby strategic installations.

Mr Awingobit has also raised questions about the management of surveillance and security systems within the development.

These include CCTV networks, security-control rooms and data infrastructure, as well as the systems that would govern access to sensitive areas and security facilities.

He is calling for appropriate oversight by Ghanaian security agencies over the security arrangements at the complex.

He also wants security personnel who may be deployed to the development to undergo the necessary vetting.

Airport security concerns

Mr Awingobit further wants the government to assess the project’s proximity to Kotoka International Airport and examine potential security scenarios that could arise from its location.

Among his key demands is an immediate suspension of further construction until an independent, multi-agency security assessment is conducted.

He proposed that the assessment involve the Ministry of Defence, Ghana Armed Forces, National Security, Ghana Police Service, Ghana Civil Aviation Authority and Ghana Airports Company Limited.

He is also seeking a strategic land-use review and a counter-surveillance assessment, alongside enhanced checks on beneficial ownership and the source of funds for the project.

Mr Awingobit further called for a review of the proposed tenancy arrangements and mechanisms for vetting future occupants of the development.

‘Not anti-China’

The petitioner stressed that his concerns should not be interpreted as opposition to Chinese investment or the Sentuo Group.

“This petition is not anti-China. It is not anti-investment. It is not an objection to foreign direct investment,” he said.

He argued that Ghana’s pursuit of economic development must be balanced with the protection of national security.

Mr Awingobit is therefore urging President Mahama to direct an immediate and comprehensive national security assessment of the project before additional construction work is undertaken.

He said addressing potential security concerns after the development has been completed could prove more difficult and costly.

The petition, signed by First Deputy Minority Whip and Member of Parliament for Tolon, Habib Iddrisu, invokes Article 112(3) of the 1992 Constitution and Order 53 of the Standing Orders of Parliament.

The Minority says it has secured the constitutionally required 15 per cent of Members of Parliament needed to trigger a request for an extraordinary sitting. Under Article 112(3), the Speaker is required to summon Parliament within seven days of receiving such a request.

At the centre of the petition is the reported seizure by French authorities of nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine at the Port of Dunkirk on September 10, 2026.

According to the Minority, the cocaine was concealed in a container carrying plastic waste that had departed Ghana.

The caucus says the incident raises questions about the security and integrity of Ghana’s ports and export systems, customs controls, intelligence gathering and narcotics enforcement.

The Minority is asking Parliament to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shipment and examine broader institutional and security issues arising from recent narcotics-related incidents.

It wants the House to establish how the container was processed, inspected, cleared and exported from Ghana, as well as the port or facility through which it departed.

The MPs are also seeking information on the companies and institutions involved in processing and clearing the consignment, the progress of investigations and arrests, and the level of cooperation between Ghanaian authorities and their French and other international counterparts.

The petition proposes that officials from the Ministries of Interior, Transport and National Security, together with the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Ghana Immigration Service and National Intelligence Bureau, among other relevant institutions, appear before Parliament.

The Minority also wants Parliament to assess the adequacy of security, scanning, intelligence and surveillance systems at Ghana’s ports, airports and other points of entry and exit.

The petition places the French seizure within the context of other major drug-related incidents since 2025.

These include the reported interception of more than 3.3 tonnes of cocaine at Pedu Junction in Cape Coast in March 2025, as well as another consignment of about 120 slabs of cocaine reportedly intercepted along the Takoradi-Cape Coast Highway.

The Minority also cited the reported seizure of 866 parcels of suspected cocaine at a warehouse within the Tema Harbour enclave in August 2026.

It further referenced the reported seizure by Australian authorities of 320 kilogrammes of methamphetamine concealed in a charcoal consignment traced to Ghana.

According to the Minority, the incidents collectively raise questions about the effectiveness of Ghana’s narcotics enforcement architecture, border controls and institutional coordination.

The MPs have also raised concerns about the progress of investigations into the 2025 Pedu Junction cocaine seizure.

According to the Minority, more than a year after the seizure, only the driver, a housemaid and a small number of other suspects described as peripheral actors have been arraigned and remain on bail.

The caucus is questioning why the alleged financiers and principal traffickers behind the consignment have not been identified or prosecuted.

The Minority says Parliament must examine the depth and effectiveness of investigations into major narcotics trafficking operations and obtain assurances from the relevant institutions on measures being taken to identify the principal actors.

The MPs argue that the issues cannot reasonably await the ordinary resumption of Parliament because of their implications for national security, public safety, Ghana’s international reputation and the integrity of the country’s ports and borders.

They, however, stress that the proposed parliamentary inquiry is not intended to prejudge the guilt of any individual or interfere with ongoing criminal investigations.

Rather, the Minority says the recall would allow Parliament to exercise its constitutional oversight and accountability responsibilities.

It is therefore asking the Speaker to summon Parliament within the constitutionally prescribed period, facilitate parliamentary deliberations and, where appropriate, institute an inquiry into the incidents and the effectiveness of the relevant security, regulatory and narcotics enforcement institutions.

The petition was submitted on behalf of the MPs by Habib Iddrisu, First Deputy Minority Whip and MP for Tolon.

Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, Mr Gbande said the fight against illicit drugs requires the involvement of all stakeholders and should not be reduced to political point-scoring.

His comments follow a press conference by NPP National Organiser, Henry Nana Boakye, who criticised President Mahama over the issue and raised concerns about the potential impact on Ghana’s international reputation.

He claimed that Ghanaian travellers and exporters were increasingly subjected to additional scrutiny at international airports because of concerns over narcotics trafficking.

However, Mr. Gbande, who doubles as the Deputy Director of Operations at the Presidency has emphasised the need for collective action to tackle the illicit trade.

He said if the NPP has evidence concerning the alleged involvement of individuals in drug trafficking, they should make it available to assist the President and security agencies.

“We must all get involved. If Nana B has evidence, he should bring it onboard instead of what he is doing because it will not increase NPP’s votes. The press conference was just noise. There was nothing substantial,” he urged.

He also questioned the NPP’s credibility to lead public discussions on drug trafficking, citing what he described as the party’s record during its eight years in government.

“We know the history and the record of the NPP. In their eight years of government, we know what they did. They should give us a break. NPP doesn’t have cleanliness or a reputation when it comes to drug trafficking,” he added.

Mr Gbande said the current administration should be allowed to handle the matter through the appropriate security and investigative processes without being pushed into making rushed decisions because of political pressure.

“They should give Mahama the opportunity to deal with the issue. There will not be a knee-jerk decision because there is pressure from the NPP. If you have evidence, make it available. Assist the president,” he said.

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The National Organiser Henry Nana Boakye, popularly known as Nana B, made the demand in an interview on Adom FM Dwaso Nsem amidst concerns over a series of major narcotics cases involving Ghana.

“The NPP demands the immediate removal of institutional heads and the ministers they report to. I saw a video where Honourable Muntaka was telling us that it appears the French authorities do not even want to collaborate with authorities here because they have lost confidence in them and that they don’t trust them; this statement alone should have triggered his removal or resignation. It is an indictment on Ghana and the government,” he said

His call follows the September 10 seizure by French customs authorities of nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine concealed in a container carrying plastic waste that had arrived from Ghana at the Port of Dunkirk.

The consignment estimated to be worth about €225 million has raised questions about how it passed through Ghana’s port and security systems without being detected.

Nana B further accused the government of failing to take what he considers adequate action against officials within institutions responsible for preventing and detecting drug trafficking.

“The Director General, Ghana Ports and Habour Authority, he must be sacked. The Director General, Ghana Maritime Authority, this person must be fired. The Chief Executive Officer, Ghana Shippers Authority. This person must go. The Director General, the Nacortics Control Commission and the deputies must all go.

“National Security Coordinator, Director General, National Intelligence Bureau. The Managing Director, Ghana Airport Company Limited. The Commissioner General, the Customs Division, and the CID boss she has really displayed incompetence; all of them must be sacked,” he stated.

He argued that the fact that the shipment was intercepted only after leaving Ghana made the matter particularly serious.

“And the president is pampering them. Your Excellency, Ghana is embarrassed internationally; we need some proactive measures, some drastic measures.

“If we can have such a huge amount of illicit drugs moving freely, escorted by officials through our ports, and we only found out in France, all those officers along the chain of command must be sacked,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Minority in Parliament has also been pushing for the House to be recalled and for a bipartisan inquiry into a series of drug-related cases.

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• NPP cannot win cocaine debate in Ghana – Dafeamekpor

• Nana B calls for parliamentary inquiry into cocaine trafficking concerns

He said the issue should be treated as a national security concern rather than reduced to a political blame game.

Speaking on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, Mr Aboagye said the reported drug seizures linked to Ghana over the past 18 months raise serious questions about the effectiveness of security checks at the country’s ports and airports.

“We are talking about twelve major drug busts in 18 months under this government. The question that remains unanswered is how did anybody move such a quantity of cocaine, which is almost like about 80 bags of cement in a container, through our port without anybody seeing, sighting, or noticing this?” he asked.

His comments follow the reported seizure of nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine at the Port of Dunkirk in France in September 2026.

The drugs, estimated to be worth €225 million, were reportedly concealed in a container carrying plastic waste shipped from Ghana. The Narcotics Control Commission subsequently announced the arrest of three people in connection with the consignment.

The incident followed the seizure of 866 parcels of substances suspected to be cocaine at a warehouse within the Tema Harbour enclave on August 5, 2026. The consignment, reportedly valued at $6.9 million, was allegedly concealed in sacks of gari.

According to him, several of the major consignments were intercepted outside Ghana after passing through the country’s ports.

“Most of these busts, those with major, the huge sums, were arrested outside the country after the cocaine had gone through the ports,” he said.

Mr Aboagye said the government must provide answers instead of pointing to similar incidents under previous administrations.

“If you don’t have an answer to that question and your response is that a certain government that has gone and has left, has been voted out, also did same, so what should we do with that information?” he asked.

He warned that Ghana’s reputation and the treatment of Ghanaian travellers could be affected if the country is increasingly associated with international drug trafficking.

“If we don’t deal with this matter… you will get to Heathrow Airport, you will get to an airport in Paris, and you will spend three, four hours simply because you have a Ghanaian passport,” Mr Aboagye stated.

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According to him, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government promised Ghanaians improved governance and should therefore be doing better in tackling the growing drug trafficking concerns.

Speaking in an interview on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen, Mr Kodua said the frequency and scale of the reported seizures suggested that drug trafficking had become a commercial venture involving sophisticated networks.

“When a government comes to power, it is expected to do better than the previous government. The NDC promised Ghanaians a better Ghana.

“The magnitude at which this drug bust is going on, you can see that it is like people have turned it into a commercial venture. And it is the NDC government that is in power. What are they doing about it?” he questioned.

Mr Kodua claimed that there had been about 12 major drug busts within 18 months of the current administration and questioned whether the authorities were able to identify those behind the shipments.

He suggested that the scale of the operations raised questions about possible failures or complicity within institutions responsible for monitoring Ghana’s ports, airports and other entry points.

“Are they trying to say they cannot identify the people involved in such activities? People involved are in higher authorities because who is giving clearance for the cargos and the big trucks that these drugs are trafficked through?” he asked.

Mr Kodua further called on President John Mahama to scrutinise his appointees and ensure that officials whose institutions are responsible for preventing drug trafficking are held accountable where necessary.

“The President should check on his appointees. There are people in higher authorities behind this,” he alleged.

He also criticised the continued presence of some heads of state institutions, including those responsible for the ports, airports and policing, arguing that large consignments of cocaine could not pass through such facilities without raising questions about oversight.

Mr Kodua said the NPP would continue to put pressure on the government until what he described as the right measures were taken to address the problem.

“These issues are synonymous with the NDC, and the NPP is ready to fight against it. We will be on their necks till the right thing is done,” he said.

He also accused the government of diverting the attention of the security agencies toward members of the NPP instead of focusing on national security threats.

“The security agencies must redirect their focus to tackle national issues, not attacking NPP members. The NDC has lost its focus,” he added.

His comments follow the reported seizure of nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine at the Port of Dunkirk in France in September 2026.

The drugs, estimated to be worth €225 million, were reportedly concealed in a container carrying plastic waste shipped from Ghana. Ghana’s Narcotics Control Commission subsequently announced the arrest of three people in connection with the consignment.

The incident came weeks after the seizure of 866 parcels of substances suspected to be cocaine at a warehouse within the Tema Harbour enclave on August 5, 2026.

The consignment, reportedly valued at $6.9 million, was allegedly concealed in sacks of gari.

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He said Parliament must investigate the circumstances surrounding recent narcotics interceptions and examine whether weaknesses in Ghana’s port and security systems are allowing illicit drugs to pass through the country.

Speaking at an NPP press conference on drug trafficking, Nana B criticised President John Dramani Mahama over the issue and raised concerns about the potential impact on Ghana’s international reputation.

“Mr. President, you promised Ghanaians a 24-hour economy. You did not promise 24-hour cocaine trafficking,” he said.

According to Nana B, reports of drug trafficking associated with Ghana could have consequences for ordinary citizens who travel or conduct business abroad.

He claimed that Ghanaian travellers and exporters were increasingly subjected to additional scrutiny at international airports because of concerns over narcotics trafficking.

“Remember, Ghanaians, if you can, how a government elected on the promise of jobs and prosperity has instead delivered a country whose name now triggers extra searches, extra suspicion and extra humiliation for every innocent Ghanaian traveller,” he said.

Nana B further alleged that exporters from Ghana were facing heightened suspicion at international points of entry as a result of the reported drug trafficking cases.

“At every airport in the world, Ghanaian exporters are now treated with suspicion. Ghanaian travellers now carry a stigma they did not create,” he added.

He argued that Parliament had a responsibility to establish the facts surrounding the reported interceptions and shipments allegedly connected to Ghana.

“In the light of this, the New Patriotic Party demands an immediate parliamentary inquiry, as already stated,” Nana B said.

He called for Parliament to scrutinise shipping documents, inspection records, production records and other relevant documentation as part of the proposed inquiry.

His comments follow the interception by French authorities of a large consignment of suspected cocaine believed to have been shipped from Ghana.

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NPP alleges drug laboratories operating in Ghana under Mahama’s watch

The Bishops said the recent seizure of nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine in France, allegedly concealed in a container of plastic waste from Ghana, underscored the need for stronger surveillance and accountability at the country’s ports, airports and borders.

In a statement, the Conference called for thorough investigations to establish how such a large consignment allegedly passed through legitimate commercial channels.

The Bishops commended the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) and other state agencies involved in combating the drug trade, while urging continued cooperation with French authorities to uncover the full extent of the trafficking network.

They also welcomed President John Dramani Mahama’s formation of an inter-agency task force to tackle the movement of narcotic drugs through Ghana’s ports, airports and borders.

The Conference said the Dunkirk seizure should be viewed within the context of a wider national problem, citing other narcotics interceptions linked to Ghana in recent years.

It also expressed concern over the alleged involvement of people in positions of trust, including public officials and, regrettably, members of the Church.

“The fight must include anyone who abuses public trust to facilitate the movement of illicit substances,” the statement said.

The Bishops further urged investigators to look beyond couriers and identify the financiers and principal traffickers behind the trade.

“A pattern in which couriers are prosecuted while the networks that finance them escape scrutiny is the failure any credible national response must overcome,” the Conference said.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Mr Dafeamekpor listed a series of drug seizures and arrests recorded in Ghana and involving Ghanaians or foreign nationals between 2017 and 2024.

He cited cases involving cocaine and heroin seizures at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), Ghana Post and other locations, as well as a major cocaine seizure in Nsawam in 2008.

Mr Dafeamekpor also referenced a January 2009 US Department of State report which described Ghana as a transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly cocaine from South America and heroin from Afghanistan and Pakistan.

He said the report noted that drugs transited through Accra’s Kotoka International Airport to Europe and the United States, while also contributing to domestic drug consumption.

The South Dayi MP used the cases to argue that drug trafficking is a longstanding national challenge that predates the current administration.

He called for a national approach to tackling the menace rather than partisan exchanges.

“So let’s stop the politics and support Govt efforts to fight the drug menace as a Nation.”

He added: “We were declared a drug trafficking hub under an NPP Govt in 2008.”

The arrest was made by the South African Police Service (SAPS), with support from the Border Management Authority (BMA), during an intelligence-led operation on Sunday, September 20, 2026.

According to SAPS, the suspect had just arrived from Accra when he was intercepted by police at the airport.

A search of his luggage allegedly led to the discovery of bullet-like objects and blocks containing substances suspected to be heroin.

The suspected drugs have an estimated street value of more than R2 million, equivalent to over GH¢1.4 million or $120,000.

The latest arrest brings to three the number of suspected drug mules arrested at OR Tambo International Airport within the past three weeks, according to SAPS.

The suspect is expected to appear before the Kempton Park Magistrates’ Court later this week to face drug trafficking-related charges.

Investigations are ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding the suspected drugs and whether the suspect is connected to a wider drug trafficking network.

SAPS says it will continue to intensify intelligence-led and targeted operations to disrupt drug trafficking syndicates and prevent the movement of illicit drugs through the country’s ports of entry.

The amount was the single largest expenditure item and accounted for more than half of the operation’s total cost, according to a detailed financial breakdown provided in response to a Right to Information (RTI) request submitted by the Minority in Parliament.

The exercise brought 1,964 Ghanaians home between 27 May and 4 September 2026.

Documents detailing the expenditure show that GH¢27,183,700 was spent specifically on chartered flights.

An additional GH¢9,420,463.68 went towards commercial airline tickets and layover expenses, bringing the amount spent directly on air transportation to more than GH¢36.6 million.

The remaining expenditure covered emergency assistance and logistics required to complete the operation.

In this report, Myjoyonline explained how every cedi was spent during the exercise.

Ground transportation, food and accommodation

According to the breakdown, GH¢997,644 was spent on ground transportation in South Africa, while food cost GH¢634,349.99.

Hotel accommodation accounted for GH¢141,797.86, with GH¢20,148 spent on medical services and hospitalisation.

The operation also incurred communication expenses of GH¢153,728.09. This covered airtime and internet data for community outreach, as well as the establishment of an evacuation centre to coordinate the movement of returnees to the airport.

Printing expenses totalled GH¢98,151 and covered directional signs and passport photographs required for emergency travel certificates.

Another GH¢162,917.76 was spent on logistics, including the rental of chairs and tables for screening exercises, mobile toilets, handwashing basins and luggage-weighing scales. It also covered fumigation of the Chancery, cleaning and refuse collection.

The repatriation and autopsies of two deceased Ghanaian nationals cost GH¢84,274, while GH¢22,610.84 was recorded as miscellaneous expenditure.

GH¢10.8m spent on reintegration allowances

One of the largest expenditure categories after air transportation was the GH¢10.802 million spent on reintegration and transportation allowances.

Each returnee received a GH¢5,000 reintegration grant and a GH¢500 travel and transportation allowance, amounting to GH¢5,500 per person.

The government said the payments were intended to provide immediate assistance and help the returnees resettle after their experiences in South Africa.

The official account also indicates that psychologists and trauma counsellors were deployed to provide support upon arrival and within the returnees’ communities.

The evacuees received free medical screening, National Health Insurance Scheme registration, SIM cards loaded with data and airtime, and food packages.

The International Organization for Migration, the National Disaster Management Organisation and the Ghana Red Cross Society also provided psychosocial assistance, logistics, hot meals and water.

The Church of Pentecost provided accommodation for affected Ghanaians in Pretoria, Kempton Park and Johannesburg.

Government and private company financed operation

The Government of Ghana contributed GH¢33,721,786 towards the operation, while Engineers and Planners, owned by businessman Ibrahim Mahama, provided GH¢16 million.

The government said the entire evacuation bill had been settled, with no outstanding liabilities.

Four-month operation ends

The evacuation began on 27 May 2026, with the initial flights prioritising vulnerable groups, including children, older people, women and those requiring medical attention.

The final group of 41 evacuees arrived in Accra on 4 September, bringing the four-month exercise to an end.

The government described the evacuation as an emergency response to deteriorating security conditions and growing anti-foreigner sentiment in parts of South Africa.

The expenditure breakdown comes as the Minority seeks documentary evidence supporting the government’s financial account.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry has also requested a special audit of government-funded evacuation exercises undertaken since 2017, including the COVID-19, Ukraine, Sudan and South Africa operations.

The latest disclosure provides the most comprehensive account yet of how the GH¢49.72 million spent on the South Africa evacuation was allocated.

Other important documents are below.

The 50-year-old was born in the West African nation but subsequently represented France as a player, winning the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championship with Les Bleus.

The former Arsenal midfielder spoke of his “immense pride” to begin his first international job, following stints with New York City, Nice, Crystal Palace, Strasbourg and Genoa, at his unveiling by the Teranga Lions on Friday.

“Being head coach of the Senegal national team is an absolute dream,” he told a news conference in Dakar.

“I was born here, my parents were born here, and it really is a homecoming.

“From the very first meetings I had with the [Senegal football federation] president, I accepted this challenge straight away, because there was also an exceptional generation of players.

“I realise the expectations of the people – all 20 million Senegalese. And I know that with the experience I have, with the determination I have, I’ll be able to see this project through.”

Taking over after the dismissal of Pape Thiaw, Vieira inherits a Senegal side which exited the 2026 World Cup in dramatic fashion in the last 32, throwing away a 2-0 lead after 85 minutes against Belgium before losing 3-2 following extra time.

Before that, the Teranga Lions claimed the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) title with a 1-0 extra-time win over Morocco in January.

However, the ultimate destination of the trophy will be decided by the Court of Arbitration for Sport after a walk-off by some Senegal players and staff protesting against a penalty decision in the final, resulting in the trophy being handed to the North African hosts instead in March.

“Today, Senegal is among the major nations in world football,” Vieira said.

“Senegal’s objectives aren’t what they were 10 or 15 years ago. On the back of its recent results, Senegal has moved forward and has reached new levels.

“The demand for results has also stepped up. We need to lay solid foundations.”

Vieira plans to build a side with “a very precise structure” which can play with “intensity and aggression”.

“What matters to me isn’t starting again from scratch,” he added.

“It’s about respecting what the federation has put in place over the last few years and building the next stage, opening a new chapter.

“A new chapter means my job isn’t to tear everything down; it isn’t to throw everything out of the window.

“It’s about keeping this team’s strength: its identity, its unity, its ability to suffer together.

“To make this project work, I’ll need the whole nation united. I’ll work heart and soul to restore the team’s pride.”

Starting with two away trips

Vieira has been thrust straight into competitive action in qualifiers for the 2027 Afcon with two fixtures in this international window, two more in November and the final two rounds in March 2027.

His stint in charge was due to begin with a home match against Mozambique on Friday, 25 September, but the fixture has been reversed as Dakar is in the midst of preparations for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games.

“Of course, I’d have preferred to play the first match here in Dakar, but unfortunately, with the federation, we all felt the best decision was to postpone the match and go and play in Mozambique,” Vieira explained.

“Those are difficulties we’re going to accept and deal with.”

Senegal will be without several notable names for the trip to Maputo and the subsequent away game against Ethiopia on 29 September.

Long-time number one Edouard Mendy, 34, has retired from Teranga Lions duty and Vieira said talismanic forward Sadio Mane will be absent with “a bit of a physical issue”.

Despite previous speculation that Mane, also 34, could follow Mendy into retirement, Vieira said the former Liverpool and Bayern Munich man will “surely” be part of his next selection, fitness permitting.

Right-back Krepin Diatta has been left out because he is currently without a club, while forward Ismaila Sarr, who is yet to feature for Crystal Palace this season because of transfer speculation and a groin injury, is also absent.

‘No doubt’ about his managerial ability

Vieira’s career as a player was trophy-laden but he has found the same kind of success hard to come by as a manager.

He departed Palace in March 2023 with a record of 22 wins from 74 games in all competitions and, after a season at Strasbourg, has been out of work since being sacked by Genoa in November last year with the Italian club bottom of the table.

He had guided them to safety in Serie A in the 2024-25 campaign but was then dismissed after six defeats in nine league games at the start of last season.

“When you talk about my coaching career, or a certain amount of experience, I’ve always been someone who stays positive,” Vieira said.

“That means you learn, and there are always positive things to take from it. I’m a better coach today than I was in my last spell at Genoa, because that experience helped me grow and made me realise certain things.

“Given the experience I have as a manager, I’ve got no doubt about my ability to meet the expectations of fans.”

Vieira was warmly received when he arrived in Dakar on Thursday evening, with video clips posted on social media showing him holding a Senegal flag aloft while shaking hands with a throng of fans gathered at the capital’s airport.

“I couldn’t have been given a warmer welcome. I saw the supporters’ enthusiasm, and I thank them for it.

“Taking charge of this national team isn’t just a new stage in my career – it’s coming back home.”

The petition, signed by the First Deputy Minority Whip and MP for Tolon, Habib Iddrisu, invokes Article 112(3) of the 1992 Constitution and Order 53 of Parliament’s Standing Orders.

The Minority says it has the support of the required 15 percent of MPs, so the Speaker must summon the House within seven days.

The caucus says the recent seizure of cocaine concealed in a container of plastic waste from Ghana at the Port of Dunkirk earlier this month raises serious questions about port security, customs controls, intelligence gathering, and narcotics enforcement.

It wants Parliament to find out how the container was processed, inspected, cleared, and exported, and which port it left through.

It’s also asking about which companies and institutions handled the consignment, how far investigations and arrests have gone, and how closely Ghanaian authorities are working with their French and other foreign counterparts.

The Minority wants the Ministers responsible for Interior, Transport, and National Security to appear before Parliament, along with the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), the Ghana Immigration Service, and the National Intelligence Bureau.

It also wants Parliament to examine how the financiers and organisers behind big trafficking operations are identified, and whether scanning and surveillance at ports, airports, and other entry and exit points are adequate.

The caucus cited other incidents since 2025 which include more than 3.3 tonnes of cocaine seized at Pedu Junction in March 2025, another consignment of about 120 slabs, and 866 parcels of suspected cocaine found at a warehouse in the Tema Harbour enclave in August 2026.

It also cited the seizure of 320kg of methamphetamine by Australian customs in June 2026, in a charcoal consignment traced to Ghana. By the Minority‘s count, high-profile seizures linked to Ghana under the current administration are worth more than US$1 billion in less than two years.

The caucus also criticised the pace of the Pedu Junction case, saying only the driver, a housemaid, and a few peripheral suspects have been arraigned, and they remain on bail after a whole year. The financiers and principal traffickers are still unidentified.

The Minority says the matters “cannot reasonably await the ordinary resumption of Parliament”.

It stressed that the inquiry would not interfere with ongoing criminal investigations or prejudge anyone. It says the recall would let Parliament carry out its oversight duty and protect the national interest.

Parliament was last recalled in August 2026, at the request of President John Dramani Mahama, to consider urgent government business.

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According to a wanted-person notice issued by the Police, Ms Kodua is female, fair in complexion and was last seen at the Accra International Airport on August 4, 2022.

The Police said she is suspected to be hiding in the United Kingdom.

The Service has appealed to members of the public who may have information on her whereabouts to report to the nearest police station.

The Police also provided a contact number, 0500100010, for anyone with information that could assist in locating her.

Members of the public can also access information through the Ghana Police Service’s official website and social media platforms.

The Police urged anyone with relevant information to cooperate with the Service.

The review is being undertaken by the Ministry of Roads and Highways in collaboration with the Department of Urban Roads.

President Mahama explained that the growing number of residential, commercial, hospitality and other developments in the area would place additional pressure on the existing road infrastructure.

Speaking at the sod-cutting ceremony for the $1.3 billion Sentuo Airport Garden City project on Tuesday, September 15, he said government was already taking steps to ensure the road network keeps pace with the area’s development.

“I want to announce that the Ministry of Roads and Highways and Urban Roads have started looking at the road network in the airport enclave and the central business district. Because as developments like this come up, definitely the traffic congestion will also grow,” he said.

The President said the review would explore a number of measures to improve traffic flow, including widening existing roads and introducing one-way systems on some routes.

“And so we need to widen the roads, create a system of one-ways, and improve the road network,” he added.

His comments come against the backdrop of increasing investment and infrastructure development around the Airport area.

The $1.3 billion Sentuo Airport Garden City project is expected to feature premium apartments, a 600-room hotel, a 2,500-capacity conference facility, healthcare facilities, a shopping mall, as well as other commercial and leisure amenities.

President Mahama said the planned road interventions are intended to ensure that public infrastructure within the Airport enclave develops alongside the growing scale of private and public sector investments.

He stressed the need for proactive planning to prevent emerging developments from worsening congestion and putting excessive pressure on existing road infrastructure.

President John Dramani Mahama has raised the prospect of a future national honour for Sentuo Group Executive Chairman Mr Xu Ningquan, citing his investments in Ghana and continued commitment to the country.

Speaking at the ceremonial sod-cutting for Sentuo Airport Garden City in Accra on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, the President commended the chairman and the Group’s management for their confidence in Ghana and their decision to expand their investments.

“Mr Xu, if you haven’t got a national honour yet, I’m considering you for one in the future for your investment in Ghana,” President Mahama said.

The remark concerned a possible future honour, conditional on whether the chairman had already received one. The President did not announce a specific award or a date for its conferment in the address.

‘He has made Ghana his number one home’

President Mahama recalled visiting Fujian, the chairman’s home province in China, and described Mr Xu’s investments as an expression of his long-term attachment to Ghana.

“But he has made Ghana his number one home,” the President said.

He noted that the Airport Garden City ceremony followed an earlier sod-cutting for Phase II of the Sentuo refinery. The President also said the chairman had told him of plans to establish a fertiliser production plant in Ghana to serve farmers.

In his own address, Mr Xu traced Sentuo’s confidence in the country to years of working with Ghanaian employees, entrepreneurs and institutions. He cited the Group’s investments in steel, ceramics and oil refining as evidence of its commitment to patient investment and local partnerships. Sentuo Airport Garden City Critical information for the presidential opening and sod-cutting speech .docx

Investment must deliver Ghanaian opportunities

The President described Airport Garden City, according to the project brief presented to him, as a proposed $1.3 billion development. The planned facilities include residential apartments, a hotel, conferencing, healthcare, shopping, landscaped gardens and supporting commercial and leisure amenities.

His commendation of the investor was accompanied by a clear expectation that the development’s value should be measured by its contribution to the economy and the opportunities it delivers to Ghanaians, rather than the scale of its buildings alone.

“I therefore encourage the developers to treat local content not merely as a regulatory obligation, but as a central measure of the project’s success,” he said.

President Mahama called for Ghanaian engineers, architects, artisans, technicians, suppliers and other businesses to participate meaningfully in construction. Young people, he added, should benefit from apprenticeships, practical training and deliberate skills transfer.

Mr Xu, in his address, projected that the development would employ more than 3,000 people, with Ghanaians forming the majority of its workforce. He also said international specialists would be expected to share knowledge with Ghanaian colleagues so that the expertise developed through the project remains in the country. Sentuo Airport Garden City Critical information for the presidential opening and sod-cutting speech .docx

The chairman presented the development, branded “The Garden Above Accra”, as a community intended to strengthen the capital’s appeal for business, tourism and urban living. Sentuo Airport Garden City Critical information for the presidential opening and sod-cutting speech .docx

President Mahama urged the developers, consultants and contractors to uphold the required standards and work towards timely completion. He said the most important milestone would come when the development was operational and providing the benefits promised.

“The most significant occasion will be the day we return when it has been completed, fully operational, and delivering the promised benefits,” he said.

Beyond occupied apartments, hotel guests and major conferences, the President said he wanted to see tangible progress in the lives of Ghanaians.

“More importantly, I look forward to meeting Ghanaian businesses that have grown because of this project, young people who have acquired useful skills, and workers whose livelihoods have improved because of this investment,” he said.

He said government would continue to create a stable and investor-friendly environment to enable businesses to establish, expand and thrive, but investors must also ensure that their activities contribute to the country’s broader economic development.

President Mahama made the call at the ceremonial sod-cutting of the $1.3 billion Sentuo Airport Garden City Project in Accra.

According to him, the impact of major investments should be assessed not only by the scale of infrastructure delivered but also by the jobs, business opportunities and skills they create for Ghanaians.

“Government is ready to work with investors who make long-term commitments to Ghana. We will continue to strengthen the business environment and support investments that contribute meaningfully to our country’s development.

“In return, we expect investors to fully comply with our laws, uphold the highest standards, and create genuine opportunities for Ghanaian businesses and workers to participate,” he said.

The President stressed the need for local enterprises to be integrated into major investment projects, particularly through contracts and supply opportunities.

He said Ghanaian engineers, architects, artisans, technicians and suppliers should be given adequate opportunities to contribute to the execution of such developments.

President Mahama also urged investors to support young people through apprenticeships, practical training and skills transfer to equip them with expertise that could benefit them beyond individual projects.

He said such an approach would ensure that major investments deliver broader economic benefits and strengthen local capacity while supporting Ghana’s long-term development.

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He said government is focused on creating a conducive business environment that will attract investors and support projects capable of driving national development.

Speaking at the sod-cutting ceremony for the Sentuo Airport Garden City Project on Tuesday, September 15, Mr Ibrahim urged investors to take advantage of Ghana’s strategic position and the opportunities available in the country.

He described Ghana as the “gateway to Africa” and said the country remained committed to working with the private sector to accelerate development.

“Ghana is the home of investors and is the most attractive place. The heart of the world, all investors are welcome. We are in business,” he said.

The Minister noted that public-private partnerships would remain an important part of government’s strategy to address the country’s infrastructure and housing challenges.

He said increased private sector investment, supported by government initiatives, would be essential to expanding housing delivery and improving access to decent accommodation.

Mr Ibrahim also expressed optimism that the collaboration between government and private developers would contribute significantly to reducing Ghana’s housing deficit, currently estimated at about 1.8 million housing units.

He said government is working towards substantially narrowing the gap in the coming years, with the potential of reducing the deficit to below one million units.

The Minister therefore encouraged investors to explore opportunities in Ghana and partner with government in delivering projects that meet the country’s growing housing and infrastructure needs.

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He said the development could enable Ghana’s capital to compete for high-profile gatherings, including conferences organised by the United Nations.

President Mahama made the remarks on Tuesday during the ceremonial sod-cutting for the Sentuo Airport Garden City Project.

According to him, Accra has previously lost opportunities to host major international conferences because the city lacked sufficient accommodation and facilities to cater for large numbers of international participants.

“We will have enough hotel rooms. We will have enough conference facilities to be able to host even a UN conference here in Accra,” he said.

The President recalled instances where Accra was overlooked in favour of other cities because of the infrastructure gap, citing Dakar in Senegal as one of the beneficiaries of an international event that could have been held in Ghana.

He described the situation as unfortunate and stressed the need for increased investment in hospitality and conference infrastructure to enable Accra to take advantage of such opportunities.

President Mahama said the Sentuo project forms part of the wider development taking place around the airport enclave, with public and private investments expected to transform the area into a more attractive commercial and business destination.

He noted that Accra continues to receive increasing numbers of business travellers, tourists and participants in international events, making the expansion of accommodation and conference facilities necessary.

Beyond attracting visitors to the capital, President Mahama urged stakeholders to develop strategies that would encourage tourists and business travellers to extend their stay and visit other parts of the country.

He said such movement would spread the economic benefits of tourism to transport operators, hotels, restaurants, artisans, farmers, workers and communities outside Accra.

The Sentuo Airport Garden City Project is expected to provide a mix of hospitality, residential, healthcare, commercial and leisure facilities.

Among the key components is a 600-room hotel and a conference facility capable of accommodating approximately 2,500 people, alongside residential apartments and other amenities.

President Mahama said the project would therefore provide critical infrastructure for Ghana’s tourism and hospitality industry while creating opportunities for businesses and workers.

He expressed optimism that the development would strengthen Accra’s competitiveness and improve Ghana’s prospects of securing major international conferences and business events.

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The project comprises about 582 premium apartments, a 500-room hotel, a conference facility for 2,500 people, healthcare facilities, a shopping mall, gardens, 503 parking bays in a four-storey apartment building, and supporting commercial and leisure amenities.

Speaking at the ceremony on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, President Mahama said the project formed part of efforts to position Accra as one of Africa’s leading cities for business, tourism and quality urban living.

“Our message to the world is clear: Ghana is open for investment. Ghana is ready for partnership. Ghana is building for the future,” he said.

He commended Sentuo Group and its Executive Chairman, Mr Xu Ningquan, for bringing the project forward. He urged the developers to deliver the project as proposed and to involve Ghanaian partners.

“The scale of the proposal carries a responsibility to deliver well, work with Ghanaian partners and build facilities that serve their users and the surrounding community for many years.”

“The opportunity reaches across our economy. Construction can create work for engineers, artisans and technicians. Hospitality can support chefs, housekeepers, suppliers and transport operators. Conferences can bring business to event organisers, creative professionals, restaurants and local enterprises. These are the connections that must guide how we plan and deliver investment,” the president said.

Linking the project to his government’s “Reset” agenda and its 24-Hour Economy ambition, Mahama said sectors such as aviation, hospitality and events could sustain activity across different working hours if backed by dependable services and professional management.

He also renewed an appeal to Ghanaians in the diaspora and international investors to invest in the country’s property and tourism sectors.

“A successful tourism economy gives people reasons to stay longer, explore more widely and participate in the life of the country. Property investment can support that ambition through well-managed accommodation, homes and businesses that remain active throughout the year.

“That is the property-owning tourism economy we should aspire to build: one in which hospitality, responsible property investment and local enterprise reinforce each other. Ghanaians at home, our diaspora and international investors all have a part to play. We welcome participation in accordance with Ghana’s laws, with clear rights, transparent transactions and respect for the communities in which development takes place.”

The Sentuo Airport Garden City sod-cutting ceremony comes weeks after the president launched a seven-storey development comprising 2,030 parking bays, two hotels and commercial facilities at the airport. The project is being financed through the Ghana Airports Company Limited’s own balance sheet.

Mahama said government would measure progress on such projects by the jobs created, Ghanaian contracts awarded, skills developed and facilities brought into use.

“Ghana is open. Accra is rising. Let us build that future together,” he said.

In a Facebook post addressed directly to the President, Mr Awuku asked whether the affected state institutions now operate independently of their ministries.

He specifically questioned why the Ghana Maritime Authority, Ghana Shippers’ Authority and Ghana Airports Company Limited, all under the Ministry of Transport, would attend without Transport Minister Joseph Bukari Nikpe.

He raised a similar concern regarding the Ghana Police Service and the Narcotics Control Commission, both under the Ministry of the Interior, questioning the absence of Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak.

“The growing concern about Ghana being used as a transit point for illicit drugs is too serious for us to treat it as an optics exercise,” Mr Awuku wrote, pressing further on accountability: “After this meeting, who exactly is expected to supervise and drive the implementation of the decisions reached? Are we creating another layer of coordination when the Ministers who have direct responsibility for these institutions are not at the table?”

The meeting, scheduled for Thursday, September 17, at 12:30 p.m. at Jubilee House, was convened via an invitation issued on behalf of the President and signed by Secretary to the President Dr Callistus Mahama, dated September 14.

It brings together security, intelligence, customs, ports and aviation authorities to examine vulnerabilities that could be allowing narcotics and other illicit substances to pass through Ghana’s borders.

Each invited institution has been directed to be represented by its head and no more than one relevant technical officer.

The meeting follows the seizure of nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine by French customs authorities from a container shipped from Ghana, a development that has renewed concerns about the country’s role in international narcotics trafficking.

Discussions are expected to focus on identifying weaknesses in Ghana’s current security arrangements and developing practical measures to prevent traffickers from exploiting gaps at the country’s ports, airports and land borders.

Speaking further on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Tuesday, September 15, Mr Awuku expanded on his concerns, arguing that the two affected ministries have direct oversight of agencies responsible for border security, ports, airports and narcotics control, and should therefore have been part of the meeting.

“We are in crisis essentially with Ghana becoming a major transit point as far as these illicit drugs and drug-related cases are concerned,” he said.

He also voiced support for a bipartisan parliamentary probe into recent narcotics trafficking incidents involving Ghana as a transit point, urging government and relevant institutions to treat the matter as a national credibility and security concern rather than one of public perception.

The Presidency has not yet publicly responded to Mr Awuku’s concerns. According to its own framing of the meeting, the gathering is meant to bring together key institutions involved in Ghana’s border management, maritime security, customs operations, intelligence and narcotics control, with participants expected to identify security gaps and propose practical countermeasures.

A years-long investigation has revealed that the Auditor-General’s special audit into Ghana’s COVID-19 expenditure significantly understated a major cost incurred across multiple ministries.

Evidence gathered points to a deliberate omission of hundreds of millions of cedis spent by entire ministries.

The special audit was carried out in late 2022 upon the request of then Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta, who has been charged with corruption and corruption-related offences for his role in the SML scandal and is now fighting his extradition from the United States to face justice in Ghana.

In a letter dated July 14, 2022, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta requested the Auditor-General to conduct a special audit of “COVID-19 expenditures by ministries, departments and agencies for the period 2020 to June 2022.”

Mr Ken Ofori-Atta requested that the audit be completed within three months. The special audit report was dated December 30, 2022.

In the special audit, the Auditor-General revealed that Ghana sourced GH¢21.8 billion “from the Contingency Fund, the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the European Union (EU) and the sale of BOG-COVID-19 Bonds for the 2020, 2021 and 2022 Fiscal Years to finance the Coronavirus Alleviation Programme and implementation of the Ghana COVID-19 Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan, as well as Budgetary Support.”

One of the audit objectives, as stated by the Auditor-General in its report, was to “ascertain whether the financial records fairly present the COVID-19 fund receipts and payments.”

This investigation, however, has revealed that the special audit failed to accurately present how much the government spent on the COVID-19 pandemic. The investigation focused on fumigation, a major government intervention in Ghana’s fight against COVID-19.

The audit significantly understated the cost of multiple fumigation exercises despite having information on the expenses incurred by the ministries that carried out the exercise.

The Auditor-General’s special audit stated the “cost of fumigation” as GHS 96 million ($8.7 million).

This investigation, which covered three ministries — Education, Transport and Local Government — revealed that Ghana spent at least GHS 780 million (about $70 million) on COVID-19 fumigation.

The Auditor-General’s figure represents only about 12% of the total expenditure on COVID-19 fumigation.

The expenditure could be higher, as other state agencies also carried out COVID-19 fumigation exercises. The police, prisons, and the military, as well as other ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs), also carried out COVID-19 fumigation and disinfection exercises.

Of the GHS 780 million COVID-19 fumigation expenditure this investigation uncovered, about GHS 775 million (99.4%) went to one company, Zoomlion Ghana Limited.

Prior to the COVID-19 fumigations, both the activity and the company that undertook it, Zoomlion Ghana Limited, had been indicted in major corruption and corruption-related probes.

Zoomlion had been flagged by multiple state agencies, including the Auditor-General. The World Bank, for instance, blacklisted Zoomlion Ghana Limited in the past for admitting to paying bribes.

The Auditor-General had described Zoomlion in 2019 as a “fraudulent drain on the country” after uncovering malfeasance in another shady, multi-year fumigation contract awarded to the company by the Ministry of Health.

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Zoomlion already had multiple fumigation contracts covering all of Ghana, which the state paid for separately.

A December 2025 report submitted to cabinet by three ministers describes Zoomlion’s capture of the sanitation sector as a national “security risk.”

The cabinet report, signed by the Minister for Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson; the Minister for Local Government, Ahmed Ibrahim; and the Minister for Youth Development and Empowerment, George Opare-Addo, said:

“This discomfort seeps through as you read [Zoomlion’s] contract after contract in various spheres of the sanitation landscape, giving the impression of an autocratic monopoly that should not be accepted in a democratic state. As indicated, this poses a security risk to the country.”

Dated December 17, 2025, the “secret” report was submitted to the cabinet, which is chaired by President John Mahama. The president set up the inter-ministerial committee following previous investigations and a 2025 petition by this reporter.

Current Investigation

This current investigation into the understatement by the Auditor-General uncovered findings backed by contract documents, Public Procurement Authority (PPA) approval and ratification letters, the Ministry of Finance Budget Statement to Parliament, as well as responses to right to information (RTI) requests made to the three ministries, the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) and the Ghana Audit Service.

As this report reveals, the scientists instrumental in Ghana’s COVID-19 response said Ghana’s fumigation efforts were ineffective in the fight against COVID-19. Even if fumigation had been necessary, this investigation provides evidence that Ghana had multiple fumigation and disinfection contracts covering every district in the country, which could have been redirected to fight the pandemic.

Understatement of Fumigation Expenditure

In the special audit of the Government of Ghana’s COVID-19 expenditure, the Auditor-General stated GH¢152,491,616 under the heading, “The cost of quarantine and fumigation.”

Of that figure, the audit report said GH¢96,323,102.05 was spent on fumigation.

After years of investigation, including petitions to the Office of the President and the Right to Information Commission following the denial of requested information, figures gathered from three Ministries indicate the cost of fumigation was far higher than what the Auditor-General recorded.

Ministry of Education

Between June 2020 and March 2021, the Ministry of Education undertook three phases of fumigation towards the reopening of schools. Contract documents show that the GH¢96,323,102.05 published by the Auditor-General as the “cost of fumigation” represents only the second phase of the Ministry of Education’s fumigation exercise.

Contract documents show that the first phase of the Ministry of Education’s fumigation contract was signed on July 24, 2020, for GH¢100,990,000. It was signed between Zoomlion Ghana Limited and the Ghana Education Service, an agency under the Ministry of Education.

Phase two of the school’s fumigation contract was signed on September 24, 2020, at a cost of GHS96,323,102, while the third phase was signed on March 1, 2021, at a cost of GH¢118,858,340.

In all, the Ministry of Education spent GHS 316.1 million on COVID-19 fumigation per the contract documents secured in the course of this investigation.

The Auditor-General’s report, however, captured only GHS96 million, the least amount spent across the three phases by only one ministry.

The Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development

The Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development (MLGDRD) spent a total of GHS 299 million across three phases of the market fumigation exercise, which it contracted to Zoomlion between April 2020 and November 2020.

However, the Auditor-General’s special audit did not mention any fumigation expenditure undertaken by the ministry. This is despite the ministry submitting its fumigation expenditure to the Auditor-General during the audit.

After three years of petitioning for the contracts, the ministry finally released some documents to this reporter on its fumigation expenditure.

From the documents, the MLGDRD awarded the first contract to Zoomlion in April 2020 using the single-source procurement method, without obtaining the mandatory approval from the PPA. (The PPA later ratified the contract in July that year.)

The April 2020 contract awarded to Zoomlion to fumigate open markets and other public spaces cost the state GHS76.6 million.

On June 9, 2020, the ministry signed another contract with Zoomlion for the same service at a cost of GHS76.6 million.

The ministry again signed a similar fumigation contract with Zoomlion on November 27, 2020, this time at GHS145.8 million, nearly double the cost of the first two contracts.

None of these expenditures was captured in the Auditor-General’s special audit as part of “the cost of fumigation”, though the Auditor-General admitted to this reporter knowledge of the expenditure.

Ministry of Transport

Another Ministry whose fumigation spending the Auditor-General failed to include in its special audit was the Ministry of Transport, which paid Zoomlion a total of GHS159.9 million for fumigations in 2020, 2021, and 2022.

This ministry paid GHS 31.98 million for fumigation in 2020.

In 2021, it again spent GHS 31.98 million for fumigation.

Then, in 2022, when the impact of the pandemic had diminished due to vaccination and the nation had returned to near normalcy, the Ministry of Transport tripled its COVID-19 fumigation spending, paying Zoomlion GHS 95.9 million to fumigate the same spaces it had paid the company a third of that amount to fumigate in the two previous years.

The Ministry of Transport has confirmed these figures but refused to release its fumigation contracts with Zoomlion, claiming that the contract “contains commercial information supplied in confidence, the disclosure of which can reasonably be expected to prejudice the competitive position of the service provider.”

The Education and Local Government ministries released their fumigation contracts awarded to the same company after years of my follow-up requests and petitions, including a ruling by the Right to Information Commission.

The PPA, which approved the single-source procurement method used to handpick Zoomlion for the contracts, stated in its approval letters that the ministries should publish their contracts on the PPA’s website, a directive the ministries flouted. 

The Ghana Airport Company Limited

The Ghana Airport Company Limited, an agency under the Ministry of Transport, said it spent GHS4,603,734 on COVID-19 fumigation and disinfection services in 2020, 2021, and 2022. The contracts were awarded to four companies—KNK, Dura, Kanof and Emmerxon—to undertake COVID-19 fumigation at various airports and aviation facilities, the areas the Ministry of Transport claimed it contracted Zoomlion to fumigate.

The Auditor-General’s Response

The COVID-19 special audit, undertaken between July 2022 and December 2022, was overseen by Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu, whom President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo appointed after the president removed Mr Asiedu’s predecessor from office in 2020.  (The Supreme Court of Ghana ruled in 2023 that the president’s removal of the Auditor-General was unconstitutional.)

The omission of significant fumigation expenditure from the audit report was not an oversight or the result of the auditors’ lack of information on the expenditure.

 In August 2022, when this reporter requested information on fumigation contracts from the Local Government Ministry, the ministry responded in a letter dated September 6, 2022, that “access to the information you request is deferred due to the fact that documents required have been submitted for auditing.”

The Ghana Audit Service, in a response letter dated February 14, 2025, confirmed that it audited the Local Government Ministry’s fumigation expenditure. However, the Ghana Audit Service, however, failed to state why it omitted that ministry’s expenditure from the “cost of fumigation” captured in its special audit report.

The Ghana Audit Service responded to this reporter’s question, saying, “the absence of the Ministry of Local Government’s expenditure on fumigation and disinfection in the Auditor-General’s Report in question does not mean the expenditure was not audited.”

The Ghana Audit Service also confirmed that it audited Phases 1 and 2 of the Ministry of Education’s COVID-19 expenditure, but it failed to explain why it presented only the second phase’s expenditure as the “cost of fumigation” in its report.

When asked to provide an explanation for “what appears to be a cover-up and a deliberate understatement of the expenditure on the COVID-19 fumigations,” the Ghana Audit Service said:

“The last statement made by you [Manasseh Azure Awuni], as captured in point 11 above, seems more like an allegation rather than a request for information.”

View of a former Auditor-General

A former Auditor-General, Daniel Domelevo, said a special audit of that nature should have included the full expenditure of the money raised for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr Domelevo, who was Ghana’s Auditor-General when the COVID-19 expenditures started, also described Ken Ofori-Atta’s request for the audit as a legal anomaly.

According to him, the law mandates the Auditor-General to carry out periodic audits of public institutions or special audits when necessary. Apart from that, the Parliament of Ghana and the President, acting on the advice of the Council of State, can also request special audits. He said the Minister of Finance, who was the chief spending officer and an “auditee” in the COVID-19 special audit, should not have initiated the audit.

“This is not grounded in law,” Mr Domelevo said. “If the auditee tells you to ‘come and audit me,’ it is loaded. It raises red flags.”

Needless Fumigation, Needless Expenditure

Ghana’s fumigation exercises, for which hundreds of millions of cedis were spent, were not backed by science, according to information from Ghana’s scientific community and international COVID-19 guidelines published in the early days of the pandemic.

The government of Ghana shut down all schools and educational facilities four days after the first COVID-19 case was recorded in the country. At the time, no school in Ghana had recorded a COVID-19 case. When schools were due to be opened, more than three months later, the president announced that all schools in the country would be fumigated before students returned.

“If it [a school] was shut for three months, who went in there and introduced the virus? And is the virus going to stay for three months? From all that we have read, it’s [the lifespan of the virus on surfaces] from two hours to nine days,” said Dr J.H. Kofi Bonney, a senior research fellow at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, the institution that led Ghana’s testing and research during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“They [the coronaviruses] don’t have life. They only get life when they get into a living cell… So if this room has been locked for three months, and you decide to disinfect it, you may not be targeting the virus,” said Dr Agustina Angelina Siverkern, Clinical Microbiologist and Research Fellow, at the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine.

Professor Gordon Awandare, the Director, West Africa Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens, said, “If you’re sure that the place has not been encroached by anybody, you can pretty much assume that if there was any virus there and the place has been closed for three months, then the virus is likely dead.”

According to Dr J.H. Kofi Bonney, even if fumigation had been necessary, it should have targeted places with infections.

Asked about Ghana’s COVID-19 trends, the Director General of the Ghana Health Service at the time of the pandemic, Dr Patrick Kumah Aboagye, confirmed that COVID-19 cases in Ghana were confined to a few areas. 

“Broadly, we had more of a cluster-based spread. There were many areas where there was not generalised spread. You could have a region where just about three or four districts are reporting cases. And even in those towns, there are certain locations where you had cases; in others, you don’t have,” Dr Aboagye said.

The Local Government Ministry awarded contracts for the fumigation of all markets across Ghana, including towns and districts that never recorded COVID-19 cases. When this reporter asked the ministry to name the persons or institutions that advised it to carry out the fumigation, the ministry said:

“The information you seek is denied because the information you require is internal working information of a public institution, hence exempt from disclosure.”

What the WHO said about Ghana’s kind of fumigation

The Government of Ghana claimed that its COVID-19 fight was backed by science and recommendations by international bodies, especially the World Health Organisation (WHO). In May 2020, when only the first fumigation contract had been awarded, the WHO published guidance discouraging both indoor and outdoor mass spraying or fumigation, the kind carried out in Ghana in 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Zoomlion executed its fumigation contracts by spraying chlorine solution on streets, open markets and school compounds, including tarred streets.

On indoor fumigation, the WHO guidelines said:

 “In indoor spaces, routine application of disinfectants to environmental surfaces by spraying or fogging (also known as fumigation or misting) is not recommended for COVID-19. One study has shown that spraying as a primary disinfection strategy is ineffective in removing contaminants outside of direct spray zones. Moreover, spraying disinfectants can result in risks to the eyes, respiratory or skin irritation and the resulting health effects. Spraying or fogging of certain chemicals, such as formaldehyde, chlorine based agents or quaternary ammonium compounds, is not recommended due to adverse health effects on workers in facilities where these methods have been utilised.”

Regarding outdoor fumigation, the WHO guidelines said:

“Spraying or fumigation of outdoor spaces, such as streets or marketplaces, is also not recommended to kill the COVID-19 virus or other pathogens because disinfectant is inactivated by dirt and debris and it is not feasible to manually clean and remove all organic matter from such spaces. Moreover, spraying porous surfaces, such as sidewalks and unpaved walkways, would be even less effective. Even in the absence of organic matter, chemical spraying is unlikely to adequately cover all surfaces for the duration of the required contact time needed to inactivate pathogens. Furthermore, streets and sidewalks are not considered to be reservoirs of infection for COVID-19. In addition, spraying disinfectants, even outdoors, can be harmful for human health.”

 Contradiction by Minister of State

Ghana’s first COVID-19 fumigation in April 2020 was greeted with questions about its efficacy in combating the pandemic. The fumigation began with Zoomlion’s open-market fumigations, during which chlorine solution was splashed onto streets and open spaces. Some personnel also used handheld sprayers to spray fumes into open spaces. This raised questions about the effectiveness of the exercise in curtailing the virus.

In a response, the Deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, O.B. Amoah, told an Accra-based Kasapa FM in an interview that the exercise was not targeted at the coronavirus. He said the Ministry and the assemblies had, over the years, been conducting fumigation exercises and that the one in April 2020 only coincided with the outbreak of the pandemic.

“Whoever says this spraying is meant to kill the virus is not being truthful,” Mr Amoah said.

“So does it mean this spraying isn’t done because of the coronavirus?” the journalists asked.

“This is not a spraying against coronavirus…Whoever is saying this spraying is against the coronavirus is not being truthful,” Mr Amoah insisted.

The journalist asked again: “Was this a planned spraying exercise that coincided with the coronavirus outbreak?”

“Yes, it coincided with the outbreak of the coronavirus,” Mr O. B. Amoah said.

Multiple existing fumigation contracts

According to information from the WHO and Ghanaian scientists, Ghana’s COVID-19 fumigation was needless. Even if fumigation was necessary, there were enough existing fumigation contracts to meet that need.

Zoomlion Ghana Limited had a standing contract with all the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) in Ghana to undertake monthly fumigation and disinfection of markets, lorry parks, public toilets, among others.

The Zoomlion-MMDAs fumigation contract, signed between the company and individual assemblies, had been running since 2010, and payment for the contract was deducted at source from the assemblies’ share of the Common Fund. This fumigation has been flagged by the Auditor-General on multiple occasions.

The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament ordered its cancellation in 2022 due to repeated infractions by the company, as captured in the annual Auditor-General reports.

The December 2025 report by the three ministers said the following of the nationwide fumigation contracts which already existed when the COVID-19 fumigation contracts were awarded:

“All two hundred and fifty-three (253) Fumigation Agreements should be cancelled with immediate effect on the following grounds:

“GOG [Government of Ghana] does not receive value for money on these Agreements and there is the need to chart a new path that will ensure value for money, accountability and fair treatment of workers;

“There have been incessant complaints about monies paid for no work done or chemicals used whose quality could not be confirmed.”

The contract was terminated in 2025 after investigations and a petition to the President by this reporter, which occasioned the ministerial report.

During the COVID-19 fumigations, the Ministry of Health had another contract with Zoomlion to undertake fumigation in all 260 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies in the country. Payment for this contract is made by the National Health Insurance Authority. This contract has existed since 2009. This second fumigation exercise, like the MMDAs contract with Zoomlion, is also supposed to be carried out at the assembly level, meaning the two fumigations covered all parts of Ghana.

The second nationwide fumigation contract is fraught with allegations of corruption. The Auditor-General in 2019 disallowed and surcharged payments made under this contract to the tune of 184 million cedis. Zoomlion challenged it in the High Court. The court ruled in favour of the Auditor-General. Zoomlion won an appeal at the Supreme Court on technical grounds, not on the substance of the audit.

Aside from the two nationwide fumigation contracts with Zoomlion, the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development awarded a third contract annually to be undertaken at the assembly level, bringing the total to three contracts awarded to the same company for the same place.

The ministry said it awarded the third fumigation contract to Zoomlion in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 to stop the spread of cholera.

In 2020, COVID-19 was the reason for awarding a third national fumigation contract to the same company.

Capable MMDAs forced to stop COVID-19 fumigation

When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, many metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies developed their own capacities to fumigate and disinfect public spaces and places. This was in addition to the two existing contracts they and the central government had signed with Zoomlion. The government asked the assemblies to stop their fumigation exercises so that Zoomlion could undertake the new COVID-19 fumigation contracts.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly told me his assembly had 100 spraying machines. The assemblies were asked to allow Zoomlion to fumigate their public spaces.

The sanitation department of Accra Metropolitan Assembly, with the support of UNICEF, was spraying markets, lorry parks and public places. In July, however, the assembly was asked to suspend its spraying so that Zoomlion could conduct the second phase of the Local Government Ministry, according to Mohammed Adjei Sowah, the Mayor of Accra at the time.

At the Afram Plains North District Assembly, the District Chief Executive, Samuel Ohene Kena, revealed that even without Zoomlion’s existing contracts, the assembly’s sanitation department was well-equipped to have carried out the COVID-19 fumigation of the markets.

A tainted company

Zoomlion’s operations in Ghana and abroad have been characterised by malfeasance and corruption. In 2013, the World Bank blacklisted Zoomlion from participating in any World Bank-funded project for two years. The World Bank said the ban was imposed following Zoomlion’s “acknowledgement of misconduct impacting the World Bank-financed Emergency Monrovia Urban Sanitation Project in Liberia. The company paid bribes to facilitate contract execution and processing of invoices.”

In 2013, the GYEEDA Corruption Scandal this reporter investigated revealed that Zoomlion was deeply involved. A two-year sanitation contract that expired in February 2013 was found by a government of Ghana investigative committee to have been inflated by at least 74 million cedis or 21 million US dollars at the time.

The committee recommended a discontinuation of the contract, but the government did not act on the findings. The Akufo-Addo-led government allowed it to continue even though a new contract was signed after it had expired in 2013.

Between 2013 and 2019, that deal cost the nation 1.62 billion cedis or 400 million US dollars  (per the exchange rate at the time) without any written agreement.

The contract was discontinued in 2025 after a directive by President John Dramani Mahama.

Zoomlion has, since 2017, stopped responding to requests for comments from this reporter after its CEO, Joseph Siaw Agyepong, chickened out of a defamation suit.

Following this reporter’s “Robbing the Assemblies” investigative documentary in 2017, the Financial Forensics Unit of the Ghana Police Service found that at least 200 million cedis was paid to Zoomlion and its subsidiary companies for fumigation, but no official of the ministry could attest to or certify that work was done.

The docket of the police investigation was presented to the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General more than a year ago, but nothing has happened.

The findings of the documentary, however, resulted in the cancellation of a $74 million contract awarded to sister companies of Zoomlion to supply waste bins, despite an earlier procurement which the ministry could not distribute.

Zoomlion CEO Joseph Siaw-Agyepong has publicly cited his connections with various presidents and governments and how they have supported his operations.

The COVID-19 fumigation expenditure, which the Auditor-General understated, reflects a familiar pattern of state institutions and government officials looking away while the company engages in acts that cause the nation to lose money. This point was strongly made by the three ministers in their “secret” memo to cabinet, which I obtained as part of this investigation:

“It must be pointed out that ZL [Zoomlion] could not have entered into these Agreements without the concurrence or acquiescence of officers of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies in the sanitation sector, as well as the District, Municipal and Metropolitan Assemblies. Some of the terms of the Agreements in question are not acceptable to the officials in these MDAs and MMDAs, and it is important that guidelines are clearly mapped out going forward.”

 –

This report was produced under the Pledge Against Corruption Ghana project. The civil-society led project has the Africa Centre for Energy Policy, Transparency International Ghana and the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition as partners and is supported by the UK International Development.

In a Facebook post, Mr Awuku specifically raised concerns about the participation of heads of key state institutions without their supervising ministers.

He questioned why the heads of the Ghana Maritime Authority, Ghana Shippers Authority and Ghana Airports Company Limited, all under the Ministry of Transport, would attend such an important meeting without the Minister for Transport.

He similarly pointed to the presence of the Ghana Police Service and the Narcotics Control Commission, which fall under the Ministry of the Interior, without the minister responsible for the sector.

According to Mr Awuku, the seriousness of Ghana’s drug trafficking concerns requires more than what he described as an “optics exercise.”

He questioned how the decisions taken at the meeting would be supervised and implemented when the ministers with direct responsibility for the institutions involved were not part of the discussions.

“After this meeting, who exactly is expected to supervise and drive the implementation of the decisions reached?” he asked.

Mr Awuku also expressed concern that the approach could create another layer of coordination instead of working through the ministries and structures already mandated to handle such matters.

He urged President Mahama to treat the issue with greater seriousness, stressing the need for clear responsibility and effective coordination in tackling illicit drug trafficking.

“Mr. President, respectfully, please let us take this matter seriously for a moment,” he said, before ending his post with the expression, “Y’abrɛ ooo.”

The meeting which will be held at Jubilee House, follows the seizure of nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine, worth an estimated $261 million, by French customs officials from a container shipped out of Ghana.

According to a report by Citifmonline, an invitation from the Secretary to the President, Callistus Mahama, stated that the meeting will look at weaknesses in the country’s border-control systems and identify steps to prevent trafficking in narcotics and other illicit substances.

Participating institutions have been asked to send their heads, along with one technical officer, and to come prepared with brief assessments of existing security gaps, along with proposals to strengthen intelligence sharing, surveillance, screening and joint enforcement.

The move comes after the Minority raised concerns over how Ghana has handled recent high-profile drug seizures, with Ranking Member on Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, questioning the absence of high-profile arrests and prosecutions in such cases.

Institutions expected at the meeting include the Ministries of Finance and Foreign Affairs, the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, the Ghana Shippers’ Authority, terminal scanner operators, Ghana Link Network Services, the Ghana Maritime Authority, the Ghana Navy, Meridian Port Services, the National Intelligence Bureau, the Police CID and Interpol desk, the Narcotics Control Commission, and the Ghana Airports Company.

The press release dated 14th September, 2026 and signed by Ag. Director of Public Affairs, PNCO Francis Opoku Amoah, reaffirms NACOC’s resolve that Ghana will not be a safe haven for drug barons. That resolve must be commended.

But this same arrest exposes a dangerous truth everyone in the country is aware of: NACOC is succeeding in spite of the system, not because of it.

How can an agency mandated to stop international cartels operate without tools?

A Commission Stranded on Logistics:

Until the current leadership arrived, the transportation situation of the Commission was so bad it was crippling operations. For 8 years, the Commission received only 4 vehicles.

The current administration had to use personal links to secure 27 vehicles to keep operations moving.

A law enforcement agency fighting well-funded cartels cannot be run on charity and personal contacts. It needs a fully budgeted fleet of operational, surveillance, and armored vehicles.

 On Port Operations: Where Are the Tools and the Access?

This latest cocaine shipment left Ghana in a container of alleged plastic waste. It was detected in France, not Ghana. That should worry every Ghanaian.

The Begging Questions:

• At the Tema Port and Takoradi Port, what modern equipment is available for drug detection? Do we have ion scanners, trace detectors, and canine support at scale?

• Is NACOC granted unfettered access to the scanning room?
•  Who controls what is seen and what is not seen?
• Where containers are actually stuffed and loaded – the Inland Container Depots and private warehouses – do we have permanent NACOC officials stationed there?

• Who has been blocking NACOC from such sensitive places for years?

– Has NACOC been granted full access to the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) to profile and flag high-risk shipments in real-time?

If NACOC does not have full, real-time access to ICUMS and the scanning rooms, then we are leaving our gates wide open and only arresting after the drugs have been intercepted in Europe.

 A Call To President Mahama:

The President and the Minister for Interior must take this Bolle Jos case as a wake-up call. You cannot task NACOC to prevent Ghana from becoming a transit hub while starving it of tools.

We call on Government to immediately:

1. Retool NACOC with state-of-the-art drug detection equipment at all entry points – airports, seaports and land borders.

2. Grant NACOC mandatory, unimpeded physical presence in all scanning rooms and container loading bays.

3. Give NACOC full integration and access rights to ICUMS and all port single-window systems.

4. Provide a dedicated budget for fleet, forensic labs, and intelligence technology, so the Commission does not have to rely on links to function.

The officers of NACOC have shown professionalism by arresting these three suspects in custody. Imagine what they could do if they were properly tooled.

READ ALSO:

NACOC arrests three suspects linked to ‘Bolle Jos’ network

Police arrest two, seize 692 parcels of suspected Indian hemp at Dawhenya

They are Kofi Atiemo, 38; Ebenezer Tetteh Gyablatey, 32; John Hayford, 48; and Ebenezer Kwafo, 31.

Atiemo and Gyablatey were unemployed, while Hayford and Kwafo were drivers. All four reside at Teacher Mantey.

They have been charged with conspiracy to engage in illegal sand winning and unlawful damage to crops. They denied the charges and are to reappear on September 24, 2026.

Defence lawyers applied for bail, but the prosecution opposed the applications, arguing that the offences were serious and carried severe punishment and that the accused persons were likely to abscond if granted bail.

The presiding judge, after hearing both sides, remanded the four accused persons, accepting the prosecution’s argument that they might not appear for trial if granted bail.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Issah Achiburi, presenting the facts, said the complainants were Francis Okah and Prince Annor, both businessmen residing at Airport City and Teacher Mantey respectively.

The prosecution said that between 2024 and 2026, the complainants received reports from their land caretakers that the accused persons had allegedly entered their properties at Teacher Mantey, near Amasaman, with a wheel loader and heavy-duty trucks to win sand.

Francis Okah owned 4.5 acres of land, while Prince Annor owned two plots. ASP Achiburi said the alleged activities damaged Okah’s fence wall and Annor’s vegetation crops.

He said Atiemo was confronted by the complainants and asked to stop the activities but allegedly failed to comply. The complainants subsequently reported the matter to the police, who mounted surveillance and arrested the accused persons at their hideout at Teacher Mantey.

ASP Achiburi said the accused persons denied the offences in their investigation caution statements.

Police later visited the scene with the accused persons, where photographs and videos were taken. The prosecution said officers observed that sand had been won at different spots, altering the nature of the land.

He said the investigation also revealed that the complainants’ fence wall and crops had been damaged, although the cost of the damage was yet to be determined.

ASP Achiburi said CCTV footage from an adjacent residence captured the accused persons allegedly winning and transporting sand from Annor’s land.

He said investigations further revealed that Hayford and Kwafo were in charge of two tipper trucks, with registration numbers GN-9145-2 and GN-6778-Z, painted green and blue respectively, which were allegedly used to transport the sand to an unknown destination.

The prosecution identified Atiemo as the alleged mastermind behind the illegal sand winning activities.

ASP Achiburi said investigations were ongoing and efforts were underway to arrest other alleged accomplices.

The President gave the assurance after inspecting the proposed site for the project, which is expected to provide the region with a modern aviation facility.

According to President Mahama, the existing Wa airport was initially developed as an airstrip and no longer meets the demands of modern aviation, making the construction of a new airport necessary.

He explained that the project was now set to move forward following the securing of funding by the Ghana Airports Company.

“The Ghana Airports Company has secured the funds needed to implement the project,” President Mahama said, adding that government was not currently seeking funding for the project because the required resources were already available.

He further disclosed that the procurement process had been completed and contractors selected, clearing the way for construction to begin in the near future.

President Mahama said the new airport was part of government’s broader efforts to expand and improve domestic air transport and provide better aviation infrastructure for communities across the country.

The action follows preliminary investigations that began after a video related to the incident circulated widely on social media.

Ivan, a second-year law student, died after an accident involving a YANGO-operated motorbike on the Tema Motorway on Thursday, 27 August 2026, around 4 p.m., according to a petition submitted by his family to the Police.

The petition stated that Ivan ordered a YANGO ride and boarded a motorbike with registration number M 26-AB 384 travelling from Old Ashongman to East Legon.

The rider, Samuel Arthur Wesley, reportedly told investigators at the Airport Police Station that a member of a police patrol team, also on a motorbike, pursued him from the UPSA-Legon junction towards the Tema Motorway. He alleged that the officer caught up with them and struck their motorbike from behind, causing both him and Ivan to fall.

In a statement issued on Saturday, 12 September, the Ghana Police Service confirmed that General Corporal Koranteng had been identified as connected to the incident and had been removed from active duty pending the outcome of investigations.

The Police said the Homicide Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) is intensifying efforts to establish the full circumstances surrounding Ivan Baidoo’s death. The Police Professional Standards Bureau (PPSB) has also been assigned to examine the conduct of General Corporal Koranteng in relation to the incident.

Both investigations are expected to determine the events that led to Ivan’s death and whether the officer’s actions aligned with the professional standards and regulations of the Ghana Police Service.

Read the full statement below:

Also read:

• Law student killed in hit-and-run on Tema Motorway; family offers GH¢50,000 bounty

• Family of law student killed in hit-and-run on Tema Motorway demands thorough probe

The force has declared an extraordinary event and it will see gardaí perform 10,000 12-hour shifts between Friday and Sunday.

US President Donald Trump is expected to touch down on Air Force One at Dublin Airport on Saturday morning for a two-day visit.

There will be disruption and traffic restrictions in Dublin and County Clare.

Gardaí said they have been involved in intense, extensive planning for this policing and security operation over recent weeks.

Two water cannon will be sent from Northern Ireland.

What is Trump’s itinerary?

Trump will arrive at Dublin Airport on Saturday 12 September.

He will spend the morning at Phoenix Park, visiting Ireland’s President Catherine Connolly at the Áras an Uachtaráin (official residence) and the Taoiseach (Irish PM) Micheál Martin at Farmleigh House.

Trump is also expected to make a speech at US Ambassador Edward Walsh’s Deerfield Residence.

In the afternoon, Trump will be flying into Shannon Airport, County Clare, to attend the Irish Open at Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg.

He will leave from the Shannon Airport on Sunday evening.

What disruption is expected?

As a result of the visit, Phoenix Park will be closed to the public until events finish.

That means attractions such as Dublin Zoo and the Magazine Fort will be shut.

Temporary traffic restrictions will be in place on the M50 motorway, with the peak times for these restrictions expected between 08:00-09:00 and 12:00 -13:00 local time, between Junction 3 and 6.

Traffic restrictions are already in place on perimeter roads around Dublin Airport and will remain until Saturday afternoon.

Flight and drone restrictions are also in place around the airport and the Doonbeg golf course.

A temporary maritime exclusion zone and associated outer control area will be in operation on rivers close to Shannon Airport and Doonbeg.

Gardaí have said that normal operations will continue at Dublin Airport and Shannon Airport at all times.

They said members of the public should allow additional time to arrive at the airport due to possible rolling road closures.

At Shannon Airport, there will be additional security checks and passengers should have photo ID and valid flight documentation available for inspection.

Gardaí said access to the areas surrounding Doonbeg village, Trump International Golf Links and Hotel Doonbeg and the wider west Clare areas will be restricted.

Access and traffic along the N67, between Clonadrum Cross (north) and Doonbeg (south) will be restricted from 11 September until the evening of Sunday 13 September.

Protest groups are anticipated at both Shannon Airport and in Doonbeg village.

Sharon Dolan D’Arcy, a journalist with the Clare Champion, said the garda presence in Doonbeg had “certainly ramped up a gear”.

She told the BBC’s Evening Extra programme that: “Every street, every entrance to a farm, every unoccupied house that’s for sale, you will see a garda outside it.”

Despite the heightened security, she described the atmosphere in the village as “very relaxed”, with locals out drinking coffee and “spirits” good.

“It’s almost like a holiday atmosphere. But in the background, in the ether, you have the security and the Gardaí.”

What to do as a golf spectator

Only those working at or attending the Irish Open will be allowed to access the Trump International Golf Links and Hotel.

The event can only be accessed via park and ride bus transfers, with no parking or pedestrian access.

There will be airport-style security checks with small bags allowed onsite.

Gardaí said those attending should allow further additional time to arrive and progress through ticket checks and search zones.

The discovery was made on Thursday when revenue staff searched a passenger’s baggage and found the drugs inside bags of confectionery.

In follow-up searches, gardaí seized €16,000 (£13,700) in cash and more controlled drugs valued at €14,500 (£12,500).

A man in his 60s who was arrested and charged in connection with the seizure appeared in court on Friday morning.

The group is accused of targeting over 100 women in the US and defrauding them of more than 100m rand ($6m; £5m), the South African authorities said.

Those being extradited were arrested in 2021 and are believed to be members of the crime syndicate Black Axe, a a Nigerian mafia-style gang tied to human trafficking, internet fraud and murder.

Some of their reported victims included pensioners and businesspeople “who were targeted through sophisticated online relationships used to defraud them of their money”, according to South Africa’s elite Hawks police unit.

The group will be “transported from a correctional facility in Cape Town” to the airport on Friday morning, where they will be “handed over to officials from the FBI and the United States Secret Service,” Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said in a statement.

They would face wire fraud and money-laundering charges upon their arrival in the US, she added.

A BBC Eye investigation in 2021 suggested that the syndicate had become one of the most far-reaching and dangerous organised crime groups in the world.

Nigeria is its main recruitment ground and many of its members are university educated and inducted during their schooling.

The group has been on the radar of law enforcement agencies for a number of years.

FBI operations against Black Axe were launched in November 2019 and September 2021, eventually charging more than 35 individuals with multi-million dollar internet fraud.

Since then there have been several other operations across multiple countries targeting Black Axe co-ordinated by the global policing agency Interpol.

Last month, Interpol said during its latest one – which took place between November 2025 and June 2026 – seven sites in South Africa linked to a syndicate involved in romance and investment scams were raided.

It led to the arrests of 39 people, the seizure of money and the blocking of more than 250 bank accounts.

Also read:

• Alleged romance scam pastor’s case withdrawn from Circuit Court 

• Ghanaian woman jailed 70 months in US for role in $1.6m romance scam

It was Tuesday, September 11, 2001, a day that began like any other but ended by changing America and the world forever.

Nineteen al-Qaeda terrorists, led by Osama bin Laden, hijacked four commercial aircraft in a coordinated attack on the United States.

Within hours, the world’s most powerful nation was under unprecedented attack.

FOUR PLANES, THREE TARGETS

At 8:46 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York.

Seventeen minutes later, United Airlines Flight 175 slammed into the South Tower.

At 9:37 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia—the heart of America’s military establishment.

The fourth aircraft, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, at about 10:03 a.m., after passengers and crew attempted to overpower the hijackers.

Then came the images that shocked the world.

The Twin Towers collapsed, sending enormous clouds of smoke and debris through Lower Manhattan.

2,977 LIVES LOST

The attacks killed 2,977 people, excluding the 19 hijackers.

The victims included office workers, passengers, firefighters, police officers, emergency responders, and ordinary civilians.

Thousands more were injured.

For families across America and beyond, September 11 became a date associated forever with grief and loss.

AMERICA STRIKES BACK

The attacks triggered an extraordinary American response.

The United States launched military operations in Afghanistan in October 2001, targeting al-Qaeda and the Taliban government that had provided sanctuary to the organisation.

Washington also dramatically expanded intelligence and counterterrorism operations.

The USA PATRIOT Act increased government surveillance and investigative powers, while airport security was radically tightened.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was subsequently established.

9/11 AND THE ROAD TO IRAQ

The post-9/11 security environment also contributed to the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

But Iraq was not responsible for the 9/11 attacks, and no operational link between Saddam Hussein’s government and the attacks was established.

The Iraq War nevertheless transformed Middle Eastern politics and had far-reaching consequences for global security.

AFRICA BECOMES A NEW FRONT

The shockwaves of 9/11 reached Africa.

The global War on Terror intensified international attention on extremist organisations operating across the continent.

Groups such as al-Shabaab, Boko Haram and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) became major security concerns.

The United States expanded intelligence cooperation, military assistance and counterterrorism training with African governments.

The establishment of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) in 2007 further demonstrated Africa’s growing importance in America’s global security strategy.

But the approach also sparked debate.

Critics argued that poverty, unemployment, weak governance, political exclusion and socioeconomic grievances should not automatically be reduced to terrorism or addressed primarily through military force.

A NEW WORLD OF SECURITY

After 9/11, the world became a more heavily monitored place.

Airports introduced tougher screening.

Borders and immigration controls were strengthened.

Banks intensified efforts to detect terrorist financing.

Governments expanded intelligence-sharing and surveillance.

But greater security came with a price: growing concerns about privacy, civil liberties and human rights.

THE RISE OF ISLAMOPHOBIA

9/11 also had a painful social consequence.

Muslims and people perceived to be Muslim faced increased suspicion, discrimination, profiling and hate crimes in parts of the world.

Yet al-Qaeda’s extremist ideology did not represent Islam or Muslims generally.

Muslim communities worldwide overwhelmingly condemned terrorism and the deliberate targeting of civilians.

Osama bin Laden was killed on May 2, 2011 (local time) in Abbottabad, Pakistan at a hide out by the US special operations authorized by Barack Obama in a code name OPERATION NEPTUNE SPEAR.

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS LATER

The smoke over New York has long disappeared.

The rubble has been cleared.

But the consequences of September 11 remain.

The attacks changed warfare, aviation, journalism, intelligence gathering, immigration, financial regulation and international diplomacy.

They reshaped America’s relationship with Africa and the rest of the world.

And they placed terrorism at the centre of global security for an entire generation.

A DAY THE WORLD WILL NEVER FORGET

September 11, 2001, was more than an attack on the United States.

It was a defining moment in modern history.

A day that claimed thousands of lives.

A day that launched wars.

A day that transformed global security.

A day that changed how the world travelled, communicated and responded to threats.

Twenty-five years on, 9/11 remains a haunting reminder that one morning can alter the course of history and that the consequences of that day can echo across generations.

Zelensky and his wife, Olena, were on their plane at Chisinau, ahead of Wednesday’s funeral of Norway’s King Harald V, when the unmanned Russian aircraft crossed over the Moldovan border.

The drone prompted an immediate airspace shutdown, and Zelensky’s jet was left on the runway for around an hour before it was cleared for take off.

The flight was only authorised after it was confirmed the drone had come down 160km (100 miles) away in the village of Mihailenii Vechi.

Zelensky’s plane had been due to take off at around 16:30 local time (14:30 GMT) from Chisinau International Airport.

But Moldovan government spokesman Dumitru Ciorici told the BBC that Moldova had closed its airspace after noticing a Russian drone had entered it from the direction of Ukraine.

“Three departures and four arrivals were delayed as a result,” he added.

“After 17:20 (15:20 GMT), the authorities confirmed that the drone had come down and exploded… some 160 kilometres from Chisinau International Airport.”

Zelensky and his wife arrived safely in Oslo on Tuesday evening, where he held talks with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and other officials about military aid.

They joined other dignitaries for King Harald’s funeral before flying on to Iceland for a brief visit and then to Canada for further talks.

There had initially been concerns about the threat from the drone incursion when he was in Chisinau.

Støre had told public broadcaster NRK: “His flight was almost hit by a drone when it was taking off from Moldova.”

But a Ukraine source told Agence France Presse the risk had been “exaggerated”.

Russian drones have been targeting Ukraine with increasing intensity in recent weeks and an attack on a Moldovan border crossing at Starokozache killed two people overnight into Tuesday.

The Russian army has new jet-powered unmanned aircraft that are much faster and more difficult to intercept.

Analysis by BBC Verify has shown the capital Kyiv has now suffered more air raid alerts than at any time since 2022 – on average ten times a day.

Ukraine has also had success with its use of drones and on Thursday announced what it called a “record hit” on Russia gas plants.

Drones flew more than 3,000km (1,864 miles) into Russia on Wednesday to hit a gas processing plant in the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous district of Northern Siberia.

Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces said this was its deepest attack into Russia since the war began. Yamalo-Nenets is one of Russia’s key oil and gas processing regions.

Overnight Russian forces attacked a petrol station in Kyiv, seriously injuring four people.

Oil company Ukrnafta’s CEO Bohdan Kukura said on Facebook: “This is terror and intimidation of the civilian population.”

Russia has attacked hundreds of Ukrainian petrol stations in recent months in an attempt to disrupt the country’s military forces.

It has been locked in war with Ukraine since it invaded the country in February 2022.

Peace talks, led by the US’s Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are ongoing but have failed so far to find a solution to end the conflict.

The counter-tariffs will apply to nearly C$28bn ($20bn; £15bn) worth of American products, from steel to furniture to cotton T-shirts, and will be as high as 50%.

Fresh fish and lobster were also on the list, but Canada later omitted them after pushback from its seafood industry – a sign of the tricky balance it has to strike as it retaliates against its largest trading partner.

Both US and Canadian officials have said they would like to strike a deal, but no movement has been made to resume talks after they collapsed in late August.

Speaking to reporters last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney said that Canada is still in search of a deal with the US that is “durable” and in the best interests of both countries.

“We’re ready to sit down and strike that deal when the Americans are ready,” Carney said.

US trade representative Jamieson Greer said on Thursday the ball is in Canada’s court.

“We offered them the best deal, they looked at it square in the face and turned around,” Greer said in an interview with Fox News, adding that there has been sparse communication with the Canadians since talks collapsed.

In a separate interview with Canadian broadcaster CBC, Greer cautioned against retaliation and suggested the US might hit back by banning the import of some Canadian products.

President Donald Trump threatened on Monday to halt all US business with Canada-based airplane maker Bombardier unless it moved its manufacturing south.

The aerospace giant is one of the largest in the country, contributing over C$7bn to Canada’s annual GDP in 2024, according to a report by accounting firm PwC.

Trump took aim at Canada in a series of other Truth Social posts over the weekend, including one that called Canada’s exchange rate with the US “unacceptable”.

Another post showed a map of North America – including Canada and Mexico – and Greenland all overlaid with the US flag.

Canada and the US have the world’s largest bilateral trading relationship valued at nearly $900bn in 2025.

With new US tariffs and Canadian counter-tariffs now in effect, businesses on both side are scrambling to deal with what comes next.

The US currently has in place a 25% tax on Canadian cars and trucks, as well as taxes on Canadian steel, aluminium and lumber. In late August, President Donald Trump imposed new 50% tariffs on other goods like dairy, alcohol, hockey sticks and perfume.

Canada’s counter-tariffs, which were described by Carney as “dollar-for-dollar” and range from 15% to 50%, will from Tuesday be applied to hundreds of items coming in from the US.

Products like American milk, golf clubs, steel, aluminium and certain clothing like jackets and T-shirts will face 50% tariffs. Cheese, toilet paper and certain household appliances like air conditioners will face 25% tariffs, while fork-lift trucks and industrial moulds will be hit with 15% tariffs.

These levies are in addition to existing retaliatory taxes Canada had placed on finished American cars and trucks that are non-compliant with a free trade agreement between Canada, the US and Mexico, known as the USMCA in the US and CUSMA in Canada.

Polls suggest the majority of Canadians support their country imposing retaliatory tariffs on the US.

But economists warn that the latest counter-tariffs will raise prices for consumers on everyday goods like clothing, food and furniture.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has also urged the Carney government to take a surgical approach to retaliation.

“Businesses understand retaliation but don’t want to see endless escalation,” said the Chamber’s CEO and President Candace Laing in a statement to the BBC on Friday, though she added that businesses “are preparing for this trade dispute to last”.

Pushback from the fisheries industry was enough for Canada to alter its counter-tariffs by removing dozens of seafood items to avoid unintended consequences to its own economy.

The lobster industry in both Canada and the US are heavily dependent on the other, with American-caught lobster often sent north to be processed before it is shipped back to the US and sold.

Ahead of the latest tariffs, Canada’s economy had shown signs of resliency. Its GDP grew 3.3% in the second quarter and it had gained 181,000 jobs from April to July.

But around 41,000 jobs were lost in August, a period that coincided with the new US tariffs on Canada and the collapse in trade talks.

One sector that saw a modest bump was manufacturing – a gain the Canadian government attributes to consumers and businesses buying more made-in-Canada products.

Carney has said he wants to diversify Canada’s trade away from the US.

July figures show the share of US-bound Canadian exports dropped to 66% from an average of 75% before the trade war.

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At least 5 dead after Amazon cargo plane barreled off runway at Miami airport

Ex-convict arrested over alleged attempt to smuggle cocaine in herbal tea pack, phone chargers

The suspects were arrested in separate circumstances as the police, in collaboration with National Security operatives, continued investigations into the suspected movement of illicit drugs through the region.

The first suspect, identified only by his popular name, S.K., was arrested at about 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, September 6, 2026, shortly after arriving in Wa on a commercial bus from Kumasi.

He was allegedly found with a bag containing substances suspected to be narcotic drugs.

Security sources said shortly after his arrest, S.K. allegedly began making phone calls to individuals believed to be connected to the distribution of illicit drugs to come for the consignment.

The development prompted security operatives to take him into custody while investigations continued.

Police await forensic results

Confirming the arrests to Joy News, the Upper West Regional Police Commander, DCOP Francis Yiribaare, said the substances had been secured and would be subjected to forensic analysis to determine their exact composition.

He cautioned against drawing conclusions before the results of the analysis are available.

“The case is under investigation, and we are still putting together a number of issues. It will be too premature to pronounce much on it,” he said.

DCOP Yiribaare said two suspects were currently in custody, while investigators were working to establish whether other people were connected to the case.

“So far, we have two in custody, and we’re working around the clock to see if there are other people connected and also to conduct what we call forensic analysis of the substances in our custody,” he said.

He described the substances as being suspected to be narcotic drugs but stressed that this could only be confirmed after forensic examination.

“Until the forensic results are out, we cannot say 100 per cent what they are,” he added.

Suspects to face court

The Regional Police Commander said the suspects would be processed for court as soon as investigations were completed, stressing that they would not be held beyond the period permitted by law.

“As soon as possible. We do not intend to hold them unnecessarily beyond the constitutional mandate given to us,” he said.

The police have not disclosed the identities of the two suspects or the quantity of the substances seized.

Investigators are also working to determine whether the suspected consignment was intended for distribution in Wa or was being transported to another destination.

The arrests form part of ongoing efforts by security agencies in the Upper West Region to tackle the trafficking and distribution of suspected narcotic drugs through commercial transport routes linking Kumasi and communities in northern Ghana.

For now, the exact nature of the seized substances remains unconfirmed pending the outcome of forensic testing.

Also read:

• Ex-convict arrested over alleged attempt to smuggle cocaine in herbal tea pack, phone chargers

• Courier driver busted with cocaine at Accra International Airport

“NO MORE SELLING BOMBARDIER IN THE UNITED STATES! Their products aren’t good enough!” Trump said on Monday [September 7] in a social media post.

“If they want our Market, they must build here, and stop treating America like a ‘piggybank.'”

Trump’s comments come as tensions flare once again between the US and Canada, which have historically had tight relations.

Trump has imposed a series of tariffs on Canadian products, prompting retaliatory actions. The retaliatory tariffs are set to take effect on early Tuesday [September 8].

The tariffs come as negotiations between the United States and Canada have deteriorated in recent weeks. Canada’s tariffs will cover nearly $20bn of 700 different US goods.

This is not the first time the US president has targeted Bombardier since returning to office in 2025.

Shares of Canadian aeroplane maker Bombardier plunged in January after Trump threatened to decertify the private jet maker’s large-cabin planes and slap 50 percent import tariffs on new planes until Canada certified the latest aircraft produced by US rival Gulfstream.

“Over 50% of their revenue comes from the United States, They live off American Buyers, American Companies, American Airports, and American service,” Trump said on Monday.

“Canada blocks our GREAT American Banks and Companies, throughout the USA. They even blocked Gulfstream Aerospace from doing business in Canada, Completely unjust and unfair! That Era is OVER!”

The move will affect large private jet companies including NetJets, one of Bombardier’s biggest purchasers. In December 2023, the Columbus, Ohio-based company penned a deal with Bombardier to buy 12 Challenger 3500 jets outright, with Bombardier giving NetJets the option to buy up to another 232 aircraft later.

The move forms part of the Assembly’s efforts to bring greater order to the city’s advertising landscape and improve the appearance of major roads and public spaces.

Kumasi Mayor, Richard Ofori Boadi Agyemang, disclosed the plans during an engagement with 28 registered advertising companies in the metropolis on Monday, September 7.

He expressed concern over the growing number of billboards of varying sizes that have been installed without proper coordination along major routes.

According to the Mayor, the unregulated placement of advertising structures not only detracts from the city’s visual appeal but could also create obstructions for motorists and pedestrians.

“For a city to thrive, there must be order,” he said.

As part of the new policy, the KMA plans to reduce the overall number of billboards in the metropolis and introduce uniform standards governing their size, design and location.

The Assembly will also determine the number of advertising structures allowed along specific road corridors, while setting distinct requirements for major entry points and other strategic locations.

The new standards will apply to key areas including the Airport Roundabout, Sofoline, Ahodwo and Bekwai Roundabout.

Separate advertising specifications will also be introduced for the Kumasi Zoo, Kejetia and the Central Business District.

The Mayor further announced that the Ahodwo-Santasi stretch would remain off-limits to billboard installations until the ongoing road dualisation project is completed.

He warned that the Assembly would also embark on a cleanup exercise to remove old, dilapidated and oversized billboards, as well as advertising structures belonging to operators with outstanding payments.

The planned transition to digital advertising is expected to form a major part of KMA’s broader effort to create a more organised and modern outdoor advertising system in Kumasi.

Also read:

• KMA announces temporary ban on new billboards

• Suame Interchange: KMA orders Abrepo, WESCO traders to relocate by Sept. 7

The aircraft overran the runway around 2 p.m. after arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Five people were killed, three critically injured and two others hospitalised with less severe injuries, Miami-Dade County officials told a news conference.

Miami-Dade Rescue Fire Chief Ray Jadallah said some people were trapped inside vehicles. The pilot and copilot were also trapped in the plane. Fire crews were still dealing with a fuel leak on the plane several hours after the crash, Jadallah said.

More than 60 Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units responded to the crash, arriving to find the aircraft on fire as crews worked to extinguish the flames and assess patients.

The Prime Air plane came to rest beside a roadway near two semi-trucks, according to images from the scene. The aircraft appeared to be resting on its belly and was largely intact despite the fire.

The flight had been operated by 21 Air, a cargo carrier based in North Carolina. The 32-year-old Boeing 767 was originally built to carry passengers and flew for several airlines for more than two decades before being converted to a cargo plane in 2015, according to flight-tracking site Flightradar24.

About 250 flights were delayed at the airport late Sunday afternoon, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it is sending a team to Miami led by Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy to investigate.

“We’re working closely with local authorities and officials to understand exactly what happened,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a social media post. “Right now, our absolute priority is the safety, well-being, and care of everyone involved.”

But woe unto anyone who was named ‘Justice’ even at birth. It’s even worse if Justice was conferred as a title.

In either case, please don’t run across the village square beating your chest as King Solomon; for Justice is also a cross, indeed an eternal burden that may trail you until death do you part.

The title may sentence you to a life of misery: solitude, loneliness (‘anti-so,’), when you realize overnight that you are always home alone.

If you break jail and escape to normal social life, Justice Asomasi, please be prepared for the ‘kwɛnsekwɛnses’ as said in Cape Coast. That is indeed the current plight of Justice Baffoe Bonnie: he has broken jail.

If you were a judge of the Supreme Court those days, people stole glances at you in public, and sinners could even flee, fearing possible orders of ‘monkye no.’

To ever meet a Chief Justice was rare since he was by law often in disguise: wig, gown plus a frown. He was a virtual archbishop; alpha and omega; King Solomon’s next of kin.

The world of justices became more common in 2013, during the Supreme Court hearings on 2012 elections, when the baritone voice of Justice Atugugba on live TV, brought ‘deities’ to your doorstep.

I myself never knew he was mortal enough until 2019, when, in my capacity as a temporary big man, I sat next to him at an official function in Accra.

I was surprised to have survived a 30-minute chat with him and to learn that he was even an uncle to my classmate in Legon.

With Chief Justice Baffoe-Bonnie, I knew he was courting trouble when soon after his big appointment 2025, he was ‘caught’ at a thanksgiving church service making merry and dancing like a mortal: waste-line liberated, hands mid-air, singing joyously, and virtually lost in merriment.

Unbeknownst to him, TV cameras followed, ignoring the media convention: ‘New Chief Justice dances in church, please switch off cameras.’

I knew Baffoe-Bonnie fairly well in his Sarbah Hall days, and was aware that unrestrained, his regular dance moves could set off a fire alarm!

I had also followed him as part of the historic Supreme Court panel whose ruling ratified the Mahama/Amissah-Arthur presidency.

In 2025, Baffoe came under close scrutiny on his appointment as Chief Justice to replace Ghana’s third female CJ (Torkonoo), who had been unfairly removed.

In replacing the beloved CJ, had Ghana exchanged its digital color television for a black and white analogue? The answer now blows in the wind.

May 2026, our CJ travels to the US/Canada for the World Cup with a government delegation, joining in the joyous celebration of Ghana in matches won (no problem, but eyebrows were raised).

Next stop, joining government delegations mourning with the Gold Boy Sammy on the passing of his in-law. (No problem, but eyebrows raised.)

The last straw was this September when he ignored multiple judicial issues overflowing his in-tray and strayed into the realm of state-owned enterprises, which was none of his formal business.

Here, CJ waxed political without apologies. He stunned his audience, comparing the high productivity of current staff, to their dismal performance in the previous Government now in opposition. Justice Baffoe-Bonnie only stopped short chanting a party slogan.

The incident was without precedence and courted anger and shock across the landscape: a rude awakening that Ghana’s scale of justice had been vandalized by the Chief himself, who then loses any moral authority to lead an independent judiciary. In traditional settings he would have walked back home barefooted.

Find below a sampling of the public uproar in the media:

‘The JDM boy has taken over Government PR’…’ Judiciary independence is gone…’ ‘A disgrace to the judiciary…’ ‘Desecrating the office of CJ…’ ‘When I saw the video, I said Jesus we are doomed…’ ‘CJ has won a political jersey… grounds for resignation’… ‘He has overstepped his bounds’— ‘the judiciary is now led by a politician,’ etc. And then this bombshell: ‘He has been working with us since 2012…’

The September breaking news reminds me of the late 1990’s when the Council of State ‘absent-mindedly’ vacated their office and became presidential errand boys: welcoming the President at the airport, reading speeches on his behalf, etc.

Then also was the horror story of one great Justice, who got promoted as CJ in 1996 but immediately stumbled by jailing a columnist in error.

My right hand at the time charitably advised the President to quickly write to the CJ and ‘apologize unreservedly for any embarrassment the promotion has caused him.’

In the current case though, our CJ has only three months to retire, having gotten his new position close to his sendoff.

If so, C. J.’s tongue-slip should be simply interpreted by the President as an APPLICATION FOR EARLY RETIREMENT.

In truth, CJ’s venerable title as ‘Chief’ has faded too soon, leaving behind an impaired reputation and a tilted scale of justice.

The suspect, identified as Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, was arrested during a sting operation at Article Market, opposite the Trade Fair Market in the Ojo area of Lagos, on Friday, September 4, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said.

His arrest followed the interception of 1.2 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed inside phone chargers at a courier company in Lagos on July 31. The consignment was allegedly destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

According to the NDLEA, operatives of its Directorate of Operations and General Investigation traced the alleged mastermind through an intelligence-led investigation.

The agency said Ebubechukwu admitted during questioning that he had masterminded previous illicit drug shipments and discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that the latest consignment had been intercepted.

Investigators also uncovered evidence allegedly linking him to the method used to conceal the cocaine. A search of his residence in Ejigbo, Lagos, produced phone chargers similar to those used in the intercepted shipment. The internal components of the chargers had reportedly been removed to create spaces for concealing drugs.

The latest arrest also brought to light the suspect’s previous conviction for drug trafficking.

The NDLEA said he was first arrested in 2011 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos after allegedly ingesting 900 grammes of cocaine and 130 grammes of heroin while attempting to travel to Austria.

He was prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to five years in prison.

The agency said that after serving his sentence, he changed his name from Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch to Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu and allegedly returned to the illicit drug trade.

His latest arrest formed part of a wider NDLEA crackdown across nine states, during which the agency reported recovering large quantities of cannabis, tramadol, methamphetamine, cocaine and other illicit substances.

The NDLEA said the operations covered Lagos, Adamawa, Ondo, Kaduna, Bauchi, Ekiti, Kogi, Taraba and Enugu states.

Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa inspected the project on Friday and expressed satisfaction with the progress of work and the quality of execution.

According to Mr Ablakwa, the project is expected to be completed and handed over before the end of 2026.

The ongoing works form part of efforts to provide a modern VIP facility at the airport, with the project now at an advanced stage as contractors put finishing touches to the facility.

Photos from the Minister’s inspection show the extent of work completed on the project and the developing features of the new lounge.

Mr Ablakwa also disclosed that the project is being delivered without the use of taxpayer funds.

He said the facility is being funded through a corporate social responsibility arrangement involving local Ghanaian businesses, which release funds directly to local contractors working on the project.

The Foreign Ministry’s Estate Bureau, he explained, is supervising the works to ensure that the required standards are met.

Mr Ablakwa described the project as an example of what can be achieved through private-sector support without relying on public funds and conventional public procurement.

With the completion date approaching, attention is now on the final stages of work before the facility is handed over later this year.

Speaking on GRA Connect on GRA TV, Omari, addressing a common misconception among passengers, said Ghana’s baggage concession law applies strictly to the traveller and not to family members waiting at home.

“The law gives concession only to the traveller and not the family members at home who didn’t travel with him or her,” she said.

Omari said many travellers are caught off guard by this, especially those who assume that anything bought for a spouse should also be exempt from duty.

“People think that if I’m a man and I’ve travelled and I’m buying something for my wife, it should be free. No, it’s a gift to your wife, so it is dutiable,” she said.

Citing Ghana’s Exemptions Act, 2022 (Act 1083), Section 17(1), the Senior Revenue Officer explained that baggage exemptions cover only items accompanying a passenger for personal use, and specifically exclude goods brought in for resale, barter or as gifts.

“As a passenger, the baggage you are carrying, your personal effects and other things, in addition to what this concession talks about, pertains only to you, not the items you have bought for family and friends. So if you buy anything for your family, your child, your wife, your mother, your aunties, they are all dutiable, and it’s a gift,” she said.

She added, “Since your daughter or your child didn’t travel with you, and you went out and bought one or two items for your child who is in the country, then it is a gift, and here we say gifts are dutiable.”

Asked how customs determines whether an item is a gift, Omari said this is typically established through the oral declaration process at the customs desk, where officers ask travellers about their trip and the contents of their luggage.

“What do you have in your bag? I have this, I have that. And what other things? Oh, I have phones and I have other items as gifts for my mother or my father. So from what you tell us, we know that,” she said.

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She said the national emphasis on technical and vocational training presented an opportunity for women to develop practical skills that would enable them to compete and create opportunities for themselves and others.

Professor Opoku-Agyemang made the call at the 3rd Biennial Conference of the Northern Accra Diocese Women’s Fellowship of the Methodist Church Ghana, held at the Most Rev. Kwesi Dickson Memorial Methodist Church, Adjiringanor Airport East Circuit.

Speaking on the theme, “Walking in the Word, Equipped for Every Good Work,” the Vice President also urged the Fellowship to include financial literacy and entrepreneurship in its training programmes.

She said equipping a woman with skills, together with financial assistance and mentoring, could turn knowledge into a livelihood and help her become self-reliant.

Professor Opoku-Agyemang said Ghanaian women should not be left out as the world of work was being reshaped, stressing the need for them to acquire skills that would enable them to compete in an evolving economy.

She said women’s economic empowerment was a matter of national economic development, noting that the cost of living, access to affordable finance and the fragility of small businesses were largely borne by women.

The Vice President said the Government’s policy framework prioritised enterprise and economic transformation, with particular attention to women’s economic empowerment, and pointed to the soon-to-be-launched Women’s Development Bank as a step towards expanding financing opportunities for women.

She also commended the Fellowship for its response to the Kantamanto Market fire, describing it as an example of the Methodist tradition of faith through service.

The conference, which brought together members of the Women’s Fellowship, was held under the theme “Walking in the Word, Equipped for Every Good Work,” with activities centred on faith, fellowship and service.