Stories

Cocoa Capital, a COCOBOD subsidiary, is raising up to GH¢16.3 billion from local investors: GH¢14 billion in commercial paper for this season's purchases and GH¢2.3 billion in longer bonds to refinance existing cocoa debt.

Households and businesses remain on third-quarter electricity and water rates from 1 October to 31 December, after PURC held tariffs flat despite a weaker cedi assumption and higher projected inflation.

Two ICC awards require Ghana Water to pay $235 million net of taxes after the Teshie desalination contract was terminated. The Attorney-General says the tribunal rejected a separate $402 million claim and that talks to buy the plant are intended to avoid paying the award.

The new programme combines financed inputs, crop insurance and contracted buyers across more than 10,000 acres as government tries to reduce a persistent seasonal tomato deficit.

Licensed cocoa buyers say nearly GH¢4 billion in outstanding payments is constraining their ability to raise fresh financing. COCOBOD acknowledges outstanding obligations and says it plans talks with the companies before the new season opens.

The Ghana Education Service says the outstanding funds have reached District Education Directorate accounts. Regional directors have been told to ensure schools receive the money before the 2026/27 academic year begins.

Traffitech will use cameras and other devices to record offences and issue electronic violation notices. Police say test operations begin on September 14 before the nationwide rollout.

The two offshore areas cover about 2,100 square kilometres. Eni and Vitol say the memoranda are a step toward final petroleum agreements, which have not yet been concluded.

Trade Minister Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare said GPHA agreed to provide the extra berth after cement manufacturers imposed a GH¢12-per-bag surcharge. The Transport Minister said dredging to take larger vessels is already complete.

The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission is mapping the districts that would qualify. President John Mahama says the incentive will take effect only after the necessary approvals are completed.

The government says the schools are intended to ease congestion and reduce reliance on double-track schooling. The World Bank approved the $300 million STARR-J project in June to expand secondary-school access and infrastructure.

President John Mahama has sworn in Sophia Rosetta Bernasko-Essah, Edward Amoako Asante and Anthony Forson Jnr. The Judicial Service now lists 21 members of the Supreme Court, including the Chief Justice.

The Roads Minister says Ghana’s planned multi-lane free-flow tolling system will be deployed on every improved public road. The latest statement broadens the apparent scope beyond the 66 tolling locations reported under the existing 20-year concession, but government has not yet defined which roads qualify or published the rollout timetable.

The central bank says the listed mobile loan apps lack the required licence or authorisation. It has told the public not to use unlicensed lenders and cautioned regulated financial institutions against processing transactions for them.

The Ghana AIDS Commission’s Director-General says about 1,300 applicants could not join the security services because of their HIV status. In July, the Commission said the reported screening results were preliminary and that HIV status alone should not be grounds for denying employment.

President John Mahama has inaugurated the five-member Independent Fiscal Council created under Act 1136. The body is required to assess government compliance with Ghana’s fiscal rules, including a 1.5% annual primary-balance rule and a 45% debt-to-GDP target by 2034.

Transport Minister Joseph Bukari Nikpe says further negotiations with shipping firms will follow only after they apply the GH¢720 Container Administrative Charge. The charge is the regulatory ceiling already backed by the Ghana Shippers' Authority.

Provisional Ghana Statistical Service figures show real GDP grew 6.0% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026. ICT expanded 30.9% and accounted for 41.5% of total growth, while non-oil GDP growth slowed to 5.4% from 8.5% a year earlier.

The National Communications Authority says three applicants have qualified to proceed in Ghana’s 5G spectrum licensing process. The licence conditions require 70% population coverage by March 2027, giving the rollout a measurable delivery target.

The GPRTU and GRTCC say no fare increase has been approved after consultations began with the Transport Ministry. Existing approved fares remain in force while a joint team reviews the cost inputs used in fare determination.

The Bank of Ghana said investors tendered GH¢4.46 billion for the government’s four-year cedi bond. GH¢3.15 billion was accepted at a 12% yield, with settlement on 7 September.

The Education Ministry says 527,932 of 604,567 candidates qualified for placement were automatically placed. Its figures show that Ghana has more secondary-school vacancies than candidates, but demand is concentrated in a smaller group of schools.

Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh said 4,574 facilities are now providing services under the programme. When the Health Ministry announced the rollout in April, it said the first phase would cover 150 underserved districts.

The communications minister said 4,289 fibre cuts were recorded in the first half of 2026. He blamed uncoordinated excavation, named recent outages that lasted more than 17 hours, and said a Dig Once cabinet memo is awaiting a decision.

A Supreme Court suit is challenging a rule that allows the GRA Commissioner-General to determine how much baggage a traveller can bring into Ghana duty-free. GRA says carrying more than two phones does not automatically attract duty.

The Presidency has directed TDC Ghana Ltd to comply with the Tema Metropolitan Assembly on planning, permits, rates and municipal requirements. TDC will continue as a commercial developer while the two institutions work out a formal operating framework.

The Special Prosecutor has opened a preliminary investigation into a circulating memorandum that describes money advanced around Parliament’s Appointments Committee. Deputy Minority Leader Patricia Appiagyei says she did not write the document and did not receive the money.

The Chamber of Cement Manufacturers says clinker vessels are spending far longer waiting to discharge at Tema Port, pushing up demurrage costs. It has introduced a temporary GH¢12 surcharge on each bag of cement.

A July memorandum moved Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme from the Bank of Ghana to GoldBod after GHS 22 billion in 2025 programme losses. The IMF says the central bank is no longer exposed to new trading losses, but the fiscal risk remains wherever the state keeps buying gold.

From August 2026, credentialed providers began receiving a partial increase in National Health Insurance Scheme service tariffs. The National Health Insurance Authority says the full revised rates are due in October, but only after digital attendance checks are in place.

Government says the policy has reached more than 317,000 first-year students at a cost of about GH¢900 million. Africa Education Watch says the reimbursement route used for many university students still blocks the poorest applicants at the admission gate.

Senegal’s Birame Diop took over the ECOWAS Commission on 31 August 2026 and put renewed contact with Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger at the centre of his opening message. Ghana’s Amin Amidu Sulemani joins the new team as commissioner for infrastructure, energy and digitalisation.

Ghana Statistical Service put year-on-year inflation at 5.0% in August 2026, up from 4.6% in July. Food eased further, while services and other domestic costs accounted for most of the pressure even as prices fell 1% from July to August.

After a nationwide reassessment, the Gender Ministry says hundreds of thousands of households have improved enough to leave the cash-transfer programme. It is using that space, and a GH¢1.1 billion allocation, to enrol newly identified poor households.

Government wants voters to choose among candidates first nominated by the President. As an implementation committee begins drafting amendments, the NPP says it will oppose any model that keeps the ruling party in control of who can stand.

Large and medium operators placing cocoa on the EU market must show the beans are deforestation-free, legally produced and traceable to the farm plot. Ghana has rolled out a national cocoa traceability system and a 2020 forest map; the public record still does not put a firm price on what farmers and cooperatives will pay.

The Education Ministry postponed the 2026/2027 CSSPS release from 31 August to Friday, 4 September so outstanding school choices can be uploaded. About 20,000 qualified students were still missing from the platform, the ministry said.

After a threatened nationwide walkout, three pre-tertiary unions agreed to suspend their planned strike once government committed to placing about 80,000 promoted teachers on their correct salary scales by the end of September, with arrears calculated from January 2026.

The National Petroleum Authority raised the petrol floor to GH¢14.53 a litre and diesel to GH¢15.60 for the first September pricing window. Oil marketers project higher pump prices even though the cedi strengthened, because international product costs rose faster.

A single Supreme Court justice dismissed Solomon Asamoah’s bid to pause the High Court case while his certiorari application remains pending. The ruling does not decide guilt or quash the trial judge’s no-case ruling; the accused must still file their defences by 23 September 2026.

Provisional Ghana Statistical Service figures show real GDP up 6.4% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026. Services contributed nearly half of that growth, led by a 25.2% surge in information and communication; the data do not show how households shared the gain.

US agriculture inspectors recorded their first interception of a straw crest moth at a port of entry after finding the insect in luggage arriving from Ghana at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. The available record does not establish that the moth originated in Ghana.

From 1 September, a class of licensed gold buyers can no longer ship unrefined metal out of the country. The Ghana Gold Board says they or their trading partners must pay for local refining first, but has not said what that will cost.