Category: Daily Guide Network

The General Superintendent of Assemblies of God (AG), Ghana, Rev. Stephen Wengam, is leading the entire Executive Presbytery on a week-long apostolic and missions visit to The Gambia. It is the first time all the top officers of the church in Ghana are visiting the mission field together.

The delegation includes Rev. Godwin Tito Agyei, Assistant General Superintendent; Rev. Ernest Birikorang, General Secretary; Rev. Simon Abu Baba, General Treasurer; and Rev. Dr. Freeman Osei-Tete, Head of Operations at the church’s headquarters.

They were received at Banjul International Airport by a team led by the National Head of Assemblies of God, The Gambia, Rev. Paul Ampofo Williams.

During the visit, Rev. Wengam and his team will tour various Assemblies of God branches across The Gambia.

The General Superintendent is also billed to speak at the National Pastors and Leaders Conference, ordain and credential pastors, dedicate a new church temple, and hold a strategic meeting with the national leadership of the church in The Gambia.

The Gambia holds a special place in Assemblies of God Ghana’s history. It was the church’s first mission field, planted about three decades ago under the leadership of the late General Superintendent, Rev. Simon Asore.

The pioneer National Head of the church in The Gambia was Rev. (Rtd.) Jerry Adjorlolo.

Today, missionaries from Assemblies of God USA and Assemblies of God Brazil are working alongside the Ghana mission in The Gambia.

Welcoming the delegation, Rev. Ampofo expressed excitement about the visit.

‘This historic visit will strengthen and advance the missions work in The Gambia,’ he said.

The visit is expected to deepen ties between the Ghana church and its first mission field, and to provide support for church growth and leadership development in the country.

Ghanaian singer and Rufftown Records artiste, Wendy Shay, has released a new 4-track Extended Play (EP) titled ‘4 Play’, a project centred on love and emotions.

The EP is now available on all major digital streaming platforms.

Announcing the project on her social media handles (@wendyshaygh), the ‘Uber Driver’ hitmaker said ‘4 Play’ explores different shades of romance, intimacy, and relationships.

The 4-track body of work marks Wendy Shay’s latest musical offering as she continues to cement her place in Ghana’s music scene with her signature blend of Afrobeat, Afro-pop, and soulful melodies.

Fans and music lovers can stream ‘4 Play’ on Spotify, Apple Music, Audiomack, Boomplay, and other digital platforms.

The release adds to a growing list of projects from the artiste as she gears up for more activities in the year.

During a school civic-education visit to the Parliament of Ghana, Yakubu Mohammed, MP for Ahafo Ano South East, singled out one primary school pupil among her visiting classmates.

He asked her name, told her she was beautiful, and declared that when she grew up he would marry her – announcing to the group that she was now ‘his wife.’

The moment was filmed and spread nationally. Following days of public backlash from journalists, a gender activist, and a human rights advocate, Mr. Mohammed apologized, admitting the remarks were inappropriate and had caused distress to the child, her family, and the public.

That apology is not the end of this. It is the minimum, and treating it as sufficient lets an institution off the hook for something bigger than one man’s bad joke.

Why ‘Sorry’ Is Not Accountability

An apology is a private act of contrition. It does nothing to establish that Parliament – the institution that invited this child onto its premises for civic education – takes its duty of care toward children seriously.

A child was placed, by design of an official programme, in front of a sitting lawmaker who used his position to make her the object of a marriage joke in front of her peers. That is an institutional failure, not just a personal one, and it demands an institutional response:

Referral to Parliament’s Privileges Committee. Conduct unbecoming a Member – particularly conduct directed at a child during an official parliamentary programme – should trigger the same disciplinary machinery Parliament uses for other breaches of decorum. An apology offered to the press is not a substitute for a formal ethics finding.

A public, recorded reprimand from the Speaker’s office. Leadership needs to state, on the record, that this conduct violates the standards expected of Members, not leave it to individual activists and commentators to carry that message alone.

A safeguarding review of parliamentary school-excursion programmes. If children can be brought onto the floor or into proximity with individual MPs without a chaperoning or conduct protocol, that gap needs to close immediately – with clear rules on what MPs may and may not say to visiting minors, and a reporting channel for teachers and parents if something like this happens again.

Mandatory child-safeguarding training for MPs and parliamentary staff who interact with school visits. This should not be optional or symbolic; it should be a standing condition of participating in outreach programmes involving minors.

Direct, private support for the child and her family – including access to counselling – offered by Parliament itself, not left to the family to seek out on their own after being thrust into a national news story without their consent.

A press apology addresses the MP’s public image. It does not address what the child experienced: being made, without warning or consent, the punchline of an adult’s joke about marriage, in a room full of her classmates, by a person whose position was supposed to make her safer, not more exposed.

Naming the Harm Precisely

This is not really a story about one embarrassing comment. It is a story about what happens when a position of institutional trust is used to plant an idea in a child’s mind that she is old enough to be evaluated as a future wife.

Ghana has spent years running public campaigns against child marriage; a lawmaker joking that a nine-year-old ‘is now his wife,’ inside the very building where laws against child marriage are made, is not a harmless slip – it is the same script campaigns have been trying to dismantle, delivered from a position of authority a child cannot push back against.

Commentators have already said as much: a gender activist has called the remarks reflective of a ‘low moral standard’ and demanded Parliament sanction the MP directly; a human rights advocate has criticized the comments for reducing a girl to her appearance rather than her potential.

Those are not overreactions. They are the correct scale of response to a lawmaker sexualizing a child inside a national institution.

What This Article Is Asking For

Not outrage for its own sake, and not a personal character verdict on Mr. Mohammed. A concrete institutional response:

A formal ethics referral and outcome, made public.

A binding safeguarding protocol for all future school visits to Parliament.

Mandatory training, not just a press statement.

Real support offered to the child and her family, on Parliament’s initiative – not contingent on them asking for it.

An apology closes a news cycle. It does not protect the next child who walks through those doors.

For me, the most fascinating aspect of the Court of Appeal’s controversial decision in the Sedina Tamakloe case has not been the judgment itself, but the remarkable engineering of the narrative that followed.

The bigger story is this: if there is one area in which this government has fundamentally reset the standards of governance, it is public relations. They have demonstrated an exceptional understanding that governing is not only about what you do, but about what people believe you have done. Optics matter, narrative matters and perception matters.

Public relations, in my view, is one area in which this government deserves almost universal praise. Thus, if governance were judged solely on optics, message discipline and narrative management, this administration would be the gold standard for all other African democracies.

Ghana’s ruling National Democratic Congress has elevated political communications into a major policy item that has most probably received more funding (directly and otherwise) over its first 18 months in office than the flagship 24-Hour Economy promise itself. Cheekily put, they have mastered the modern political art of making a goat look like a cow. And, on a particularly good day, convincing the goat itself that it has always been a cow.

Their predecessors, the New Patriotic Party, of which I am a proud loyalist, never really gave the impression they understood this to this extent. They probably believed that if they performed, the public would eventually recognise it. This government, led of course by a PR expert, understands something different: performance whispers, while narrative travels with a loudspeaker.

Another story that illustrates this point is the economy. The macroeconomic numbers have undoubtedly been impressive. But they did not emerge in a vacuum.

They have been built on at least five important foundations: first, the extraordinary rise in global gold prices; second, the institutionalised consolidation and expansion of the Gold Purchase Programme initiated in response to the 2022 economic crisis; third, the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP), especially the enormous sacrifices made by Ghanaian bondholders to make our public debt manageable; fourth, the remarkable fiscal discipline with which government has steered the IMF programme and, fifth, this government’s ability to tell the story in a way that deepens the impression that the previous government left the economy in a mess and this government alone has fixed it.

None of those foundations can honestly be ignored, regardless of how the two parties argue over who deserves the greater credit. It is not the duty of Ato Forson to concede that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s initiative for gold to be used as an anchor for macroeconomic stability has been God-sent and has been religiously applied by this administration as a major tool for achieving the very success this government prides itself in. Interesting two years await us.

The real test, however, begins now. The IMF programme has ended. The difficult expenditure decisions that were deferred can no longer be postponed. The challenge is no longer simply producing impressive macroeconomic indicators, but translating them into the promised jobs, greater business opportunities, better schools, access to healthcare, better roads and tangible improvements in the daily lives of Ghanaians.

That story is yet to be told and next year will pose a major test on how the people really feel beyond the charm of optics and cosmetics. But that is a discussion for another day. For now, let me return to the Sedina Tamakloe case because nothing illustrates the performance of this government better than how it is dealing with the controversy surrounding the Court of Appeal’s decision.

Whether you agree with the decision or not, the Court of Appeal did not hold that no stealing occurred, that no financial loss was suffered, that procurement laws were complied with, or that MASLOC funds were properly used. No. It deliberately refrained from making findings on those factual issues. Rather, it held that the convictions were unsafe because the trial judge misdirected himself and wrongly shifted the burden of proof onto the accused so the prosecution had, therefore, failed to prove the offences beyond reasonable doubt.

In the first few hours after the Court quashed her 10-year conviction, the public reaction I observed was overwhelmingly negative. From my own sampling, the middle class, including many sympathetic to the NDC, were openly appalled. For the masses, it may well have appeared as though the long arm of the Executive was at work over a judiciary that had been cowered into submission with the bold initial move of sacking and replacing the Chief Justice. Social media was remarkably united. Those loyal to the NDC were either noticeably quiet or barely concealed their disappointment, including some key pro-NDC civil society voices. Such was the depth of public opinion that the Attorney-General quickly came out to state his position disagreeing entirely with the Court of Appeal.

He defended the work of the prosecutors who conducted the trial, announced that he would appeal to the Supreme Court and even spoke, with oddity, of seeking a stay of execution.

Then, remarkably, within twelve hours, the language began to change. Government communicators and sympathisers started attacking the previous Attorney-General for allegedly doing a shoddy job. Those who would have previously described the decision as that of ‘Unanimous FC’ were now urging the public to read the judgment and focus on the law and not the politics. Fascinating!

What fascinated me most, however, was the speed, discipline and consistency with which the narrative was forcefully and, perhaps, forcibly reclaimed over the next 48 hours by the ruling party. The scale and coordination of the communications effort suggested a deliberate and well-resourced campaign. We saw it on social media. We heard it on radio and television. We watched it unfold on news bulletins and panel discussions. Much of the media quickly adopted the new framing. The narrative had been reset!

Not even the statement from the former Attorney-General, questioning whether any appeal had in fact been filed by Ms Tamakloe’s lawyers in 2024 as the records now purport, and asking why, if such an appeal existed, it was never relied upon during her extradition proceedings from the USA to serve her sentence, appeared capable of slowing that momentum.

But is the mission really accomplished? Here lies the irony. The Attorney-General says the Court of Appeal got the law wrong and has asked the Supreme Court to restore the conviction. Yet many communicators from his own government are celebrating the very judgment he says should be overturned. Which is the government’s true position? This is where the contradiction becomes impossible to ignore. If the Court of Appeal got it right, why appeal? If it got it wrong, why defend the judgment? The confusion has become ‘basaa’, as they say in Ghana.

There’s another irony difficult to miss. One of the enduring justifications for the 31 December Revolution of this same (P) NDC that has ruled Ghana for nearly 30 years, was that obvious thieves were escaping justice because of legal technicalities. Today, many within that same political tradition celebrate an acquittal based on what they themselves describe as technical legal deficiencies. History has an ironic sense of humour. But, let me not lose track…

None of this is to deny the importance of optics. Every successful government must understand that governance is about both substance and perception. The danger comes when a government begins to believe that perception matters more than performance. That optics can permanently substitute for substance.

It cannot. Eventually, citizens compare the story they are being told with the lives they are actually living. They compare the narrative with their own reality. When those two drift too far apart, no amount of message discipline, however brilliant, can close the gap. That is when reality wins, depending, of course, partly in the narrative discipline and vim of the opposition itself.

As for how the Attorney-General reconciles asking the Supreme Court to restore a conviction while his government’s communicators celebrate the judgment that set it aside, perhaps that, too, is simply part of the story.

Pedro Leitão Brito (Bubista) has resigned from his post as Cape Verde head coach to join Moroccan club RS Berkane.

The 56-year-old guided the island nation to the last 32 of the World Cup last month, where the Blue Sharks were beaten 3-2 by eventual runners-up Argentina after extra time.

Bubista also reached the quarter-finals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations with Cape Verde, having taken charge of the side in January 2020.

The Cape Verdian has signed a two-year deal with RS Berkane, who finished second in the Moroccan top flight last season, and replaces Moin Chaabani, who has been appointed as Tunisia’s new head coach.

The team from the north-east of the kingdom are not traditionally seen as one of Morocco’s big clubs but have enjoyed success in recent years.

They claimed their first domestic league title in 2024-25 and are three-time winners of the Caf Confederation Cup, Africa’s second tier continental club competition.

Berkane caused controversy in 2024 by wearing a shirt in the Confederation Cup which featured a map of Morocco including the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

Cape Verde qualified for the World Cup for the first time ahead of Cameroon and the debutants proved to be the underdog story of this year’s finals.

Cape Verde’s football federation thanked Bubista for his ‘dedication, professionalism, and contribution to the development of the national team’s sporting project’ before wishing him ‘much success’ in his future endeavours.

Bubista becomes the latest coach to leave one of the 10 African sides which appeared at the World Cup.

Vladimir Petkovic parted company with Algeria, who exited against Switzerland in the last 32, by mutual consent on Monday.

Advans Ghana Savings and Loans has planted 1,600 Acacia, Teak and Shea seedlings at the Chipa and Kogni Forest Reserves in the Greater Accra and Northern regions, respectively.

The exercise formed part of the institution’s annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, organised in collaboration with the Forestry Commission.

It brought together staff and clients to support the nation’s reforestation efforts and contribute to a greener and more sustainable future.

Speaking at the event, the Chief Executive Officer of Advans Ghana Savings and Loans, Guillaume Valence, reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to responsible and sustainable banking.

‘At Advans Ghana, we believe that sustainable growth is about more than financial success. It is about creating lasting value for our customers, communities and the environment. Every tree we plant today is an investment in a healthier and more resilient Ghana for future generations,’ he said.

According to him, Advans Ghana’s commitment extends beyond tree planting.

He indicated that through continuous monitoring in partnership with the Forestry Commission, the institution has achieved an 80 percent survival rate from its previous tree-planting exercises over the past seven years.

This demonstrates its dedication to ensuring the long-term success of the initiative.

The CEO said the institution is also reducing its environmental footprint through digital transformation.

Mr. Valence said in 2025, Advans Ghana reduced its paper consumption from approximately 1,800 reams to just 445 reams, representing a reduction of more than 75 percent.

Based on standard paper production estimates, the 1,600 trees planted this year represent the equivalent of more than 26,500 reams of paper, nearly 60 times the institution’s annual paper consumption, underscoring its holistic approach to sustainability, he added.

The National Chairman of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has rejected growing calls by some individuals for President John Mahama to seek a third term in office, describing such discussions as a potential threat to the country’s constitutional order.

Speaking in an interview on JB News Ghana, Mr. Asiedu Nketia, popularly known as General Mosquito, said presidential term limits should be subjected to a broader national debate to determine their merits rather than being centred around President Mahama, who has publicly stated his intention not to extend his stay in office beyond his current tenure.

He argued that attempts to push the President into the debate despite his position could create unnecessary tensions and undermine the principles of democratic governance.

‘President Mahama, whom you are pushing this three-term agenda for, has publicly said he is not interested and would want to serve his term and exit,’ he said.

According to him, discussions on whether Ghana should maintain or amend the existing presidential term limit should focus on the wider constitutional framework and not on an individual leader.

‘I will suggest that we debate this presidential terms and assess each of the term limits, whether four or five years, on its merit rather than drawing President Mahama into the discussions.’ Mr. Asiedu Nketia stated.

The NDC Chairman said Ghana had witnessed similar calls in the past, particularly during the latter years of former President Jerry Rawlings’ administration, when some people speculated that he would seek to remain in power after the 2000 general elections.

He said former President Rawlings, at the time, urged people to stop such commentary and allow him to focus on governing the country.

Mr. Nketia explained that repeated discussions about President Rawlings extending his stay in office eventually led to comments that sparked what became known as the ‘Swedru Declaration,’ where Mr. Rawlings endorsed then Vice President John Evans Atta Mills as his preferred successor.

He cautioned that restricting citizens’ ability to change governments through constitutional means could create instability and encourage unconstitutional attempts at gaining power.

‘Immediately you block the means of peaceful change, you invite forceful change,’ he stated.

The NDC Chairman, however, stressed the need for policy continuity, arguing that long-term development programmes should not be abandoned simply because there is a change in government.

‘It is important that we have policy consistency as a country, but that does not mean policies can only be executed by one government. They can be continued.

‘We need to understand whether a government being in power for over four years has something good to offer us as a country, and likewise also for four years, bearing in mind some of the challenges we may have had some years ago and the benefits of constitutional governance,’ he pointed out.

Mr. Asiedu Nketia added that any discussion on the length of presidential terms must consider the advantages and challenges associated with governance under the current constitutional arrangement.

Meanwhile, a group calling itself Ghanaians for Progress last week called on President John Mahama to contest the 2028 general election, despite disclosing that he has no such interest to seek a third term in office.

Public Relations Officer of the group, Dr. Daniel Appiah, in an interview with journalists in Kumasi, said the country needs the likes of President Mahama’s leadership to undertake ongoing economic reforms.

The group also called for a review of the two-term presidential limit contained in Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.

The Attorney General, Dr. Dominic Ayine, who explained government’s position on the proposals of the Constitution Review Committee, said government has accepted the proposal to extend the presidential term limits of presidents from four to five years.

He indicated that government will hold a referendum followed by a bill to Parliament for the necessary amendment.

He, however, mentioned that the referendum and amendment of the five-year presidential term limit, if approved, would not start from the sitting President, John Mahama.

Government officials increasingly demanded unofficial payments from citizens seeking public services in the second half of 2025, with nearly seven out of every 10 people who encountered bribery reporting that public officials asked them for extra payments, according to the latest Governance Series released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).

The report also showed that the proportion of Ghanaians who paid bribes rose from 14.3 percent in the first half of 2025 to 18 percent in the second half, meaning about one in every six citizens paid a bribe to access public services during the period.

The survey found that although most bribe payments remained relatively small, larger payments became more common during the second half of 2025.

While 84.4 percent of all bribe payments were GHS500 or less, the share of bribe payments exceeding GHS1,000 increased from 6.6 percent in the first half of the year to 9.1 percent in the second half. This means that nearly one in every 11 bribe payments involved amounts above GHS1,000.

Presenting the findings at a Governance Series event organised by Three Reports and the GSS yesterday, Government Statistician, Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu, said corruption pressures intensified between July and December 2025 despite the country’s overall governance performance improving compared with 2024.

‘The most recent six months, which is July to December 2025, got harder compared to the previous six months, which is January to June 2025,’ he said.

The Governance Series (Wave 3), which measures citizens’ experiences with corruption and their participation in public decision-making under the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 indicators, was conducted between February 26 and March 24, 2026.

It covered experiences between July and December 2025 using the same nationally representative panel of household heads drawn from the 2021 Population and Housing Census.

According to the report, the increase in bribery was driven largely by demands from public officials rather than voluntary offers by citizens. Requests by officials for extra payments or gifts jumped from 50.9 per cent in the first half of 2025 to 69.4 per cent in the second half.

‘The pressure sits at the counter. The problem now is less what citizens offer and more of what officials would ask,’ Dr. Iddrisu stated.

The report said that while bribery became more widespread, its pattern changed significantly. Repeat bribery declined sharply, with the proportion of respondents who paid bribes five or more times dropping from 24 percent to 3.7 percent.

In contrast, one-time payments rose from 38.8 percent to 70.8 percent, suggesting that bribery is increasingly experienced as isolated incidents rather than repeated demands.

The report identified the Ghana Police Service as the institution most frequently associated with demands for unofficial payments.

Among respondents who refused to pay when asked for a bribe, 53.2 percent cited the Police Service. Within the service, the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) continued to record the highest incidence of gift-giving, rising slightly from 51.9 per cent to 54.6 percent.

The report also noted growing public resistance to corruption. The proportion of citizens who refused to pay when asked for unofficial payments increased from 3 per cent to 4.9 percent between the first and second halves of 2025.

Beyond corruption, the survey examined citizens’ perceptions of participation in governance. It found that 64.4 percent of respondents believed the political system allowed ordinary citizens to have a say in decision-making, down from 68.4 percent in the previous survey.

Meanwhile, the proportion of people who felt they had no say at all increased slightly from 29.2 percent to 30.5 percent.

Feelings of exclusion were highest among young people aged 18 to 24, persons aged 65 years and above, and the unemployed.

Similarly, the proportion of respondents who believed they had no influence over government decisions rose marginally from 32.5 percent to 33.9 percent, although regions such as Ahafo and the Central Region recorded improvements.

When asked about their priorities, respondents consistently identified better roads, reliable water supply, healthcare, schools and employment opportunities, while expressing a desire to have a greater voice in how these services are delivered.

Despite the deterioration recorded during the second half of 2025, Dr. Iddrisu stressed that the country’s overall governance performance improved compared with 2024.

‘The full year, which is 2025, got better compared to 2024. Both of these stories are true, and that’s the beauty of the six-monthly survey that we do, to be able to look at trends within waves and even compare between years,’ he explained.

Access Bank (Ghana) Plc has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to improve maternal healthcare and end obstetric fistula in the country.

The agreement seeks to expand access to corrective surgeries, intensify public awareness campaigns and mobilise sustainable funding to eliminate obstetric fistula, a debilitating childbirth injury that affects thousands of women across the country.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, the Executive Director for Retail and SME Banking at Access Bank Ghana, Eugene Ocansey, who represented the Managing Director, Pearl Nkrumah, said the partnership reflected the bank’s commitment to improving the lives of vulnerable women through purposeful corporate social responsibility.

He said Access Bank had championed the Fight Against Fistula campaign since 2018, working with surgeons, nurses, development partners and advocates to restore hope and dignity to women living with the condition.

According to him, the latest agreement marks a transition from a campaign-driven approach to a more sustainable intervention through the establishment of the Fistula Trust Fund.

Mr. Ocansey explained that the Trust Fund would provide a transparent platform for individuals, institutions and corporate organisations to support corrective surgeries and rehabilitation for women affected by obstetric fistula.

He acknowledged the technical leadership of UNFPA as well as the contributions of founding partners, including Mercy Women’s Catholic Hospital and the Kaysens Group, towards strengthening Ghana’s response to the condition.

Access Bank has partnered with the Chango App to enable donations to the Trust Fund through the shortcode 8875727# to encourage public participation.

Mr Ocansey disclosed that the campaign had so far supported more than 250 successful corrective surgeries, describing each operation as a life-changing intervention that restored hope and dignity to beneficiaries.

The Deputy Representative of UNFPA Ghana, Dr. Emmily Naphambo, commended Access Bank for renewing its commitment to the initiative, stressing that collaboration among government, development partners and the private sector was essential to eliminating obstetric fistula.

She noted that the condition goes beyond physical injury, often leaving affected women to endure stigma, social isolation, loss of livelihoods and diminished self-worth.

‘For every woman whose fistula is successfully repaired, we restore not only her health but also her dignity, productivity and place within her family and community,’ she said.

Dr. Naphambo disclosed that the partnership aims to facilitate about 2,499 fistula repairs annually and eliminate a national backlog of 7,130 cases by 2030.

She added that efforts were also underway to integrate fistula repair services into routine healthcare delivery across health facilities instead of relying solely on periodic surgical outreach programmes.

Nigerian Afrobeats star Ayra Starr’s sister’s car was reportedly vandalised by suspected area boys in Lagos.

Several local media reports said it was a mistaken identity because Ayra Starr was the target.

The singer’s elder sister, Saltiana Aderibigbe, popularly known as DJ Salt of Life, revealed that the attackers believed she was Ayra Starr and repeatedly shouted the musician’s name during the incident.

According to DJ Salt, the group damaged her vehicle after allegedly demanding money from her. She claimed such encounters have become common for motorists driving expensive cars in some parts of Lagos.

Sharing her ordeal on social media, she said she was left shaken by the experience and expressed concern over what she described as the growing harassment of road users by street gangs.

She called on the relevant authorities to address the situation, warning that motorists continue to face intimidation and property damage over forced demands for money.