Category: Daily Guide Network

Creative director and cultural strategist, Kelvin Vincent says Ghana’s challenge isn’t fashion – it’s how we value red carpet representation and the creative sector as a whole.

In a recent statement, Vincent argued that glamour is often dismissed as vanity, but it functions as a strategy.

‘We think that glamour is vanity, but it can also be used as a strategy. Then we get upset when international audiences overlook us,’ he said.

He pointed to Nigeria’s dominance on global red carpets, citing their presentation at the recent Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA).

‘Nigerians have mastered cultural exports with their red carpet, their presentation, and their visibility. Look at how most of them nailed it at the recent AMVCA, not because they are more talented than we Ghanaians, but because they understand that perception and image is part of power,’ Vincent stated.

Vincent said red carpets are often underwhelming in Ghana because the industry treats them like side attractions instead of business opportunities.

‘It can be exhausting preparing for the red carpet, but it’s all part of the industry, it’s part of our culture,’ he noted.

He stressed that red carpets now drive entire creative ecosystems. ‘If you remove red carpets from award shows, some award shows will collapse because it’s no longer just fashion anymore – it’s marketing, it’s branding, it’s global visibility, it’s a multi-million dollar ecosystem. Designers get booked, stylists get visibility, photographers, makeup – it’s a whole creative economy.’

According to Vincent, global brands watch these moments before investing in celebrities or labels.

He added that audiences remember visuals more than awards: ‘Let’s be honest, half of the people who are saying we should focus on the awards can’t even name Vocalist of the Year or Album of the Year from two or three years ago, but they can tell you what people wore. That tells us something about culture. Human beings, we are visual creatures.’

Vincent also pushed back on criticism that red carpets require expensive clothes, saying, ‘If our industry fully understood the economic power sitting on these red carpets, we’ll stop treating them like side attractions and start treating them like global businesses and opportunities.’

Unilever Ghana PLC recorded a strong financial performance in 2025, posting a 62 percent increase in profit after tax to GHS94 million, up from GHS58 million in 2024, as improved macroeconomic conditions and strategic business initiatives boosted growth across key product categories.

The company announced the results at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Accra, where shareholders, directors and management reviewed its performance for the financial year ended December 31, 2025.

Chairman of the Board, Charles B. Nimako, said the company delivered impressive results despite a challenging global economic environment, supported by the nation’s improving economic outlook and the successful execution of its business strategy.

‘Our strategic initiatives enabled us to deliver value to our shareholders. We have focused on sustainable growth, leveraging our strong brand portfolio and investing in local talent and resources,’ he stated.

In addition to the profit growth, Unilever Ghana’s cash position more than doubled during the year, rising from GHS97 million in 2024 to GHS210 million in 2025, which reflects stronger liquidity and operational efficiency.

The board has consequently proposed a dividend payment of GHS1 per share, amounting to a total payout of GHS62.5 million to shareholders.

Managing Director, Christopher Wulff-Caeser, attributed the company’s performance partly to the nation’s improved macroeconomic environment in 2025.

He noted that inflation declined sharply from 23.8 percent at the end of 2024 to 5.4 percent by December 2025, while the cedi appreciated by 40 percent against the US dollar and other major currencies.

According to him, these developments restored consumer confidence and purchasing power, creating favourable conditions for business growth.

He said the company’s Growth Action Plan (GAP), which focuses on accelerating growth through its key brands in the Beauty and Well-being, Personal Care, Home Care and Nutrition categories, also contributed significantly to the results.

The Personal Care category recorded an underlying sales growth of 12.1 percent in 2025, driven mainly by strong performances in the Oral Care segment.

The company’s flagship oral care brand, Pepsodent, reached more than one million Ghanaians through school and community campaigns promoting good oral hygiene practices.

The Beauty and Well-being category emerged as one of the strongest performers during the year. Vaseline recorded an underlying sales growth of 53.4 percent, marking its third consecutive year of double-digit growth.

Management attributed the performance to increased household penetration and expanded distribution channels.

The Home Care business also returned to growth, posting a five per cent increase in underlying sales. The improvement was driven by the successful launch of Comfort Fabric Conditioner and continued growth in Omo Auto detergent for machine washing.

Meanwhile, the Nutrition category recorded modest growth of 2.2 percent, supported mainly by pricing adjustments aimed at improving profitability.

Looking ahead, management expressed confidence in sustaining growth in 2026 through innovation, portfolio expansion and increased investment in key brands.

The company also announced significant changes to its Board of Directors, including the appointment of six new directors, among them a new Board Chair, following the completion of tenure of outgoing board members.

Management reaffirmed its commitment to strong corporate governance, sustainability and long-term value creation for shareholders.

KFC Ghana has announced a new sponsorship partnership with the Ghana Football Association (GFA), supporting the Black Stars during one of the most significant years in Ghanaian football history.

The partnership, which runs until May 2027, positions KFC Ghana alongside Ghana’s national teams as they compete on global and continental stages.

It covers the 2026 FIFA World Cup, qualifying matches for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), and the 2026 Women’s AFCON in Morocco, where the four winning quarter-finalists will qualify for the 2027 Women’s World Cup.

Making their fifth World Cup appearance, the Black Stars will compete in Group L alongside England, Croatia and Panama when the tournament begins on June 11, 2026 across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

‘This is a landmark year for Ghana football, and we are proud to stand alongside the Ghana Football Association and the Black Stars as they represent the nation on the world’s biggest sporting stage,’ Hloni Mohope, Chief Marketing Officer at KFC Africa said.

‘The tournament starting in mid-June is an opportunity for Ghana to showcase its footballing excellence to a global audience. KFC Ghana is committed to supporting the team’s preparations and celebrating Ghana’s football journey with fans across the country,’ she added.

GFA Director of Marketing, Jamil Maraby said the partnership exemplifies the kind of commercial transformation the GFA is driving.

‘KFC is a globally recognised brand with deep roots in African communities, and its commitment to supporting Ghana football during this critical year aligns perfectly with our vision to elevate the Ghana Football Association to one of the world’s most identifiable sports brands. This is the calibre of partnership that opens doors for the Black Stars on the global stage,’ he said.

The partnership comes as Ghana’s men’s and women’s teams prepare for an intense international calendar that GFA President Kurt Okraku has described as one of the busiest in Ghana’s football history.

The KFC-GFA partnership will launch with a retail campaign in late June 2026, with additional communications and promotional activities planned throughout the 12-month partnership period.

‘Football brings people together, and we want to ensure Ghanaian fans can celebrate their team’s journey at every stage. We’ll be rolling out activations that allow supporters to show their Black Stars pride while enjoying their favourite KFC meals,’ Mohope further indicated.

President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kurt Okraku, believes the Black Stars have every reason to dream of World Cup success, insisting that football’s unpredictable nature means no nation should be discounted.

Speaking on The Delay Show, Okraku said history has repeatedly shown that major tournaments often produce unexpected outcomes, with underdogs overcoming the odds while favourites sometimes fall short.

‘I have seen bad teams win big tournaments, I have also seen good teams lose big tournaments, and I have seen good teams win big tournaments,’ he said.

The GFA boss stressed that Ghana deserves to be considered among the teams capable of making an impact at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, pointing to the quality of the squad and the preparations being undertaken ahead of the tournament.

‘So, you can never rule out any football nation, Ghana inclusive. We have a good team, and I want to win the World Cup. That is why we are doing everything possible,’ Okraku added.

The Black Stars will be making their fifth appearance at the FIFA World Cup and are hoping to improve on recent campaigns after suffering group-stage exits in both 2014 and 2022.

Ghana faces a stern test in Group L, where they have been drawn against England, Croatia and Panama in one of the tournament’s toughest groups.

The Black Stars will open their campaign against Panama on June 17 at BMO Field before taking on England at Gillette Stadium on June 23. Their final group match will be against Croatia on June 27 as they seek a place in the knockout stage.

Ghanaian music star Stonebwoy’s (Livingstone Etse Satekla’s) 10-track album, The TORCHER II, has hit one million viewership on Spotify streaming app, according to Chart Ghana .

The 10-track EP, which initially launched as an exclusive purchase on the artist-first platform EVEN on March 16, 2026, became widely available on DSPs, including Spotify, Apple Music, and others, around May 11, 2026.

TORCHER II builds on the foundation of its 2025 predecessor THE TORCHER, expanding Stonebwoy’s signature blend of Afro-dancehall, reggae, and melodic introspection.

The project explores themes of perseverance, loyalty, spiritual grounding, and the realities of success, with the ‘Torcher’ persona symbolising one who carries light through hardship.

The tracklists include , Intro, Wilderness, Many Times, Blood Don’t Make Family, Yire (Fanfooler), Hotter Fire (feat. Tomi Thomas), Never Used To Be Like This, Winner (feat. Jahmiel and 10Tik), Mountain Tall (feat. Arathejay) and Another 365 (Happy Birthday).

All is set for the commencement of return flights for Ghanaian pilgrims who participated in this year’s Hajj in Saudi Arabia.

According to the Pilgrims Affairs Office of Ghana (PAOG), the return flights will commence on June 12 and end on June 24, 2026.

The Tamale-bound flights, seven in number, will be the first to depart, beginning on June 12 and ending on June 18.

This will be followed by nine Accra-bound flights, which will commence on June 18 and conclude on June 24, 2026, all things being equal.

Each pilgrim will be provided with two bags, the combined weight of which should not exceed 46 kilogrammes.

The weigh-in of pilgrims’ baggage is expected to commence today.

Musician, Deborah Vanessa, popularly known as Sister Derby, has criticised Communications Minister, Samuel Nartey George, over his description of homosexuality as a mental illness.

In a post on X on June 5, the entertainer questioned the logic behind supporting legislation that would criminalise people if homosexuality is viewed as a mental health condition.

‘If homosexuality is caused by mental illness according to Salmonella Georgina, why is he pushing a bill to criminalise ‘mentally ill’ people? Is it their fault that they’re mentally ill?’ she wrote.

Sister Derby also accused the minister of spreading misinformation, describing him as the ‘Minister of LIES, MISINFORMATION and MANIPULATION.’

The musician further criticised support for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in Ghana, arguing that some political leaders were influenced by foreign Christian evangelical groups rather than promoting what she described as authentic African values.

‘Such leaders like being slaves and/or puppets of white colonial masters because why is this clearly the second coming in the form of white Christian evangelicals collaborating with them and telling us how to live as Africans!’ she posted.

Her comments come amid ongoing public debate over the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, widely known as the anti-gay bill, was passed by Parliament on May 29, 2026.

Sister Derby joins several pro-LGBTQ+ advocates who have spoken out against the legislation, arguing that it infringes on the rights and freedoms of sexual minorities.

The bill continues to generate mixed reactions across the country, with supporters describing it as a measure to protect Ghanaian family values, while opponents view it as discriminatory and a threat to human rights.

The Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation, Samuel Nartey George, has proposed the mandatory requirement of a national identification or a driver’s licence verification before one can access a pornographic website or any X-rated content.

This, according to him, is part of measures to ensure that those visiting such websites are 18 years and above as well as ensure that children are not exposed to pornographic materials online.

Speaking at the Fourth Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family, Values and Sovereignty, Sam George cited the United Kingdom as an example where the use of a driver’s licence is mandatory to access a pornographic website.

‘Today in the United Kingdom, for you to access a pornographic website you need to put your driver’s licence for them to be able to determine that you are 18 years. Ask yourself why they are doing that – because they’ve seen the danger and the damage that pornography and over sexualisation have done to young UK citizens,’ he said.

The minister disclosed that the proposal would be presented to cabinet to ensure that the policy is rolled out to safeguard minors from the harmful effect of pornographic content online.

‘And that is why for us, we believe that in Ghana here, and we are going to cabinet to make sure that before you access any X-rated site, you must put your driver’s licence or national ID card, so that we know who you are and who is going to that site, to prevent children from being exposed to such content,’ he said.

Sam George said over sexualisation of children exposes them to several dangers, including their morality and development, and called for an urgent need to safeguard them.

‘This is the real threat because when a child is over sexualised at an early age, it affects their development, it affects their thinking, it affects even their morality and their values and their standards,’ he stressed.

The minister further indicated that the fight against Africa is not against its adults, but children who are being targeted.

‘And the only way to break a people is to go after the children, because when the children are destroyed and damaged, that culturalisation gets damaged,’ he said.

‘The fight against Africa is not against those of us sitting in this room. We were a lost case. The fight is against our children…Our children must be protected and safe. We were protected by our parents in an African family setting. We must do the same for our children and grandchildren,’ he added.

Age verification laws generally require online services to check, estimate, or verify all users’ ages-often through tools like ID checks, biometric scans, or other age estimation methods before granting them access to certain online content or services.

Governments in the United States, France, the UK and some African countries are increasingly adopting these restrictive measures to protect children online.

However, advocacy groups warn about the invasiveness of these systems as they create dangerous new forms of surveillance.

A NOTORIOUS robber, who has been on police wanted list for sometime now, has reportedly been shot dead during a fierce gun fight with the police.

Ali Mohammed, 23, now deceased, was said to be planning another robbery operation with members of his syndicate at Kukuom in the Ahafo Region on June 2, 2026 when the police, acting on intelligence, foiled the planned robbery.

Instead of surrendering to the security agents, Mohammed, who was said to be heavily armed with AK-47 rifles, engaged the police in a fierce gun battle, but he was hit by a bullet and died later in the hospital.

Mohammed was on the police wanted list in connection with the shooting and murder of Dominic Frimpong, on the Akyiresu-Kwame Dwomo Sreso road in the Ahafo Region on April 12, 2026.

‘The suspect was also wanted in connection with two separate robbery attacks at Bosomkyekye on the Mampong-Ejura road in July 2025 and February 2026, which resulted in the death of a driver’s mate,’ a police report sighted by the paper, disclosed.

‘During the operation at Kukuom in the Ahafo Region, the suspect engaged the police with an AK-47 rifle, but he was overpowered and sustained gunshot injuries. He was taken to the Goaso Government Hospital for medical attention but he was pronounced dead on arrival.’

According to the police, items recovered from the deceased include one AK-47 rifle, one pump action gun, two AK-47 magazines, nine rounds of ammunition, three mobile phones, a motorbike ignition key, a black nose mask, four talismans, and a sack.

Suspects Omar Chad, Dauda Tahidu, Suley, and other accomplices, who are currently at large, have been identified by the police as active members of Mohammed’s gang, and the security agents are doing everything possible to arrest them to face the law.

THE CHIEF Executive Officer (CEO) of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Dr. Paa Kwesi Baidoo, has been suspended for breaching President Mahama’s directive for public hospitals not to suspend the admission of emergency cases.

The KATH CEO, reportedly, admitted his guilt during a meeting with the Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh and some officials in the Ministry of Health on June 4, 2026, and he was subsequently suspended for two weeks after which he would report to the minister.

‘I’m respectfully directing the Board to suspend the Chief Executive Officer for a period of two weeks with immediate effect, for causing to be announced the suspension of admissions of emergency cases to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital on Wednesday, June 3, 2026.

‘The Chief Executive admitted before me on Wednesday June 4, 2026 that he acted contrary to the clear directives of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana by that said announcement.

‘The meeting was attended by the Chief Director, the Technical Advisor and the Legal Advisor to the Minister. He will be required to report to me upon the expiry of the two weeks,’ a letter dated June 5, 2026 directed to the KATH Board Chairman said.

In the letter, the Minister stated that the suspension was in accordance with Section 36(1) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and Teaching Hospitals Act, 1996 (Act 526).

The letter also directed the KATH Board to investigate who gave the KATH Head of Public Affairs Unit the permission to announce on radio that the hospital had suspended the admission of new emergency cases and take the appropriate action.

The Minister noted that the comments made by the Public Affairs Officer were also contrary to the directives of the President.

He has, therefore, tasked the Board to establish under whose authority the interview was granted and whether it was sanctioned by management.

The Board has further been directed to apply appropriate sanctions where necessary and submit a report on its findings to the Ministry within two weeks.

The suspension comes in the wake of public outrage and concerns over reports that KATH had suspended admissions of emergency cases, sparking debate over healthcare service delivery at one of the country’s leading referral hospitals.