Category: Daily Guide Network

Ghana’s next major export opportunity may not come from another gold mine, oil field or traditional commodity boom. It may come from avocado.

Avocado offers Ghana more than a farming opportunity. It offers a test of whether the country has finally learned how to turn raw production into industrial wealth.

The Old Commodity Trap

For decades, Ghana has produced raw commodities while other countries captured the greater value through processing, branding, manufacturing and global distribution. Cocoa remains the clearest example. Ghana produces one of the world’s most important cocoa beans, yet the larger value in chocolate, beverages, cosmetics and processed cocoa products is created elsewhere.

Gold, timber and crude oil have followed a similar pattern. Ghana produces. Others refine. Others package. Others brand. Others earn the bigger margins.

Breaking the cycle

Avocado gives Ghana a chance to break that cycle – but only if the country treats it as an industrial value chain, not just another farming activity.

The pound 2 billion value chain and job opportunity

With about 150,000 acres under structured commercial cultivation, Ghana’s avocado value chain could generate between pound 1.5 billion and pound 2 billion annually and this could create more than 150,000 direct and indirect jobs across farming, nurseries, irrigation, harvest, processing, exports and support services. That would also place avocado among the country most important non-traditional export opportunities, with the potential to create jobs, support factories, attract investment and strengthen foreign exchange earnings.

A trader selling avocado

A 35-Year Revenue Comparison

A well-managed cocoa investment may generate annual revenue of about $4,000 to $7,000, with a 35-year revenue potential of roughly $140,000 to $245,000. Cocoa will remain central to Ghana’s economy, but its earnings are still heavily exposed to global commodity prices and limited local value addition.

Oil palm offers stronger industrial use. A commercial oil palm investment may generate about $6,000 to $10,000 annually, with lifetime revenue of about $150,000 to $300,000 over a productive life of 25 to 30 years.

Residential real estate, often regarded as a safe investment, also tells an interesting story. A $100,000 residential property earning about $300 a month would generate about $3,600 a year and roughly $126,000 over 35 years, before maintenance, taxes, repairs and vacancy costs. Avocado changes the comparison.

A commercial avocado orchard supported by modern production systems could generate annual revenue of about $15,000 to $30,000, with lifetime revenue potential of about $525,000 to $1.05 million over 35 years.

That means avocado could generate several times the long-term cash flow of a comparable rental property, outperform cocoa and oil palm on revenue potential, and still support a wider industrial economy beyond the farm.

The point is not that Ghana should abandon cocoa, oil palm or real estate. Each has a place in wealth creation. The point is that avocado deserves serious national attention because it can combine what many other assets do separately.

A house generates rent.

Cocoa generates export earnings.

Palm oil feeds industry.

Feed The Industries

Avocado can generate farm income, processing activity, factory jobs, export revenue, cosmetic inputs, health products, animal feed, branded goods and long-term rural wealth.

That is why the fruit itself is not the prize.

The real prize is the value chain.

Fresh avocado exports may open the market, but they should not become the final ambition. Ghana must not build another raw commodity story around avocado. If the country only exports fresh fruits for others to process, package and brand, it will repeat the same mistake it made with cocoa and other commodities.

The stronger opportunity lies in processing. Avocado farms must feed factories. Those factories must produce premium avocado oil, skincare ingredients, food products, nutraceutical inputs, animal feed and export-ready brands for regional and international markets.

That is where the real money will be made. That is where the jobs will be created. That is where rural communities will feel the impact.

The Alternate Financing Model

But building a pound 2 billion avocado industry will require more than enthusiasm.

It will require long-term financing from institutions such as GIRSAL, Development Bank Ghana, EXIM Bank, pension funds, private investors and export-focused financiers. Short-term loans cannot build long-term tree-crop industries. Ghana will need patient capital that understands agriculture, processing and export development.

There is also room for new financing models, including tree-crop investment platforms and tokenisation, to allow institutional investors, the diaspora and retail investors to participate in productive agricultural assets.

If properly organised, avocado can become the anchor of a wider exotic crops economy built around macadamia, citrus, coconut, pineapple, mango, passion fruit, dragon fruit, cashew and other high-value crops. Over the next 10 to 15 years, such an economy could generate pound 3 billion to pound 4.5 billion annually in export revenues and support hundreds of thousands of jobs.

That would make exotic crops a serious economic pillar for Ghana.

Beyond Agriculture

Avocado is not simply an agricultural opportunity. It is an industrial opportunity. It is an export opportunity. It is a youth employment opportunity. It is a rural transformation opportunity.

Most importantly, it is an opportunity for Ghana to stop exporting potential and start exporting value.

Ghana has enough examples of raw commodity regret.

Avocado must not become another one.

Fashion icon, Nana Akua Addo, has revealed that she had benefitted immensely for bearing the same surname with former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Speaking in an interview on Okay FM, Nana Akua Addo stated that many people associate her with the former statesman, a situation she refuses to disassociate from as it has given her certain benefits ordinarily she wouldn’t have gotten.

‘I’m not related to former President Akufo-Addo but the name and how people think I’m affiliated to him has brought some grace to me, and l’ve met some of his daughters and spiritually, I want to be part of his family,’ she said.

Nana Akua Addo is ‘that girl’ when it comes to fashion inspo – she’s basically a masterclass in ‘dress for the moment you want. From custom couture gowns to structured power pieces, Nana Akua never plays safe. She made red carpets her runway long before Ghanaian celebrity fashion went mainstream.

Ghana produced a disciplined and determined performance to earn a valuable 0-0 draw against England at Boston Stadium, strengthening the Black Stars’ hopes of reaching the World Cup knockout stage.

Facing one of the tournament favourites, Ghana stood firm defensively and frustrated England throughout a tense Group L encounter. The Black Stars’ organisation and resilience limited the Three Lions to few clear-cut opportunities despite their dominance in possession.

Ghana also posed a threat on the counter-attack, creating anxious moments for England’s defence as the match unfolded. The Black Stars remained compact and composed, forcing their opponents into a largely disjointed display.

England’s best opportunities came in the second half when substitutes Bukayo Saka and Nico O’Reilly were introduced. Saka was denied by an excellent save from goalkeeper Benjamin Asare, while O’Reilly struck the crossbar. Marc Guehi also saw a header cleared off the line as Ghana continued to repel England’s attacks.

The Black Stars came close to claiming all three points late in the game when Prince Kwabena Adu appeared to be brought down inside the penalty area by Ezri Konsa. However, appeals for a penalty were waved away, leaving Ghana players and supporters frustrated.

Despite that disappointment, Ghana will take plenty of confidence from a result that leaves them firmly in contention for qualification. The draw also prevented England from securing an automatic place in the last 32.

With everything still to play for heading into the final group match, the Black Stars remain well positioned to fight for a place in the knockout rounds.

Renowned Ghanaian media personality, Nana Aba Anamoah, has made a bold, passionate display of national pride and unwavering optimism to boost the Black Stars team, stressing that the World Cup final is the aim.

The Ghana Black Stars achieved a highly celebrated 0-0 draw against tournament favourites England in their Group L clash at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Playing at Boston Stadium, the disciplined and resilient performance saw Ghana successfully defend against overwhelming English pressure to secure a valuable point.

Following Black Stars success, Nana Aba Anamoah went on X to shower praises on the national team, shouting to the world that the Black Stars of Ghana are poised to get to the final of the FIFA World Cup.

The post read, ‘No team can stop Ghana from getting to the final.’ The post has generated a lot of positive reactions from followers, with many wishing the national team well ahead of their game with Croatia this Saturday.

The monumental 0-0 draw between Ghana and England in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Group L clash was an incredible result for the Black Stars. Ghanaians are celebrating the hard-fought point, solid defense, and the resilience it took to hold off one of the tournament’s favourites.

The result leaves both teams on 4 points as they head into the decisive final round of group-stage fixtures. Ghana still has work to do, and a win against Croatia is crucial to secure an automatic spot in the knockout round.

Nigerian music star, Burna Boy, has become the African artist with the most entries on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States.

The Grammy Award-winning singer achieved the milestone following the success of Dai Dai, his collaboration with Colombian pop star Shakira. The song’s appearance on the chart increased Burna Boy’s total Billboard Hot 100 entries to nine.

The achievement moves him ahead of fellow Nigerian singer Tems, with whom he previously shared the record at eight entries.

The latest feat further cements Burna Boy’s status as one of Africa’s most successful international music stars. Over the years, he has expanded his global reach through hit collaborations, sold-out concerts, and award-winning projects that have helped promote African music worldwide.

While Burna Boy now holds the record for the most Billboard Hot 100 entries by an African artist, Tems remains the African artist with the most cumulative weeks on the chart, at 134.

She is followed by Wizkid with 75 weeks, Rema with 66 weeks, South African star Tyla with 57 weeks, and Burna Boy with 54 weeks.

The Government will not expand the Ghana School Feeding Programme to cover additional schools in 2026 due to budgetary constraints, the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr. Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, has disclosed.

Answering questions in Parliament yesterday, Dr. Lartey said the programme did not receive financial clearance under the 2026 Appropriation to bring more schools on board, despite the government’s long-term commitment to strengthening and expanding the initiative.

She explained that the government has instead prioritised improving the quality of meals served under the programme and providing financial relief to caterers within the resources currently available.

‘Government recognises the important role of the Ghana School Feeding Programme in improving child nutrition, increasing school enrolment and retention, reducing absenteeism and supporting local food production,’ she stated.

‘Consequently, there is a long-term policy commitment to progressively strengthen and expand the programme within available resources. However, under the 2026 Appropriation, the programme did not receive financial clearance for further expansion to cover additional schools at this time.’

The minister noted that while expanding the programme would come with additional costs, the government has taken measures aimed at enhancing service delivery and ensuring that children currently benefiting from the programme receive better-quality meals.

Among the measures is an increase in the feeding grant from GHS1.50 to GHS2.00 per child per meal, representing a 50-pesewa increment.

According to Dr. Lartey, the increase is expected to ease the burden on caterers and improve the quality of meals provided to schoolchildren across the country.

‘One of the first things that we did was to increase the amount from GHS1.50 to GHS2.00. That 50-pesewa increase goes a long way to improve the situation and relieve the caterers,’ she said.

The minister further revealed that the government has removed the tax component deducted from payments made to caterers under the programme, a move she said would allow them to retain more resources for meal preparation.

‘We are hoping that taking out the tax component in the payment of caterers will give them more relief in terms of the money they receive and help them prepare nutritious meals for the children,’ she added.

Dr. Lartey acknowledged concerns over the inability to extend the programme to more schools but stressed that the government’s immediate focus is on quality rather than quantity.

‘Sometimes people ask about the quantity, but we are focusing more on quality than quantity as the situation stands. As we get more financial clearance, we hope to focus on both quality and quantity as well,’ she stated.

The Ghana School Feeding Programme currently provides one hot, nutritious meal every school day to about 4.23 million pupils in 12,045 public basic schools nationwide, covering learners from kindergarten to Primary Six.

The minister assured Parliament that the government remains committed to the long-term growth of the programme and will consider extending coverage to more schools when additional financial resources become available.

When parents use their children’s WASSCE completion to perform wealth for an audience of teachers, classmates, and other families, something has gone profoundly wrong and Ghanaian schools must say so.

There is a scene playing out across Senior High School (SHS) campuses in Ghana that, until very recently, would have been unthinkable.

On the day final-year students complete their WASSCE, some parents are driving brand-new cars onto school grounds, not to pick up their children, but to hand over the keys.

In front of assembled students, teachers, and other families, these vehicles are presented as gifts: a reward for surviving exams, a spectacle of success.

On the surface, it looks like parental love. Look harder, and what you are really watching is a performance of wealth, one with consequences that extend far beyond the lucky recipient standing open-mouthed in the car park. This is not celebration. This is a social disease being smuggled into our schools in the guise of generosity, and it needs to be challenged head-on.

A Performance, Not a Gift

Let us be honest about what is actually happening in these moments. If the intention were purely to reward a child, the car would be waiting at home. It would be a private conversation, a family moment, something intimate and meaningful. The deliberate choice to stage this gifting on school grounds with witnesses, with cameras, with social media posts already being drafted tells you everything about the real audience. The gift is not for the child; the gift is for the crowd.

This is conspicuous consumption transplanted into a space specifically designed for its opposite; a school, where children are meant to be equal, measured by effort and intellect rather than their family’s bank account. When you drive a GH?300,000 car onto a school compound and hand your teenager the keys, you are turning the campus into a stage and every other student and parent into an unwilling member of your audience.

What It Does to the Other Students

Consider the student who just sat the same exams. She studied for months, perhaps with a kerosene lantern when the electricity cut out. Her parents scraped together school fees, sometimes skipping meals to make it work. She wrote her papers with the same nervous hope as her wealthier classmates. And then, on the last day, she stands in the same compound and watches another family publicly celebrate not her classmate’s grades but their money.

This is not a minor embarrassment. It communicates, in the most public way possible, that whatever she achieved through hard work and sacrifice is secondary to what another family can display through spending.

The psychological literature on social comparison is unambiguous: when young people are exposed to visible, dramatic displays of material inequality, it damages their self-esteem, increases anxiety, and correlates with poorer academic motivation. Ghana’s schools are already contending with socioeconomic inequality. They do not need it being dramatised in the school car park.

What It Does to Other Parents

Perhaps the most insidious effect of this trend is what it does to the parents who cannot or will not participate. Because once the first car appears in a school compound and the images circulate on WhatsApp and Facebook, a new social expectation is born. Other parents, watching those posts, now face a quiet but powerful pressure.

What are they giving their child? Is a phone enough? A watch?

At what point does the modesty of their gift become, in the social imagination, a failure of parental love? What do their children say when their friends ask what they received? This is how social norms work, particularly in communities where public standing matters. What begins as one family’s extravagance quickly becomes a benchmark against which other families are measured and found wanting.

Middle-income parents who cannot realistically afford to buy a car may find themselves stretching financially, going into debt, or facing resentment from their children. Poorer families simply absorb the shame silently.

The parents driving cars onto school compounds are not only affecting their own children. They are, whether they intend to or not, imposing a new and damaging standard on every other family in that school community.

What It Does to the Children Being Gifted

There is a temptation to see the recipient as simply lucky. But pause and consider what message this tradition actually sends to the young person receiving the car.

They are being taught, at one of the most formative moments of their young lives, that the completion of an educational milestone is primarily a commercial event, that what matters is not what they learned or who they became, but what they can now be given. They are being taught that status is displayed publicly, that achievement exists to be photographed, and that their parents’ generosity is most meaningful when it is witnessed by others.

These are not values that serve anyone well in adult life. A young person who has internalised the idea that personal milestones are occasions for conspicuous spending is a young person being set up for a lifetime of financial decision-making driven by ego and social performance rather than wisdom. The car is not just a gift. It is a set of values wrapped in sheet metal.

What the GES Code of Conduct Already Says

Ghana’s schools are not without a framework for exactly this kind of situation. In January 2024, the Ghana Education Service (GES) issued a harmonised Code of Conduct for Students in the Pre-Tertiary Levels of Education replacing the patchwork of individual school rules with a national standard.

The Code mandates that students demonstrate courtesy and respect towards everyone, internalise good manners and observe standard values of life, and respect the rights of individuals. It also governs conduct and misconduct broadly, covering general behaviour and the maintenance of a conducive school environment.

The spirit of that Code, even where it does not address car-gifting explicitly, is unambiguous; school campuses are spaces of shared dignity and equal standing. Public ceremonies that deliberately place one family’s wealth on display before the entire school community undermine precisely what that Code is designed to protect. There is nothing inclusive about a car ceremony on a school compound.

The Role of Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA)

Parent-Teacher Associations also have a role to play. As representatives of the wider school community, PTAs should not remain silent when practices emerge that undermine the values schools seek to instill. They are uniquely positioned to encourage parents to celebrate their children’s achievements in ways that are inclusive, thoughtful and sensitive to the realities of all families. A healthy school culture is not shaped by administrators alone; it requires parents themselves to set and uphold the standards they wish their children to learn from.

Schools Must Speak

What is most troubling about this trend is not that wealthy parents make indulgent choices that is a social constant. What is troubling is the silence of our heads of educational institutions. Schools have codes of conduct, expectations about behaviour, and authority over what happens on their grounds. Head teachers should have the backing of policy when they decline to host these spectacles. The GES should issue specific guidance to close the gap the current Code does not yet explicitly cover.

And parents, particularly those with the financial capacity to stage these displays should ask a harder question than ‘what can I give my child?”. They should ask, ‘what am I teaching my child?’ and, ‘what am I doing to every other child in that car park?’ The car can wait until you get home. The lesson it teaches, when unwrapped in public, is one Ghana’s schools can ill afford.

A senior prison officer has been thrown behind bars after he was allegedly caught trying to smuggle narcotics into the very prison he was meant to secure.

Chief Officer Michael Osei-Bonsu of the Ghana Prisons Service was arrested and remanded into custody on Wednesday, June 24 by the Kete-Krachi District Magistrate Court.

The arrest follows his detention last Friday, June 19, 2026, over an alleged attempt to sneak a substance suspected to be Indian hemp through the prison gate ahead of his night shift. According to an official statement from the Ghana Prisons Service, eagle-eyed officers on routine screening duties detected and retrieved the suspicious substance during standard checks at the gate.

‘The incident occurred on Friday, June 19, 2026, during routine security checks conducted by officers on duty before the commencement of the officer’s night shift. Through the vigilance and professionalism of the officers, the suspected narcotic substance was detected and retrieved at the prison gate,’ the Service stated.

After his arrest, Osei-Bonsu was handed over to Kete-Krachi District Police for investigation. He was later arraigned before the District Magistrate Court, which remanded him for two weeks.

The case has been adjourned to July 8, 2026. The Service says it has also interdicted the officer in line with internal regulations, pending both criminal proceedings and disciplinary action.

The Ghana Prisons Service has assured that it maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards drug-related offences and other contrabands, including mobile phones.

An aunt of former Dome-Kwabenya Member of Parliament (MP), Sarah Adwoa Safo, has appealed to the police and courts to ensure justice in the ongoing probe into the June 21, 2026 shooting at a Kwabenya property linked to her nephew.

Speaking after suspects in the case were granted bail, Nana Pomaa Nyira said the decision had raised fears for the safety of Adwoa Safo’s relatives and associates.

‘We are always with her, informing people about the funeral, so if you grant them bail, then our lives are also in danger. We will plead with the authorities to deliver justice,’ she said.

She urged the Ghana Police Service to conduct a thorough investigation and hold those responsible to account. ‘The police should look into the matter and ensure that justice is served,’ Nana Pomaa Nyira added.

She questioned the circumstances of the incident, citing reports that 48 rounds of ammunition were fired during the confrontation. ‘I have seen that they have been granted bail, but I will insist that justice is served because this matter involved 48 bullets,’ she said.

Defending her niece, she described Adwoa Safo as a caring sister who helped raise her younger brother, Israel Kwadwo Safo, also known as Akofena. ‘Adwoa is not a thief. She loves Akofena; I will even say she raised him. Did she deserve what happened?’ she asked.

The shooting occurred at a property linked to Israel Kwadwo Safo in Kwabenya and is believed to be tied to a dispute over leadership and succession of the Kristo Asafo Mission following the death of its founder, Apostle Professor Kwadwo Safo.

Adwoa Safo has denied allegations that she was armed or fired a weapon during the incident. She maintains she was at the property as a family member and did not intend to cause a confrontation.

Israel Kwadwo Safo and other suspects arrested in connection with the case have been granted bail of GHS4.5 million and are expected to continue assisting investigators as legal proceedings continue.

Nana Pomaa Nyira appealed to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the judiciary to ensure ‘truth, fairness, and justice prevail’ as the matter moves through the courts.

Actor and comedian, Atemuda, has responded to recent remarks by fellow actor, Don Little, regarding his alleged GHS5,000 charge for movie appearances and claims about their past relationship.

In a video shared on social media, Atemuda denied Don Little’s claim that he brought him from Takoradi to Accra and helped him establish himself in the movie industry.

‘Don Little, so you won’t learn sense. I heard you saying you were the one who brought me from Takoradi to Accra, and they sacked me from Junkatown. Who sacked me? I’ve stayed here for so many years, even before I met you,’ he said.

Atemuda also dismissed claims that Don Little significantly supported him, questioning the kind of help he received from the actor.

‘Who did you help? Did you ever buy food for me? The day we went to eat together, were you the one who paid for it?’ he asked.

He further criticised Don Little for speaking negatively about him, saying, ‘You’re raining insults on me that I’m not nice, but are you nice?’

Don Little, in a viral video earlier this week, alleged that Atemuda charged him GHS 5,000 per day to feature in his film, even though he had helped him in the past. He was not happy and went on to launch a huge attack on Atumeda.