Category: Daily Guide Network

The ‘Criminal Division 4’ of the Law Court Complex in Accra was filled to capacity last Monday when it delivered its judgment in the trial of Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, for permitting others to mine on his company’s concession at Samreboi in the Western Region.

By the time the court handed Chairman Wontumi a 20-year jail sentence and a GHS120,000 fine, there was not a single empty space left in the courtroom.

Lawyers filled the Bar, curious onlookers and the overflow of lawyers filled the gallery while another group of lawyers occupied the chairs provided for accused persons.

Security was unusually tighter than before as police officers patrolled the courtroom and the corridor to ensure nothing untoward happened as the court delivered its judgment in what some describe as a politically charged case.

One moment that caught the attention of many in the courtroom, though, was when two private legal practitioners stepped in to plead on behalf of Chairman Wontumi, urging the court to hand him the barest minimum sentence. None of the lawyers are part of his legal team.

The lawyers stepped in when they realised that Charles Boakye, a seemingly younger lawyer who held the brief of Wontumi’s substantive counsel, Samuel Atta-Akyea, was somehow struggling to convince the court.

Mr. Boakye was able to establish the fact that Wontumi, who at that point had already been convicted, has a family that depended on him and longer sentence would negatively impact on them.

But it appeared his fellow learned colleagues in the courtroom were not convinced with his advocacy, and many of them were seen signalling to each other, while others thought he was not hitting the nail on the head.

That was when Bernard Owiredu Donkor, a private legal practitioner, stood up to address the court as a ‘friend of the court.’

The trial judge, Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, noticing the lawyer’s desire to step in urged him to hold on until Mr. Boakye was done with his submission.

By the time Mr. Boakye was done, it was obvious a sizeable number of those in the courtroom were not convinced he was able to persuade the judge to consider a shorter sentence.

Mr. Donkor then got his chance. He said the man before the court ‘is no mean person but a very established business owner.’

He said Chairman Wontumi’s businesses span across real estate, media and chain supply, and they employ thousands of young Ghanaians.

‘As has been established in your judgment, he’s not only a mere owner of these businesses but the directing mind to these businesses as well. His being around is very crucial for the successes of his businesses which employ thousands of Ghanaian youth,’ he said.

Mr. Donkor further pointed out that the collapse or lack of progress in Chairman Wontumi’s businesses will not only affect him as the owner but will directly and indirectly affect the thousands of people who depend on his businesses.

‘The nation is at a critical moment where youth unemployment is very high and therefore, if the court is dealing with a person like Mr. Antwi Boasiako, whose visions and ideas have led to the establishment of businesses which employ a lot Ghanaians, in my humble opinion, the court cannot be oblivious to this and many indeed will be affected should he not find favour with the court today,’ he advocated.

Mr. Donkor, therefore, pleaded with the court to ‘consider this circumstance to pass on the barest minimum of sanctions.’

Another lawyer, Paul Asibi Abariga, acting as ‘a friend of the court’, associated himself with his colleague and urged the court to consider the fact that Chairman Wontumi was very regular during the trial and never missed any sitting.

‘We invite you to exercise your overriding discretion given to you by the Constitution in favour of the accused person in handing over the barest minimum of sentences so he could come out quickly and reconcile,’ he prayed.

Justice Kocuvie-Tay took plea mitigation into consideration and handed Wontumi a 20-year jail term instead of the maximum 25, and fined him GHS120,000, in default of which he will serve additional three years.

His company, Akonta Mining Limited, was also fined GHS180,000 for its role in unlawfully assigning the concession to a third party.

All is not well with government’s management of the educational system as the elapsing days are beginning to show.

Having condemned the initiatives of the previous government in the educational sector, especially the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy and the double track system intended to address the surge in senior high school admissions, many thought there was a game-changer up the sleeves of the grandmasters of propaganda when they shouted their voices hoarse on the campaign trail about something new in the horizon – hot air it has turned out.

Time has proven that there is absolutely nothing to write home about the high pitched noise.

Just when the countdown for the scrapping of the double track system is on the verge of commencing, a bombshell is announced – the promised date is shifted to a period when the current government would have exited Jubilee House.

Information reaching the public yesterday was that the much-trumpeted scrapping of the double track system, a campaign entry of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) ahead of the 2024 polls, has witnessed a metamorphosis from 2027 to 2029.

In order words, the current political administration will live with the system for the rest of their tenure.

There must be something wrong which without doubt government is hiding from Ghanaians. Is that what scamming means?

It would be better to tell Ghanaians about the realities on the ground for which reason the campaign message cannot be implemented. For now, all other stuff transmitted to us by minders of government information will be taken with a pinch of salt.

Governance is about sincerity not propaganda. The double track scrap shift date made headlines as soon as it was released because of the confidence with which government assured Ghanaians they were going to scrap the system when they condemned the novelty.

It would be in order to simply announce that the double track system is going nowhere for the lifetime of the government and just shut up, period.

The reality of governance has soon dawned on the NDC having landed power through subterfuge and outright lies about their predecessors.

Within a year and a half at the helm, the unfeasibility of promised sugar-coated policies are becoming glaring and Ghanaians are learning the art of sieving the chaff from the grains, the hard way of course.

One thing for sure is that no apologies will be rendered to Ghanaians for the failed promises.

Whatever happened to the announced cabinet approved GHS3 billion educational expansion programme sourced from government revenues and newly secured international loans including a $300 million World Bank facility as a major intervention to scrap the double track system?

What informed the rushed announcement about a timeline? Of course it was part of their stock-in-trade propaganda to present themselves as better managers of government and earn a political leverage.

We have been injured once and are twice shy, the Community Day Schools easily coming to mind. Built in nearby bushes without proper thinking about accessibility for the target groups, they remain verifiable testimonies to irresponsible governance and unthoughtful management of the state kitty.

Where are we today with the Community Day Schools?

The senior sister of Daddy Lumba, Akosua Brempomaa, has called out Denise Lady Ama Saah Fosu, one of the late highlife legend’s daughters, for lack of communication.

According to her, she is disappointed in Denise.

In a video circulating on social media, Akosua, who was being interviewed, claimed that Daddy Lumba had personally asked her and Denise to keep each other informed if anything ever happened.

Holding back tears, she said, ‘I am very disappointed in Denise, that daughter of mine, because she was the one her father told to contact me if anything happens, and I should also contact her if anything happens, but she didn’t.’

However, Akosua’s account leaves some questions unanswered. While she said Denise did not contact her after Daddy Lumba’s passing, she also did not reveal whether she also attempted to reach Denise herself after learning of her brother’s death.

The emotional interview ended abruptly when Akosua became overwhelmed with grief. Relatives stepped in and asked members of the media to end the interview, saying she was too distraught to continue.

Daddy Lumba, born Charles Kwadwo Fosu, died on July 26, 2025, after a short illness. After his death, the family has since been fighting over almost everything related to him. This was the first time Akosua, who has been at the centre of various Daddy Lumba fights, called out Denise.

The Ashanti Regional Police Command has arrested a 19-year-old suspected armed robber, Ahmed Mustapha, in connection with a violent robbery attack at Asabi in the Asokore Mampong Municipality.

The suspect was arrested in the early hours of Tuesday, July 21, 2026, after a swift response by the Asokore Mampong Night Patrol Team following a distress report.

According to the police, the patrol team, while on routine patrol at about 12:20 a.m., received information that a man had been robbed of his mobile phone and left unconscious near the Presbyterian Church at Asabi.

A statement signed by the Ashanti Regional Police Public Affairs Officer, Superintendent Godwin Ahianyo, said the officers rushed to the scene where they spotted the suspect. On seeing the police, he fled and hid in an uncompleted building but was chased, arrested and taken into custody.

Police said a search conducted on the suspect led to the retrieval of the complainant’s stolen mobile phone and a machete believed to have been used in the attack. The items have since been retained as exhibits.

The victim sustained deep machete wounds to the forehead, neck and left hand and was rushed to the KNUST Hospital for emergency treatment.

Police officers later visited the victim at about 5:30 a.m., by which time he had regained consciousness. He was said to be in a stable condition and remains on admission receiving treatment under medical observation.

The suspect is currently in police custody assisting with investigations, while the Police Command has assured the public of its commitment to protecting lives and property as well as bringing criminals to justice.

For thousands of young Africans searching for better opportunities abroad, foreign employment often represents a pathway to financial security and a better future. But for some, what begins as a promise of work has reportedly ended in military service, imprisonment and death on the battlefield.

Ghana is among several African countries whose citizens have been caught up in Russia’s war in Ukraine, with at least 85 Ghanaians confirmed dead after being recruited into the Russian Armed Forces.

The figures were published by StopRussianRecruiters.org, a platform launched by Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to document what it describes as deceptive recruitment practices targeting foreign nationals for Russia’s military operations.

The platform, which compiles information from Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War and other sources, has so far documented the deaths of 485 African nationals recruited into the Russian military.

Ghana recorded the second-highest number of confirmed casualties among African countries, behind one other country with a higher death toll.

Beyond the confirmed deaths, the platform has also published details of Ghanaian nationals currently being held as prisoners of war in Ukraine.

They include Joshua Kwaku Nkrumah, a 36-year-old Ghanaian who has been detained since September 2024, and Philip Mensafio, 49, who has been in detention since August 2024.

In June 2026, Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters indicated that Ghana was the only African country whose representatives had visited Ukrainian prisoner-of-war camps to begin discussions on securing the return of citizens held there.

The promise of jobs, the reality of war

Across Africa, concerns have grown over recruitment networks allegedly targeting young people with promises of employment opportunities in Russia.

Many recruits reportedly travel believing they are taking up civilian jobs, only to later find themselves involved in military activities.

Kenya has also recorded significant casualties, with 59 citizens confirmed dead. The country has been identified as one of the largest sources of African recruits into Russia’s military, with reports suggesting that more than 1,000 Kenyans may have signed military contracts.

One reported case involves Francis Dungun Darua, a Kenyan national whose family said he believed he was accepting an electrical engineering opportunity before being drawn into military service.

Other Kenyan nationals, including Mahara Willy Manits and Evans Kibet, have been listed among those detained in Ukrainian prisoner-of-war camps.

Governments under pressure

The growing number of casualties has increased pressure on African governments to protect citizens from exploitative recruitment schemes.

Zimbabwe has taken action against alleged recruitment networks, with several individuals arrested over claims of trafficking citizens to Russia.

Kenya has also announced steps to strengthen laws against mercenary recruitment and has moved toward joining international agreements aimed at preventing the exploitation of citizens for foreign military activities.

However, questions remain over whether enough is being done to prevent vulnerable citizens from falling victim to recruitment schemes.

The situation reflects a wider challenge facing many African countries, where high unemployment and economic hardship continue to push young people to seek opportunities abroad.

For Ghana, the death of 85 citizens in Russia’s war highlight the need for stronger public awareness, closer monitoring of overseas employment opportunities and greater cooperation between governments to protect nationals seeking work outside their countries.

As conflicts around the world continue to create demand for foreign fighters, experts warn that economic vulnerability could remain a tool exploited by recruitment networks unless stronger safeguards are put in place.

Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden has committed his long-term future to the club after signing a new four-year contract that will keep him at the Etihad Stadium until 2030.

The 26-year-old’s previous deal was due to expire next summer, but he has opted to extend his stay as City begin a new era under head coach Enzo Maresca.

Foden has been with the club since making his first-team debut at the age of 17 under former manager Pep Guardiola. Since then, he has made 369 appearances, helping City win six Premier League titles, the UEFA Champions League and two FA Cups.

Despite enduring an inconsistent campaign last season, where he started just 23 Premier League matches, Foden remains a key figure at the club. His struggles also saw him omitted from Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the FIFA World Cup in May.

The England international expressed his delight after signing the new deal and said he is excited to reunite with Maresca, who served as Guardiola’s assistant during City’s historic Treble-winning 2022-23 campaign.

‘Committing my future to City means everything to me. Playing for this club is all I’ve ever wanted to do, and it’s always an honour to wear the shirt,’ Foden said.

He added that the club’s success has only strengthened the desire to achieve more, while praising Maresca as a coach who earned the respect and admiration of the players during their time working together.

Ghanaian musician, Lalid, is drawing the line with critics and has a clear message: if you’re not rocking with him, keep his name out of it.

The artiste took to X to caution ‘haters’ who refuse to support his craft but won’t stop talking about him.

‘If you don’t support my brand, leave my name out of your conversations respectfully,’ Lalid posted.

The warning comes after media personality, Ama Burland, referred to Lalid as an ‘underground artiste’ during a recent appearance on Kwadwo Sheldon’s Studio for the KSS Games and Bants and Rants segment.

Burland’s comment sparked immediate reactions online. While some agreed with her take, many fans rushed to Lalid’s defense, calling on people to stop downplaying his musical efforts and growth.

‘The Matter’ hitmaker has been steadily building his brand and fanbase, and this latest post suggests he’s done with the back-and-forth from people he says aren’t contributing to his journey.

Ghana ranks third globally for women’s business ownership concentration at 37.2 per cent, according to the Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs, with women leading 44.6 per cent of the country’s micro, small, and medium enterprises. Yet the gender gap in formal financial account ownership has widened from 8 to 11 percent over the past five years, and a $42 billion continental gender financing gap continues to lock Ghanaian women out of the credit they need to grow.

The challenge is not that women are absent from Ghana’s economy, since they are visibly powering it every single day. The fintech ecosystem keeps building products designed for lives women do not actually live. The good news is that the fix is neither expensive nor mysterious, and every stakeholder in Ghana’s financial ecosystem can begin to act on it now.

Design Credit Products Around Real Female Income Patterns

Fintechs and banks should build seasonal credit lines that align with harvest cycles for female farmers, market-day cash flow patterns for traders, and school-term timing for female entrepreneurs whose expenses spike predictably. Repayment schedules should flex around known income rhythms rather than punishing women for lives that do not follow salary calendars. Cash flow-based lending, using mobile money transaction history as an alternative to formal collateral, would open credit to millions of women without exposing lenders to reckless risk. Products like these already work in Kenya and East Africa, and Ghana has every tool needed to adopt them at scale.

Digitise ‘Susu’ Instead of Trying to Replace It

FinTech’s should partner with existing susu collectors and rotating savings groups rather than trying to compete with them, since the trust these networks already carry is worth more than any advertising budget can buy. A digital susu product that lets women continue their traditional savings behaviours with the added benefits of security, record-keeping, and small interest returns would grow adoption faster than any imported model. Ghana’s informal savings economy has been sophisticated for generations, and modern fintech should treat it as a foundation to build on rather than a habit to replace.

Build Insurance Products for Real Female Risks

Micro-insurance products tailored for female-dominant sectors such as market trading, agriculture, catering, and hairdressing would fill an urgent gap in the market. Coverage should include shock events like fire outbreaks in markets, crop failure, livestock loss, and health emergencies, with claims paid quickly through mobile money and communicated in the customer’s language. Ghana’s insurance penetration sits at roughly one percent of GDP, and women in informal work represent one of the largest untapped opportunities for insurers willing to design products that fit real lives.

Localise Every Layer of the Customer Journey

Every meaningful touchpoint in a fintech product should be available in Twi, Ga, Ewe, Dagbani, Hausa, Frafra, Kusaal, Dagaare, Gonja, and Nzema through voice prompts, SMS, and in-app menus. Marketing campaigns should feature women who look like the target customer, live where she lives, and speak how she speaks.

Terms and conditions should be summarised in short, plain-language versions before the legal text, so that the customer can make an informed decision without needing a lawyer beside her. Language inclusion is not a nice-to-have, since it is the difference between reaching millions of women and quietly leaving them behind.

Recruit and Train Female Mobile Money Agents

Female agents build trust with female customers in ways male agents often cannot, particularly when discussing personal finances, sensitive family matters, or fraud experiences. Telcos should set clear targets for female agent representation in every district, with training and financial support to help women build sustainable agent businesses of their own. This single intervention would strengthen customer protection, reduce fraud exposure, and grow female wallet activity across communities where trust has historically been thin.

Publish Gender-Disaggregated Data Across the Sector

The Bank of Ghana should require every licensed financial institution and payment service provider to publish gender-disaggregated data on account ownership, product usage, credit approval rates, and complaint outcomes. What gets measured gets improved, and this single reform would drive genuine industry change while giving policymakers a clear map of where progress is happening and where it stalls. Ghana was celebrated globally for launching the world’s first digital financial services policy, and this next step would give that policy the analytical spine it currently lacks.

Fund Women-Led Fintech Founders Deliberately

Ghana’s fintech founder ecosystem remains overwhelmingly male, which shapes product design in ways that ultimately hurt female customers. Venture capital funds, development finance institutions, and the Women’s Development Bank should co-create dedicated funding pools for female fintech founders building products for female users. When women design for women, the resulting products almost always outperform generic alternatives in adoption, retention, and social impact.

Leverage the Women’s Development Bank as a Distribution Anchor

The GHS401 million capital injection announced in the 2026 Budget can become a genuine turning point if the Women’s Development Bank partners aggressively with fintechs to distribute credit, savings, and insurance products at scale rather than operating as a standalone lender. Its physical presence, political mandate, and target customer base give it the rare ability to serve as both a policy instrument and a market accelerator. Used well, it could reshape women’s financial inclusion in Ghana within five years.

Integrate Digital Finance Into Existing Women’s Networks

Faith-based women’s fellowships, market association meetings, farmer cooperatives, and traditional queen mother networks already gather millions of Ghanaian women regularly. Financial literacy sessions, product onboarding, and fraud protection education delivered through these existing platforms will reach women faster than any national campaign built from scratch. These networks carry credibility, warmth, and reach that no marketing budget can match, and the industry should treat them as the strategic partners they truly are.

Design for Privacy in a Shared-Phone Reality

Many Ghanaian women share phones with male household members or family, which compromises their financial privacy and sometimes their safety. Fintech products should offer privacy features such as PIN-protected transaction histories, hidden savings goals, and voice-based authentication, so that women can build financial independence without exposing every step to household surveillance. This design shift alone would empower millions of women to save more, borrow smarter, and grow with greater confidence.

Conclusion Ghana has the talent, the capital, the regulatory openings, and the market opportunity to make women’s financial inclusion the defining achievement of the next decade. What remains is the collective will to meet women where they already are, in the markets, farms, salons, kitchens, and cooperatives that hold this economy together.

Fintech products designed with her real life at the centre will not simply serve the market, since they will unlock a wave of economic transformation that Ghana has been circling around for years. The industry that gets this right will not only earn the loyalty of millions of women but also help write the next chapter of Ghana’s inclusion story.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Western Region successfully concluded the vetting of 30 aspirants who filed nominations for 11 regional executive positions, yesterday.

The vetting process took place following the close of nominations, paving the way for internal elections as the party reorganises for the 2028 general election.

Several high-profile members have vied for key slots, including the Regional Secretary position, which is keenly contested by the incumbent Okatakyie Amankwaa Afrifa, popularly called ‘OKT’, and a former Ellembelle District Chief Executive, Kwasi Bonzoh.

Meanwhile, in an interview after his vetting, Kwasi Bonzoh told journalists that a petition has been filed against him, adding that it was made known to him when he appeared before the vetting committee.

He, however, expressed optimism that the vetting committee will give him the go-ahead to contest the position.

The vetting exercise was overseen by the Western Regional NPP Elections Committee, chaired by Eugenia Gifty Kusi, former Member of Parliament (MP) for Tarkwa-Nsuaem Constituency.

The 30 aspirants who successfully went through the vetting process for the regional executive roles include Issah Fuseini, David Ackah Miezah and Emmanuel Essah Acquaah, who are contesting the Regional Communication Director position.

The Nasara Coordinator position is being contested by Alhaji Labib Imam Ali, the incumbent, and Alhaji Adam Harun Ahmed.

For the Youth Organiser position, four youth activists – Osagyefo Attiah Kwaw, Prince Kuntu Blankson, Frederick Kumah and Boadi Augustine Minlah are battling it out.

Two female stalwarts of the party, Augustina Nketsiah and Josephine Yaa Odoom are contesting the Women’s Organiser position.

Those contesting the Deputy Secretary position include Malik Halick Botchwey, Lawrence Kojo Appiah Takyi, Thomas Amoah and Anthony Annor.

For the Organiser position, the incumbent, Amoabeng Owusu Acheampong, is facing stiff opposition from two other party activists -Frederick Korankye and Simon Amoah.

James Kainyah Asiedu, also called ‘Jam Kay,’ and Nana Adjoa Appiah are contesting the Regional Treasurer position.

Abena Kwallah, a former Regional Women’s Organiser is contesting the Second Vice Chairmanship position with two others -Monica Buadu and Francis Abeiku Yankah.

Ignatius Asaah Mensah, a former District Chief Executive for Mpohor and James Obeng Jnr, former Essikado-Ketan Constituency Chairman, are contesting the First Vice Chairmanship position.

For the Regional Chairmanship position, a former Regional Organiser, Abdul Ganiyu Mohammed, Ignatius Kwasi Afrifa and Kwame Opare Addo are contesting.

The Health Community of West Africa Association (HCOWAA) in partnership with Ghana Health Service (GHS) has officially launched the 3rd edition of China-West Africa Medical and Health Industry and AI Diagnosis and Project Cooperation Summit and Expo 2026.

The summit aims to advance healthcare through innovation and strategic partnerships focusing on artificial intelligence (AI), medical technology and hospital development as well as enhancing knowledge exchange between Chinese and West African healthcare stakeholders.

Speaking at the launch in Accra, the Director of Technical Coordination at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Hafiz Adams Taher, on behalf of the Minister for Health, disclosed that the initiative aligns with the government’s vision of building a resilient, modern, and people-centred health system that delivers quality healthcare to every Ghanaian.

He stated that Ghana cannot be a spectator as healthcare continues to evolve globally, stressing that the future of medicine will increasingly be shaped by artificial intelligence, digital solution, robotic precision, and advanced diagnosis.

He reaffirmed government’s commitment to transforming the health sector through strategic reforms, stronger partnerships, and sustained investment in health infrastructure, human resources, research, innovation, and digital technology.

The President of HCOWAA, Madam Sihong Jiang, disclosed that HCOWAA aims to help make Ghana the centre of healthcare transformation in West Africa.

According to Madam Sihong, Ghana has the potential to become the leading health hub in the West African region with modern hospitals and medical technology, pharmaceutical production, healthcare innovation, research, and investment.

She added that the West Africa Medical Summit and Expo is a platform to connect governments and healthcare institutions to build and share knowledge in the health sector.

‘We are creating a platform to connect governments, healthcare institutions, investors, researchers, technology companies, and international partners to share knowledge and build new opportunities,’ she said.

She added that the summit will help connect Chinese technology with the opportunities in Ghana and West Africa to improve investment, strengthen healthcare systems as well as support the growth of the medical industry.

The China-West Africa Medical and Health Industry and AI Diagnosis and Project Cooperation Summit and Expo 2026 is scheduled for August 19-21, 2026 at the Ghana International Mall in Accra.