Category: Daily Guide Network

IT LOOKS likely the new Asantehemaa will be named in the coming days, possibly this week, close sources at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi, the seat of the Asante Kingdom, have hinted the paper.

According to them, the palace has gone far, behind the scenes, with regards to the selection of a new queen, so they would not be surprised if the 15th Asantehemaa is announced to the public soon.

The sources, who demanded anonymity for obvious reasons, said the Manhyia Palace doesn’t want the Asantehemaa’s throne, which is highly regarded and respected in the Asante Kingdom, to be vacant for a long time.

In this regard, the sources claimed that the necessary consultations and discussions have been done in the last few days, therefore they are hopeful that Asanteman would get their 15th Queen in the earliest possible time.

Fake Asantehemaa Reports

Meanwhile, there were wild reports that the new Asantehemaa has been selected by the Manhyia Palace on Monday, September 29, 2025. This news, which sparked excitement, was later on found to be a hoax.

Checks by the paper at the palace, indicated that speculations on social media platforms, regarding the selection of the new Asantehemaa, were not true so the public should treat them with contempt.

‘There are laid down traditional structures in the selection of the Asantehemaa, which has been adhered to for close to four centuries, so don’t believe concocted reports on social media, regarding a new Asantehemaa.

‘The Asante King is the sole person who will announce the new Asantehemaa. Until Otumfuo speaks, treat all the wild rumours making rounds as palpable falsehood,’ a source at the Manhyia Palace told DAILY GUIDE.

Asantehemaa’s Role

The Asantehemaa, per the Asante traditions and customs, is regarded the mother of the Asante Kingdom. She owns all the markets in Kumasi, the capital of the ancient kingdom.

The occupant of the Asantehemaa’s stool, traditionally, is also the mother of the occupant of the Golden Stool, the Asantehene. She always offer advice and wise counsel to the King, behind the scenes, to make his reign successful.

Immediate-Past Asantehemaa

Nana Ama Konadu Yiadom III, 98, the immediate-past Asantehemaa, was the 14th Asante Queen. She succeeded her late mother, Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II, who visited her ancestors in the latter parts of 2016.

Nana Konadu Yiadom III was on the sacred throne for eight years, during which time she made an indelible impression in the kingdom. She contributed immensely towards the improvement of healthcare and education.

The body of the 14th Asantehemaa was finally interred at the Royal Mausoleum in Breman near Kumasi on the night of Thursday, September 18, 2025, following four days funeral rites, known in the Asante tradition as ‘Dote Yie’.

The Committee for Professional Boxing in Ghana has rejected the Interim Management Committee (IMC) to replace the current Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) Executive Board in running professional boxing in Ghana.

The committee has also criticised the decision to suspend all boxing activities following the demise of professional boxer Ernest Akushey aka Bahubali.

The Ministry of Sports and Recreation dissolved the board of the GBA, replacing it with an Interim Management Committee (IMC) which is expected to be inaugurated in the coming days.

But the Committee for Professional Boxing has criticised the decision, noting thar the NSA has overstepped its boundaries with its decision to replace the current board with an interim management committee.

The Committee in a statement noted that ‘the NSA has no such mandate since the GBA is governed by a constitution and it is only the congress of the GBA that has the power to elect board members to supervise professional boxing in the country.’

It further argues that the decision of the NSA ‘is a complete overthrow of the GBA constitution and for that matter cannot be countenanced.’

On the suspension of all boxing activities, the Committee noted that all decisions to be taken concerning professional boxing in Ghana should be within the remits of the GBA constitution and not in the manner in which the NSA seeks to micromanage the GBA.

‘We therefore, find the purported suspension of boxing activities and the replacement of the GBA board highly irrational and unlawful,’ the statement added.

THE NATIONAL Sports Authority (NSA), in consultation with the Ministry of Sports and Recreation, announced the immediate suspension of all boxing activities in Ghana after the tragic death of professional boxer Ernest ‘Bahubali’ Akushey last week.

The decision, officials say, is aimed at prioritising the safety, health, and welfare of athletes in the sport.

Akushey’s passing came just months after the death of Nigerian boxer Gabriel Oluwasegun Olanrewaju, which had already triggered a ministerial review into safety standards in Ghanaian boxing.

According to the NSA, preparations had already been completed to roll out reforms recommended by the Ministerial Committee on Boxing.

The campaign against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, in the country has not abated.

It is perhaps the hottest subject in the country today, as politicians kick it to each other’s side of the public space like a soccer duel.

The worrying impression is that there is no political will to clamp down on it.

In the midst of the shouts at government to do something impactful against it, a correspondence was sighted yesterday – an invitation to a long list of civil society organisations (CSOs) to attend a government brokered engagement to discuss the subject further.

Dated September 13, 2025, the correspondence signed by the Secretary to the President said the meeting is scheduled to hold on Friday, October 3, 2025.

In terms of the stakeholder list, the organisers have done a very good job covering from the known to the little known organisations in the CSOs bracket.

We are constrained to question what exactly the invitees are expected to put on the table which are not known already.

For the CSOs which have been at the forefront of the campaign against galamsey since last year, we do not expect them to seek to re-invent the wheel. Those who have remained faithful to the subject, their position is that government declares a state of emergency to curb it.

In the run-up to the last elections, the CSOs supported by the opposition put forth a number of demands which they confidently said would stop illegal mining in the country.

At the time of the campaign, including sponsored demonstrations, it was alleged that the activities were intended to impact on the elections – it appears they did. The integrity of the CSOs was questioned at the time, some of them losing their neutrality tag.

When appointments were being dished out, many were they who made it to the list after the elections. Cynics have constantly called out to these identifiable individuals to explain their silence to no avail.

Whatever happened to the stance they held at the time that it is possible to stop galamsey within a fortnight? This stance was constantly displayed a few months to the last polls although some appointees have disputed it today unsurprisingly.

The fact is that stopping galamsey is not a walk in the park as political campaigners sought to present the subject to Ghanaians.

While we cannot write off the importance of the planned meeting with stakeholders, doubts linger however in our minds about how much it can lead to a resolution of the conundrum which is what the subject represents on our socio-political space today in the country.

Skeptics have already described the engagement as a talk-shop intended to present government as being serious about ending galamsey.

At this stage, it is our suggestion to government to apologise to Ghanaians for getting it all wrong when they mounted the rostrums in the run-up to the last elections to claim their predecessors could have stopped illegal mining by declaring a state of emergency in the galamsey endemic areas.

Be it as it may, we can only wish the participants fruitful deliberations which would put a stop to galamsey in the country.

A RECENT Corruption Watch investigation has revealed that several prominent institutions in Ghana, including the Ghana Police Service, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Parliamentary Service, Judicial Service of Ghana, Attorney General’s Department, and Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), have accumulated hefty fines totaling approximately GHS5.6 million.

The fines were imposed due to these institutions’ failure to provide information requested by citizens under the Right to Information (RTI) law.

The investigation, which was conducted over a six-month period from February to July 2025, further revealed that the Ghana Police Service has paid a fine of GHS450, 357, while the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice still owes GHS30,000.

Other institutions that have violated the law include the Parliamentary Service, which paid GHS53,785; the Judicial Service of Ghana, with an outstanding fine of GHS100,000; the Attorney General’s Department, owing GHS50,000; and the Social Security and National Insurance Trust, which has settled a fine of GHS200,000.

The Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) paid the largest fine, totaling GHS1.365 million. Other significant payments were made by the Ministry of Education (GHS260,000), the Lands Commission (GHS150,000), and the Ghana Audit Service (GHS60,000). The Public Procurement Authority (PPA) still owes a fine of GHS100,000.

The investigation further discovered that state institutions have been using taxpayers’ funds to pay for fines imposed on them by the RTI Commission (RTIC). These details are contained in Corruption Watch Ghana’s latest investigative report titled ‘Saga over RTI: Millions paid as penalty’, released on September 29, 2025.

Investigation has uncovered that some of Ghana’s key governance institutions are failing to comply with the Right to Information (RTI) law, denying citizens access to requested information. This non-compliance has resulted in fines imposed by the RTI Commission, totaling approximately GHS5.6 million across over 70 determinations involving at least 60 institutions.

The investigation further revealed that in terms of frequency, the Ministry of Education ranks highest with four penalties received, while the Ghana Police Service has received three penalties. Ten other institutions have suffered two penalties each. They include the Ghana Education Service (GES), the Judicial Service, the Lands Commission, the PPA, the Ministry of Energy, and the Urban Roads Department.