Ofori-Atta Pursues US Residency as INTERPOL Drops His Red Notice

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Ofori-Atta Pursues US Residency as INTERPOL Drops His Red Notice

Former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta is formally pursuing permanent residency in the United States rather than returning to Ghana, where he faces 78 counts of corruption and financial misconduct, his lawyer has told a US news outlet, as a separate legal setback complicates Ghana’s efforts to secure his extradition.

Ofori-Atta’s US-based attorney, Enayat Qasimi, told Semafor that his client has a “pathway to residency” that he intends to pursue. Qasimi argued that there are serious questions about the independence of Ghana’s judiciary and that Ofori-Atta has been subjected to a political witch hunt that makes a fair trial unlikely. Ghana has formally submitted an extradition request, which US officials confirmed has been received, but the Office of the Attorney General declined to comment.

Adding a significant legal complication for Accra, the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) permanently removed its Red Notice against Ofori-Atta in February 2026. The Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files cited a violation of political neutrality rules, pointing to polarised political statements from Ghanaian officials as evidence that the notice had been used for political ends. The removal does not halt extradition proceedings but eliminates one of the international enforcement tools Ghana had secured.

Ofori-Atta is currently held at the Caroline Detention Facility in Bowling Green, Virginia, where he has been in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody since January 6, 2026. He is expected to reappear before the Annandale Immigration Court in Virginia on April 27.

His legal team is pursuing an adjustment of immigration status petition, a mechanism under US law that can allow a person to remain lawfully in the country even after their visa has expired, provided they meet certain eligibility criteria. Defense attorneys argue that without a verified, active extradition warrant signed by a US federal judge, there is no legal basis to deny him that pathway.

Ghana’s extradition case rests on a demanding legal standard. US courts must satisfy the dual criminality principle, which requires a federal judge to determine that the alleged offences under Ghanaian law would also constitute crimes under US federal law, before an extradition warrant can be signed. Ofori-Atta’s legal team is expected to contest that determination.

The charges against Ofori-Atta and six others, filed by Ghana’s Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) on November 18, 2025, include 78 counts of conspiracy to commit procurement fraud, causing financial loss to the state, and using public office for private gain. The allegations centre on a contract awarded to Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) that prosecutors say caused a financial loss of over GH¢1.4 billion, as well as the GH¢600 million National Cathedral project and ambulance and electricity company procurement deals.

Ofori-Atta has declined consular assistance from Ghana’s Embassy in Washington and has relied exclusively on his private legal team throughout the proceedings. The Mahama administration has framed his extradition as central to its Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) anti-corruption initiative, making the case one of the most politically symbolic legal confrontations of the current government’s first year in office.

Cabinet Approves Corruption Tribunals as Agyeman-Manu Prosecution Looms

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Cabinet Approves Corruption Tribunals as Agyeman-Manu Prosecution Looms

Ghana’s Cabinet has approved the reintroduction of special tribunals to fast-track corruption and illicit wealth cases, the government announced this week, responding directly to criticism that the country’s courts are too slow to deliver timely accountability under the Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) initiative.

Government Communications Minister Felix Kwakye Ofosu confirmed that Cabinet endorsed the tribunal mechanism on the constitutional basis that such courts are already provided for under Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, and that they will now be formally activated to handle ORAL cases and other illicit wealth proceedings. He said the tribunals are intended to reduce the pressure of corruption-related cases on the regular court system. No date has been given for when the first tribunal will sit.

The announcement came on the same day former Auditor-General Daniel Domelevo renewed his call for specialised courts with defined timelines for corruption trials, arguing that the current justice framework is structurally inadequate for the scale and complexity of financial crimes being uncovered.

“Cabinet has approved the reintroduction of the tribunal system, which, in any event, is in the Constitution. It is something that has been resuscitated, and very soon it will be rolled out to deal with cases of ORAL and cases involving illegal money,” Kwakye Ofosu said on Joy News’ PM Express.

In a separate disclosure on the same programme, Kwakye Ofosu said former Health Minister Kwame Agyeman-Manu is facing imminent prosecution and denied the former minister’s recent public suggestion that ORAL investigators had not engaged him.

“He was arrested by the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB). He was interrogated. He wrote a caution statement. The docket on him has been built, two of them. And he will be taken to court very soon and charged,” Kwakye Ofosu said, adding that Agyeman-Manu “is by no means a free man.”

The charges under consideration relate to causing financial loss to the state and breaches of procurement law, spanning two separate cases: the controversial Sputnik-V COVID-19 vaccine procurement deal, and the management of Ghana’s pandemic border screening programme at Kotoka International Airport, where Frontiers Health Service Limited operated without a licence.

The Agyeman-Manu disclosure is among the most specific prosecutorial warnings the government has issued under ORAL to date. Kwakye Ofosu said approximately 140 individuals have so far been questioned by security agencies including the NIB, the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), resulting in 27 active dockets and a further 40 cases being reviewed by EOCO, with multiple individuals currently standing trial.

The minister maintained that the government will not seek to influence judicial proceedings once cases are filed, saying the pace of trials remains the exclusive domain of the courts.

Domelevo Demands Prosecution as Audit Exposes GH¢21bn State Plunder

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Domelevo Demands Prosecution as Audit Exposes GH¢21bn State Plunder

Former Auditor-General Daniel Yaw Domelevo has called for the immediate suspension, investigation and prosecution of public officials identified in Ghana’s most damaging government audit in years, after a special review of state arrears submitted to Parliament on March 10 exposed GH¢21.35 billion in fictitious, duplicated and unsupported claims against the public purse.

Out of GH¢68.7 billion in Interim Payment Certificates (IPCs), invoices and Bank Transfer Advices (BTAs) submitted to the Ministry of Finance as unpaid debts owed to contractors and suppliers, the Ghana Audit Service (GAS), working alongside international firms EY and PwC, validated only GH¢45.4 billion for payment. A further GH¢8.1 billion was outright rejected due to unsupported documentation, duplications, overstatements and claims for work never done. An additional GH¢13.3 billion remains under scrutiny pending adequate documentation.

Delivering the findings to Parliament on behalf of Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem described the report as exposing a system designed to “fleece the people of Ghana,” saying the findings painted a picture of a “rotten system” of systemic plunder and abuse of public financial management.

Among the most alarming findings, auditors identified GH¢4.4 billion in claims that had already been paid between 2020 and 2024 and were being fraudulently resubmitted for payment. The Ministry of Roads and Highways topped that list with GH¢3.6 billion in recycled claims, followed by the Ministry of Health at GH¢384.8 million and the Ministry of Energy at GH¢216.7 million. Duplicated and overstated claims from various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) added a further GH¢1.4 billion.

A separate section of the report flagged GH¢89.4 million submitted under the One District One Factory (1D1F) programme as fictitious debts. The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) featured prominently in a food supply scandal: the government paid for 34,000 tonnes of rice to address the 2024 dry spell, but MoFA received and distributed only 24,000 tonnes, leaving 10,000 fully paid-for tonnes unaccounted for. In a separate transaction, MoFA submitted documentation claiming delivery of 100,000 tonnes of maize worth GH¢771.2 million, but the audit found only 11,900 tonnes was actually supplied. A transport contractor was also paid GH¢61.7 million for moving 35,000 tonnes of grain under a contract valued at GH¢30.9 million.

Domelevo, speaking across three separate platforms this week, framed the findings not as administrative failures but as deliberate criminal conduct requiring immediate consequences. “Public officials who approved questionable payments must be suspended and investigated,” he said on JoyFM’s Newsnight on March 11, adding that the scale and pattern of the irregularities pointed to “criminal intent to manipulate records to steal money or conceal indebtedness.”

He argued that administrative action must precede and not wait for parliamentary deliberations. “Administrative sanctions alone send a clear signal to Ghanaians that malfeasance will not be overlooked,” he said, urging President John Dramani Mahama to immediately suspend any official regardless of rank found responsible for processing illegitimate claims.

On the legal framework, Domelevo called for the passage of the long-stalled Conduct of Public Office Holders (CPOH) bill, including lifestyle audit provisions and unexplained wealth orders, saying Ghana’s current laws are structurally tilted in favour of those who misappropriate public funds. He also called for specialised courts dedicated to corruption cases, with defined timelines for trials to ensure prosecutions are concluded within a reasonable period rather than grinding to a halt through procedural delays.

He also condemned the practice of reshuffling implicated officials into other government positions, saying offenders should face dismissal or suspension rather than lateral transfers that allow them to continue in the public service.

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), the Attorney-General’s Department and Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee are all expected to engage with the report in the coming weeks.

Fujairah Partially Resumes Oil Loading After Second Drone Strike in a Week

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Fujairah Partially Resumes Oil Loading After Second Drone Strike in a Week

Oil loading operations at the United Arab Emirates’ Fujairah export hub have partially resumed following a drone strike and fire on Saturday that temporarily halted exports at one of the few remaining outlets for Gulf crude still functioning outside the blocked Strait of Hormuz.

Operations at Fujairah restarted on Sunday, according to people familiar with the situation who were not authorised to comment publicly. Calls to the port and to state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) went unanswered. The Fujairah media office confirmed that a drone was intercepted on Saturday and that falling debris sparked the fire at the terminal.

The resumption is partial. Most storage terminals and berths at the Fujairah Oil Tanker Terminal (FOTT) are now operating, with all berths at Oil Terminal 1 and a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) jetty functioning and several berths at Oil Terminal 2 accepting vessels. However, the Mena Fujairah Terminal remains offline after drone debris damaged naphtha storage tanks, and bunker suppliers are still awaiting clearance to resume barge operations at the Vopak Horizon terminal.

Saturday’s attack was the second drone incident at Fujairah in less than a week. The first occurred on March 9 when debris from a drone intercepted by UAE air defence systems fell inside the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, sparking a fire that damaged oil storage infrastructure and forced several terminals to temporarily suspend operations.

The Saturday strike came hours after US forces carried out strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island, the terminal that handles roughly 90 percent of Iran’s crude exports. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had explicitly warned that US-linked energy facilities and financial interests across the region would become legitimate targets in response. The IRGC followed through on parts of that threat, with strikes also reported against branches of Citibank in Dubai and Manama, which Iran said were retaliation for US strikes on two Iranian banks.

Fujairah is strategically significant because it sits on the Gulf of Oman outside the Strait of Hormuz, serving as the endpoint for a pipeline carrying Abu Dhabi’s Murban crude and handling approximately one million barrels per day, or roughly one percent of global oil demand. With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed since the war began on February 28, Fujairah has become one of the last functioning export arteries for Middle Eastern crude, making it both commercially critical and a high-priority target.

“The IRGC is sending a message that there is no safe harbour in this rapidly expanding conflict,” said Helima Croft, analyst at RBC Capital. “The fact this comes hours after the US strike on Kharg Island also signals that Tehran will not let Washington control the terms of escalation and impose dominance.”

The temporary disruption earlier in the week tightened bunker fuel availability and pushed regional marine fuel prices higher, with traders reporting reduced offers and increased caution among suppliers. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has said the conflict has triggered the largest disruption to global oil flows in recorded market history.

ADNOC has informed international partners holding stakes in Murban crude production that they may proceed with loading some March cargoes from Fujairah, signalling a gradual normalisation, though the situation remains volatile as the broader conflict shows no sign of abating.

COCOBOD Releases GH¢4.2bn But Farmers Say Money Has Not Arrived

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COCOBOD Releases GH¢4.2bn But Farmers Say Money Has Not Arrived

Ghana’s cocoa regulator has disbursed a further GH¢4.2 billion to domestic cocoa buyers this week in its latest attempt to clear a payment backlog stretching back to November 2025, but cocoa farmers across the country say the money is still not reaching them, deepening a liquidity crisis that has now drawn global scrutiny.

The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) confirmed the latest release to Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs), describing it as part of a coordinated effort to clear outstanding arrears and restore confidence in the sector ahead of the close of the 2025/2026 cocoa season in August.

But a Reuters report published ten days ago found that a previous disbursement of GH¢3.62 billion had not yet reached the farm gate. Farmers and purchasing clerks told Reuters they had heard announcements of the payment releases but their LBCs had not received funds to pay them. Industry figures pointed to one reason: LBCs currently owe local banks between GH¢7 billion and GH¢8 billion in loans taken to prefinance cocoa purchases, and some of the COCOBOD disbursements are being absorbed by those bank debts before farmers see a cedi.

The domestic payment backlog sits within a larger financial picture that has now reached international markets. Bloomberg reported on March 13 that COCOBOD has failed to repay more than $400 million in loans taken from domestic and international Licensed Buying Companies ahead of the 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 harvests, raising the risk that the regulator will not have enough cash to buy beans next season, a development that could squeeze global cocoa supplies.

The figure forms part of COCOBOD’s total debt burden of GH¢32.9 billion as at the end of 2024, alongside a negative equity position of approximately GH¢3.8 billion, meaning its liabilities exceed its assets. At the centre of that debt is a series of forward contracts from the 2023/2024 season that were rolled over into subsequent seasons at locked-in prices of approximately $2,600 per tonne, meaning Ghana missed the opportunity to benefit when global cocoa prices surged to between $9,000 and $12,000 per tonne in 2024.

The collapse of COCOBOD’s traditional annual syndicated loan, which for three decades provided between $1.3 billion and $1.5 billion each season to fund cocoa purchases, lies at the root of the current cash squeeze. International lenders withdrew after COCOBOD failed to deliver on its first-ever contract default in 2024, forcing the regulator to turn to international traders for emergency prefinancing. That arrangement is now under strain.

COCOBOD’s Head of Public Affairs Jerome Sam said the institution remains committed to settling all outstanding payments to farmers before the season closes in August, and that every cedi owed to LBCs would be paid so that buyers could in turn settle obligations to farmers. Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has announced structural reforms to COCOBOD’s financing model, including a new framework intended to prevent a recurrence of the liquidity failures that have defined the past two seasons.

For Ghana’s estimated one million cocoa farmers, structural reforms offer little immediate comfort. Samuel Adimado, President of the Licensed Cocoa Buyers Association of Ghana (LICOBAG), has urged LBC members to prioritise farmers over bank debts as funds arrive from COCOBOD. Whether that appeal translates into cash at the farm gate before the end of the season will determine how many farmers plant next year’s crop, and with it, the long-term trajectory of Ghana’s position in the global cocoa market.

West Africa’s US$105 Billion Nuclear Grid Ambition Moves Toward Reality

Roger A. Agana
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West Africa’s US$105 Billion Nuclear Grid Ambition Moves Toward Reality

A wave of nuclear energy programmes across West and broader sub-Saharan Africa is moving from decades of planning into active procurement, regulatory development and vendor engagement, with the region now representing one of the most significant emerging nuclear markets in the world.

The scale of the opportunity has been quantified. Africa’s nuclear sector is projected to add up to 15 gigawatts of new capacity by 2035, representing an investment opportunity of approximately $105 billion. Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria, Rwanda, Kenya, Niger and Ethiopia have all signalled plans to introduce nuclear power between 2030 and 2037.

The structural enabler underpinning much of this ambition is a now-unified West African grid. In November 2025, the West African Power Pool (WAPP) achieved full grid synchronisation for the first time, connecting all member states within a single network, with permanent synchronisation targeted for mid-2026. A synchronised regional grid is commercially significant for nuclear development because a single large reactor can supply multiple countries via interconnectors, spreading construction costs and improving the financial case for any individual project. The WAPP has set a long-term target of 10 gigawatts of nuclear capacity across the sub-region.

Ghana Leads the Field

Among West Africa’s newcomer nuclear states, Ghana is the furthest advanced. It has the most robust nuclear infrastructure in place of any new entrant nation in Africa, with institutional development, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) milestone compliance, and investment in training infrastructure giving it a stronger foundation than most comparable countries at a similar stage. Nuclear Power Ghana (NPG) has signed framework agreements with both US-based NuScale Power and China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and is targeting first nuclear power by the early-to-mid 2030s.

Nigeria: Capital Without the Infrastructure

Nigeria presents the starkest contrast to Ghana. Africa’s most populous country has the financial resources to support nuclear construction but is missing almost all of the infrastructure that Ghana has, and lacks a single coherent approach to the programme.

Progress is nonetheless accelerating on the legislative front. A bill to amend Nigeria’s Electricity Act to provide for the effective development and regulation of nuclear energy, specifically promoting Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) as a cost-effective and scalable solution, received its second reading in the House of Representatives in November 2025. Earlier gigawatt-scale ambitions with Russia’s Rosatom have been replaced by a more pragmatic modular strategy, and the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC) is working with the IAEA toward a Phase 2 Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR). A dedicated owner-operator entity, seen as the commercial backbone of any programme, is being targeted for formal creation within a one-to-two-year horizon.

Rwanda: Fastest-Moving Newcomer

Rwanda has emerged as the most rapidly advancing newcomer on the continent. In March 2026, the IAEA completed an INIR Phase 1 mission to Rwanda, and more than 234 Rwandan specialists are currently undertaking nuclear-related training. Rwanda plans to have its first SMR operational in the early 2030s. The country’s small grid size, estimated at around 550 megawatts of demand, makes it a natural candidate for the modular reactor approach, which is specifically designed for economies where a traditional gigawatt-scale plant would be too large for the existing system to absorb.

South Africa: Anchor of the Continental Market

Beyond West Africa, South Africa remains the continent’s only operational nuclear power producer and is dramatically expanding its ambitions. South Africa’s Integrated Resource Plan 2025 mandates more than 5 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity within a $128 billion national energy investment framework, and Koeberg Nuclear Power Station’s two reactors have received a 20-year operating licence extension keeping them running until 2044 and 2045. South African nuclear institutions are positioning the country as a potential technology standard-setter and training hub for the continental market, a role that would give its nuclear industry a significant commercial multiplier effect beyond its own borders.

Egypt: The Continent’s Next Operating Plant

Egypt is furthest ahead among Africa’s nuclear newcomers, with Russia’s Rosatom having begun construction on four large nuclear power plants with significant desalination capacity at El Dabaa in 2022, at an estimated cost of around $30 billion. The reactors are expected to come online in 2028.

The Financing Question Persists

Despite the momentum, the core challenge facing virtually every African nuclear programme remains unchanged. A senior official at the Rwanda Atomic Energy Board has said that none of Africa’s nuclear newcomer countries today is ready financially to immediately implement a nuclear power plant. Bridging that gap, whether through vendor financing, development finance institutions or regional cost-sharing arrangements enabled by the WAPP’s synchronised grid, will determine how many of the continent’s declared nuclear ambitions translate into concrete poured and reactors generating power.

The 5th Africa Nuclear Business Platform (AFNBP 2026), hosted by the NAEC in Abuja from April 21 to 23, is expected to be the next major forum where vendors, governments and investors attempt to close that distance between ambition and execution.

Two Giants, Two Technologies: Inside Ghana’s Nuclear Vendor Race

Roger A. Agana
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Two Giants, Two Technologies: Inside Ghana’s Nuclear Vendor Race

Ghana is pursuing one of the most unusual nuclear procurement strategies in history, simultaneously negotiating with the United States and China to build two entirely different types of reactors under two different financing models — a dual-track bet that reflects both the country’s ambition and the constraints that have complicated its nuclear programme for decades.

The selection of the two vendors was confirmed in March 2025, when Nuclear Power Ghana (NPG) Executive Director Dr. Stephen Yamoah announced that framework agreements had been signed with both partners. Under the arrangement, US-based NuScale Power and Regnum Technology Group, working in partnership with Japanese firms, will build Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), while China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) will construct a large reactor with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts. The SMR plant will consist of 12 modules each generating 77 megawatts, for a combined output of 924 megawatts.

The two projects are structured differently from the ground up. The large reactor from CNNC will follow a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) financial model with local equity participation, while the SMRs will be financed through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). Both projects are targeting first power delivery by the early-to-mid 2030s, with NPG setting a goal of adding approximately 1,000 megawatts of nuclear capacity to Ghana’s electricity grid by 2034.

What Each Vendor Is Offering

The US offer centres on NuScale’s VOYGR-12 plant, the only Small Modular Reactor (SMR) design to have received design certification from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). In August 2024, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) signed a framework agreement with Regnum Technology Group and NuScale Power to deploy the VOYGR-12 plant, structured not merely as an energy asset but as a regional platform. The NuScale Energy Exploration Centre at the GAEC already houses Africa’s first SMR control room simulator, positioning Ghana as a continental training hub for operators and technicians from across the sub-region.

The US government has invested heavily in creating the conditions for NuScale’s success in Ghana. The US Department of Energy (DOE) has provided more than $579 million since 2014 to support the design and licensing of NuScale’s VOYGR reactor, and Ghana has been part of the State Department’s Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) programme since 2022, which supports Ghana’s goal of becoming a regional SMR training centre for sub-Saharan Africa.

The Chinese offer is different in both scale and structure. In April 2024, NPG signed a framework agreement with CNNC for an HPR-1000 Hualong One reactor and associated grid upgrades. The Hualong One is a proven third-generation pressurised water reactor with operational units already running in China and under construction in Pakistan. Under the financial model being discussed, Ghana would backstop the price of electricity output under a time-limited Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and would purchase ownership of the plant once the PPA term ends. CNNC has separately proposed that NPG take an equity stake during construction and early operation, before eventually buying out the Chinese side.

The Financing Question

Of the two offers, analysts say China’s terms may currently be easier to close. Energy Intelligence has reported that given the limited availability of US export financing from institutions such as the US Export-Import Bank, CNNC’s offerings are perhaps more conducive to Ghana’s current financial position. Ghana lacks the domestic financial resources to fully fund a newbuild nuclear project without substantial support from the vendor nation, and the structure of the Chinese offer, built around a BOT model that defers full ownership costs, aligns more directly with that reality.

Despite this, analysts have described Ghana as the African newcomer nation best positioned technologically and operationally to be the continent’s next nuclear state after South Africa and Egypt. NPG’s institutional development, its IAEA milestone compliance, and its investment in training infrastructure give it a stronger foundation than most comparable countries at a similar stage.

Civil Society Concerns

The vendor selection has not been without controversy. Civil society organisations including 360 Human Rights, SYND Ghana, Centre for Justice, Governance and Environmental Action, and Earthlife Africa have argued that nuclear energy is neither safe, affordable nor climate-smart, pointing to NuScale’s own track record in the US, where a high-profile SMR project intended for the state of Utah was cancelled in 2023 due to escalating costs. They argue that selecting NuScale effectively makes Ghana a testing ground for technology that has not yet been proven at commercial scale outside the United States.

NPG has consistently defended the programme, saying it is being developed under the highest International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safety standards and that nuclear power is essential to supporting Ghana’s industrialisation and long-term energy security.

The Regional Dimension

Ghana’s nuclear programme is not being developed in isolation. The West African Power Pool (WAPP) achieved full grid synchronisation connecting all member states for the first time in November 2025, with permanent synchronisation targeted for mid-2026. A synchronised regional grid significantly improves the economics of nuclear investment, because a single large reactor can supply multiple countries via interconnectors, spreading costs and improving the financial case for construction.

The World Nuclear Association’s 2025 World Nuclear Fuel Report forecasts that Ghana and Nigeria will each have 1,000 megawatts of nuclear power in operation by 2038, while Kenya is projected to deploy one SMR by 2040. Whether Ghana meets that timeline will depend on how quickly it can navigate site finalisation, Parliamentary approval and the financing negotiations that remain the most consequential unresolved variables in a programme that began, in concept, in the 1960s.

War Escalation Puts Ghana Factories on Notice Over Input Costs

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War Escalation Puts Ghana Factories on Notice Over Input Costs

Ghana’s manufacturers are monitoring the escalating war between the United States and Iran with growing concern, as Friday’s strikes on Iran’s main oil export island and mounting shipping surcharges bring the conflict’s economic consequences closer to local factory floors.

The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) warned this week that while production cycles of three to six months give most manufacturers a temporary buffer, that window will close if the conflict persists. “When it drags, that is where it comes, because no matter the amount of stock you have, it will get finished at some point, then you need to import. When you import, the question will be, will the imports be the same cost as they were before?” AGI President Seth Twum-Akwaboah said on Joy News.

The concern has sharpened since those remarks. US forces struck Kharg Island, through which roughly 85 percent of Iran’s crude oil exports flow, early on Saturday in what US Central Command (CENTCOM) described as strikes on military targets. Global oil prices have surged more than 40 percent since the war began, and tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical oil chokepoint, has been severely disrupted for nearly three weeks.

The Ghana Shippers Authority (GSA) has separately warned local importers and exporters of higher freight charges resulting from the global shipping disruptions triggered by the conflict. Shipping lines have introduced emergency war risk surcharges, with fees reported at between $1,500 and $2,000 per container, while longer routing to avoid conflict zones is adding to transit times and landed costs across supply chains.

For Ghanaian manufacturers, the problem is structural. Twum-Akwaboah noted that a large share of local manufacturing inputs, particularly for light manufacturing, comes from Southeast Asia, a region whose supply chains are already under strain from the conflict. Agribusiness-related inputs sourced domestically offer some insulation, but machinery, components and raw materials for other sectors remain exposed to both higher commodity prices and elevated freight costs.

The AGI president said manufacturers are not yet panicking, noting that companies are “reasonably stable in their minds” for now. But he was clear that a prolonged conflict would push production costs higher across the board as new import orders are placed at prices that reflect the current disruption.

The timing is particularly sensitive. Ghana’s inflation fell to a 27-year low of 3.3 percent in February, a hard-won gain that policymakers have described as fragile. Any broad-based rise in manufacturing input costs risks feeding into consumer prices for goods ranging from packaged foods to construction materials, testing the country’s recent price stability at a moment when fuel costs are already rising sharply.

Landlords Face April 1 Deadline as Rent Commission Prepares First Prosecutions

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Landlords Face April 1 Deadline as Rent Commission Prepares First Prosecutions

Ghana’s Rent Commission is preparing to begin prosecuting landlords who demand more than six months of advance rent from April 1, setting a firm enforcement deadline in a housing market where two-year advance payments have been standard practice for decades despite being illegal.

The April 1 date marks the Commission’s transition from the awareness phase that accompanied the March 1 launch of its mandatory Rent Card system into active legal enforcement. Acting Rent Commissioner Frederick Opoku has described the routine collection of one, two, and even three years of rent in advance as both illegal and an unconscionable burden on tenants, and has said the Commission intends to dismantle the practice through prosecution rather than education alone.

The legal basis for the crackdown is the Rent Act, 1963 (Act 220) as amended under People’s National Defence Council (PNDC) Law 5, which caps advance rent at six months for tenancies exceeding six months in duration. Violations carry a penalty of up to 500 penalty units or a two-year prison term, or both, upon conviction before a Rent Magistrate. Despite the law being in place for more than six decades, the prevailing norm in Ghana’s rental housing market remains a mandatory advance payment of two years or more.

The Commission’s enforcement drive will be carried out by a dedicated Rent Taskforce operating in collaboration with Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) nationwide. The taskforce members are identifiable by yellow uniforms, and the Commission will work with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to ensure landlords pay taxes on rental income. Approximately 60 percent of tenants in Ghana do not have formal tenancy agreements, according to the Commission, and both landlords who fail to issue tenancy agreements and tenants who do not demand them may face legal consequences under the Act.

The enforcement push faces a structural headache. Ghana’s housing deficit stands at an estimated 1.8 million units, a gap that has handed landlords significant leverage in setting terms, including large advance payments, because demand for rental accommodation consistently exceeds available supply. The human cost of this imbalance is particularly acute for young people and those arriving in cities for work or education, who are often forced into a cash-intensive market where paying a year or more upfront is the unwritten rule, deepening inequality between those with access to capital and those without.

The Rent Card, mandatory under Section 20 of Act 220, will serve as an official record of tenancy agreements and underpin a national database of rental housing stock. The Commission says the database will give regulators the data needed for more systematic enforcement and better-targeted housing policy over time.

Whether the April enforcement deadline translates into actual prosecutions and a measurable shift in landlord behaviour will depend partly on whether the Commission can demonstrate credible follow-through, and partly on whether government efforts to expand housing supply can begin to ease the demand pressure that has long made illegal advance rent demands so difficult to challenge.

Africa’s Inflation Is Easing But Food Costs Remain a Stubborn Risk

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Africa’s Inflation Is Easing But Food Costs Remain a Stubborn Risk

Inflation across Africa is moderating after years of sharp price increases, but food costs remain dangerously elevated in many countries and currency instability continues to threaten the progress made, according to a new assessment from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

The ECA report notes that inflation has eased across most African economies, supported by exchange rate stabilisation, but says food price inflation remains above 10 percent in many countries, reflecting structural vulnerabilities and climate-related shocks. The UN body warned that sustaining progress on inflation will require a policy mix that combines credible monetary frameworks, targeted fiscal support for vulnerable households, and longer-term investment in food systems and logistics infrastructure.

The easing follows a difficult period in which pandemic-era supply disruptions, rising energy costs and sharp currency depreciations drove consumer prices to multi-year highs across the continent. Central banks in several African economies responded with aggressive interest rate increases, which have helped anchor inflation expectations but have simultaneously raised the cost of borrowing for businesses and governments.

The ECA projects global output to grow at 2.7 percent in 2026, slightly below the 2.8 percent estimated for 2025, and warns that underlying weaknesses persist, with subdued investment and limited fiscal space raising the prospect of a persistently slower global growth path. Africa, however, is expected to outperform that global baseline.

Africa’s economy is projected to expand by 4.3 percent in 2026, up from 4.2 percent in 2025, according to Afreximbank’s January 2026 assessment. The continent’s average debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio remains elevated at about 72 percent, however, underscoring persistent fiscal vulnerabilities that limit governments’ ability to fund social programmes and infrastructure.

The inflation picture varies significantly by region and country. In 35 African countries, inflation is projected to fall below 5 percent in 2025 and 2026, supported by strengthening domestic currencies, improved weather conditions, and easing food and fuel prices. However, double-digit inflation persists in a dozen countries, driven by fiscal and external imbalances, rising public debt and the effects of conflict.

The ECA’s report also underlines that navigating an era of trade realignments, persistent price pressures and climate-related shocks will demand deeper global coordination and decisive collective action, at a time when geopolitical tensions are rising and multilateral cooperation is weakening.

Regional integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has been highlighted by multiple bodies as a tool for reducing Africa’s exposure to external shocks by deepening intra-African trade, which remains significantly below levels seen in other major economic blocs.

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