Mahama says government no longer crowds out private borrowers

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Mahama says government no longer crowds out private borrowers

President John Mahama says government has stopped crowding businesses out of the credit market, citing lower interest rates, during a visit to drinks maker Kasapreko reported on 9 October 2026.

Speaking at the Ghana Stock Exchange-listed company’s production facility, Mahama said heavy state borrowing had previously soaked up bank credit. He said that left little for private firms and pushed the interest rates they were charged to excessive levels.

“We are exercising fiscal discipline, making sure government lives within its means,” he said. He added that the aim was to create room for the private sector to grow.

The claim matters because the cost of credit decides whether manufacturers like Kasapreko can expand and hire. Official data show borrowing costs have fallen sharply, though not as far as some of the President’s examples suggest.

Mahama said commercial lending rates had dropped from highs of around 32 per cent, and that some businesses were now borrowing at rates as low as nine per cent. Bank of Ghana data put the average lending rate at 15.9 per cent in August 2026, down from 24.2 per cent a year earlier. The World Bank’s latest Ghana Economic Update said average lending rates fell from about 27 per cent in June 2025 to 15.6 per cent in June 2026. Rates still vary widely between banks and borrowers, with some lenders charging up to 30 per cent.

The decline followed deep cuts by the Bank of Ghana, which lowered its policy rate from 28 per cent in April 2025 to 14 per cent by March 2026. It has held the rate there since, most recently on 24 September, as inflation edged up to 5.2 per cent in September.

The President also pointed to a surge in foreign direct investment, which he said rose from $624 million in 2024 to $2.62 billion in 2025. The Ghana Investment Promotion Authority’s 2025 report confirms the $2.62 billion figure. However, Bank of Ghana data show that 95.4 per cent of net inflows on a balance of payments basis came from reinvested earnings of firms already operating in Ghana, not new money.

Mahama urged Ghanaian entrepreneurs to follow foreign investors and expand, and praised Kasapreko’s growth into export markets.

Bloom Africa injects GH¢1.13bn into Prudential Bank, eyes regional network

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Bloom Africa injects GH¢1.13bn into Prudential Bank, eyes regional network

Mauritius-based Bloom Africa Holdings has completed a GH¢1.13 billion capital investment in Prudential Bank, a Ghanaian-owned lender, as the group pursues a West African banking network.

Prudential Bank announced on 9 October 2026 that the deal had closed after approval from the Bank of Ghana. The money came through Bloom Africa Holdings Ghana Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mauritius holding company.

The bank said the capital lifts it above the Bank of Ghana’s minimum capital requirement. It said the funds will support more lending to small and medium-sized enterprises and corporate clients, as well as spending on technology and digital banking.

“This investment significantly strengthens Prudential Bank,” said Ebow Quayson, the bank’s acting managing director.

For Bloom Africa, Ghana is the largest market yet in a West African expansion built largely on acquired banks. Its subsidiaries operate as Bloom Bank Africa in The Gambia, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Those banks were previously Skye Bank Gambia, Keystone Bank Sierra Leone and Global Bank Liberia. In 2024 the group drew backing from the Fund for Export Development in Africa, the impact investment arm of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), to support that expansion.

Gabriel Edgal, Bloom Africa’s board chairman, said the group wants to build African institutions that can finance trade and help businesses grow beyond their home markets. He said Prudential’s knowledge of its Ghanaian customers would anchor that plan, linking them to capital and opportunities elsewhere on the continent. Edgal also leads Oakwood Green Africa, an associate company of the group.

Prudential Bank, founded as a privately owned Ghanaian bank, has until now described itself as wholly Ghanaian-owned. The bank has not disclosed the size of the stake Bloom Africa now holds, how much of the new capital will go to small-business lending, or any lending targets.

Wontumi says GH¢30m Exim Bank case is civil debt

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Wontumi says GH¢30m Exim Bank case is civil debt

Bernard Antwi Boasiako, the former New Patriotic Party Ashanti chairman known as Wontumi, has asked the High Court to declare his GH¢30 million Exim Bank case a civil dispute.

In a filing reported on 8 October 2026, he and his company, Wontumi Farms Limited, argue that the dispute is a civil debt that has been wrongly treated as a crime. They say the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) has overstepped its mandate by acting as a debt collector for the bank.

They point to the security attached to the loan. Antwi Boasiako personally guaranteed repayment in the event of default, and the Ghana Export-Import Bank agreed to take out insurance on the loan. They are asking the court to send the matter to the civil courts. They also want it to direct the bank to recover any outstanding balance through the mortgage, his personal guarantee or the insurance cover.

If the court grants the application, the criminal prosecution would effectively end and the dispute would become a matter of recovering a debt.

Antwi Boasiako is standing trial with Thomas Antwi-Boasiako, who is at large, and Wontumi Farms Limited over an alleged GH¢30 million loss to the bank. The prosecution alleges that the two men obtained about GH¢14.302 million from Exim Bank in 2018 by false pretences. It alleges that a pro forma invoice for farm machinery was used to support the loan application, and that money was later withdrawn from the company’s accounts for personal use. None of the allegations has been tested at trial.

The state filed an amended charge sheet on 22 September after plea discussions with the defence broke down. It retains a charge of uttering a forged document under Section 169 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960. The accused were first arraigned on 18 May 2026 and will have their pleas taken afresh on the amended charges.

Antwi Boasiako is currently serving a prison sentence after his conviction in a separate illegal mining case.

The Accra High Court will resume hearing the Exim Bank case on 13 October 2026 at 10.30am.

UTAG-UG threatens strike from 19 October over research allowance

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UTAG-UG threatens strike from 19 October over research allowance

The University of Ghana branch of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG-UG) threatened to withdraw teaching from 19 October 2026 unless members’ Book and Research Allowance is paid.

In a notice to the National Labour Commission dated 9 October, the branch gave the government until Friday, 16 October, to pay the 2026 allowance. It said members would withdraw all teaching and related services from the following Monday if the money had not arrived.

The branch said the delay breaches a 2020 Memorandum of Agreement between UTAG and the government, which it said requires the allowance to be paid by the end of August each year.

A walkout at the country’s largest public university would disrupt the new academic year at Legon. It would also add to pressure from other unions in the sector. The Technical University Teachers’ Association of Ghana (TUTAG) has been on strike since 1 October.

The allowance helps lecturers buy books and academic materials, fund research and attend scholarly events. It has been a recurring flashpoint this year. In June, UTAG’s national leadership threatened a nationwide strike over the Finance Ministry’s delay in releasing the dollar exchange rate used to calculate the allowance. It later set a 30 June deadline for the government to resolve outstanding conditions-of-service issues, and suspended planned action in early July after government assurances.

There are signs that payment is moving. TUTAG President Professor Deodat Adenutsi said on 1 October that a letter from the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission, dated 28 September, confirmed funds had been released on the government’s financial management system for first-batch payments by individual institutions. He said TUTAG no longer treated the allowance as a ground for its own strike. TUTAG is instead striking over unpaid post-retirement contracts and other conditions of service.

Dutch seek Ghana’s help to choke Bolle Jos supply lines

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Dutch seek Ghana’s help to choke Bolle Jos supply lines

The Netherlands is seeking Ghanaian help to cut supply lines of fugitive Dutch trafficker Jos Leijdekkers, known as Bolle Jos, after cocaine shipped from Ghana was seized in France.

Dutch Justice and Security Minister David van Weel is backing efforts to bring Ghanaian authorities into the pursuit, the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reported. The form of the cooperation is still being worked out but could include sending Dutch police officers to Ghana, the paper said.

The move puts Ghana at the centre of one of Europe’s most prominent manhunts. Leijdekkers is the Netherlands’ most wanted criminal. Dutch authorities believe he is hiding in Sierra Leone, and The Hague has tried for months without success to secure his extradition from Freetown.

The trigger was a seizure in early September 2026, when French customs at the Port of Dunkirk found nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine in a container of plastic waste shipped from Ghana. French authorities valued the drugs at about €225 million (about US$260 million). De Telegraaf and Belgian media have linked the shipment to Leijdekkers’ network.

Four Ghanaians have since been arraigned before the High Court in Accra on charges of conspiracy to export narcotic drugs and exporting narcotic drugs. They have pleaded not guilty. The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) has said the suspects were under surveillance for one to two years before their arrest. It said intelligence showed that Leijdekkers himself had not entered Ghana, although associates operated from the country.

NACOC has said Ghana will not be a safe haven or transit point for international drug trafficking groups. President John Mahama has ordered an inter-agency task force to draw up a plan to stop drug trafficking through Ghana’s borders.

Europe is also stepping up pressure on Sierra Leone. The European Commission has suspended about €18 million in 2026 budget support to the country, which Van Weel said was because of its failure to cooperate on extradition. The Netherlands wants a further €22.5 million earmarked for 2027 withheld if Leijdekkers is not handed over. It is also pursuing European measures to freeze his assets and restrict his movements.

A Dutch court sentenced Leijdekkers in his absence to 24 years in prison for trafficking nearly seven tonnes of cocaine.

GES brands SHS placement ‘goro boys’ scammers, urges official help

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GES brands SHS placement ‘goro boys’ scammers, urges official help

The Ghana Education Service (GES) in remarks published on 10 October 2026 urged parents not to pay “goro boys” promising senior high school places, calling the middlemen criminals and scammers.

Daniel Fenyi, the GES head of public relations, told GhanaWeb TV’s Lowdown show that the Service has no dealings with people who claim they can influence placement for a fee. “They are criminals. They are scammers. We don’t work with them,” he said.

The warning targets the families still caught in this year’s self-placement process. Parents who pay middlemen risk losing their money with no school place to show for it.

Under the 2026 Computerised School Selection and Placement System, about 527,000 students were placed automatically. That left roughly 13 per cent of candidates to choose schools themselves through the self-placement portal. Official figures put the number eligible for self-placement at 53,887, of whom 33,726 had secured schools by mid-September. The Education Ministry then extended the exercise to 18 September.

Fenyi said parents struggling with the process should go to their children’s former school heads, district education offices or the placement resolution centres. GES runs 17 such centres nationwide, with the national centre at GNAT Hall in Accra. He said official staff there handle cases, including families who have trouble using the online system.

He asked parents who had already lost money to share details that could help trace the middlemen, such as phone numbers, names, payment records and photographs. Many victims, he said, have been unwilling to come forward.

This year’s placement drew complaints of long queues at resolution centres, particularly in Accra and the Ashanti Region. In September, Fenyi said 15 of the 17 centres were running smoothly. He argued that the pressure in those two areas did not amount to a national crisis, noting that there were about 800,000 places for just over 600,000 students.

Assafuah seeks GTA CEO’s suspension over World Cup visa list

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Assafuah seeks GTA CEO’s suspension over World Cup visa list

Minority MP Vincent Ekow Assafuah on 10 October 2026 called for the suspension of Ghana Tourism Authority chief Maame Efua Houadjeto, alleging her agency misrepresented World Cup visa applicants.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile, Assafuah said a document submitted to the United States Embassy listed more than 30 people as members or affiliates of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) board, though the board has about 11 members.

“Over 30 people were misrepresented to the US Embassy as board members,” he alleged. He said the CEO should step aside so the matter could be investigated without interference.

The claim deepens a controversy over how Ghanaian public institutions handled visa arrangements for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Assafuah is the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Youth and Sports Committee and the New Patriotic Party MP for Old Tafo. He also cited a WhatsApp exchange in which, he said, a person who was not on the board admitted obtaining a US visa on that basis. He did not name the individual.

He challenged the Sports Ministry’s account of when it began dealing with the embassy over the tournament. The ministry has said formal engagement started around March or April 2026. Assafuah produced an email dated 3 February 2026 from the embassy’s public diplomacy section, which invited stakeholders to a third World Cup meeting and referred to an earlier meeting on 22 October 2025.

Houadjeto has previously denied involvement in the visa controversy, and the GTA has denied collecting money for US or Canadian visas. A special aide to the Sports Minister said on 10 October that the US Embassy treated the National Sports Authority, the Ghana Football Association and the GTA as separate entities for visa applications. He also said the ministry was not shielding anyone.

Assafuah’s demand is a call for investigation and does not amount to a finding of wrongdoing.

The new allegation adds to claims the Minority made at a press conference on 7 October. There, Assafuah alleged that the US Embassy verified only two of 50 people the GTA submitted as media personnel. The Minority also called for the removal of Sports Minister Kofi Adams and the GTA chief executive.

President John Mahama has asked National Sports Authority Director-General Yaw Ampofo Ankrah to step aside while police investigate the visa arrangements.

Okoe Boye demands apology for nurse in Ghana Jollof case

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Okoe Boye demands apology for nurse in Ghana Jollof case

Opposition figure Bernard Okoe Boye has demanded an apology for Salomey Awiti Baffoe, the nurse charged in the Ghana Jollof case, saying on 10 October 2026 her detention was unjustified.

Dr Okoe Boye, the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Greater Accra Regional Chairman, made the remarks on Channel One TV’s The Big Issue. He questioned how the prosecution could treat Baffoe as a threat to the state while she was in custody, then raise no objection to her release on bail. He also noted that the case has now been adjourned to February 2027. He suggested some officials had wanted to show her where power lay.

“I want those involved to come and apologise to her,” he said. He added that protecting individual liberty should be a priority whichever party is in government.

The comments widen the political argument over a prosecution that has drawn protests since Baffoe’s arrest. They also highlight a gap at the centre of the case: the High Court refused her bail in September, yet the prosecution did not oppose it at the Circuit Court on 5 October.

Baffoe, 40, is a senior nursing officer based at Hansua, near Techiman in the Bono East Region. Police took her from her home on the night of 13 September. She is charged with abetment of crime, namely publication of false news, under the Criminal Offences Act, 1960, and has pleaded not guilty. None of the allegations has been tested at trial.

The prosecution alleges that she acted as a liaison for Barbara Asantewaa Kodua, whom police identify as the operator of the Ghana Jollof TikTok account. Police have declared Kodua wanted and believe she is in the United Kingdom.

The High Court in Accra refused Baffoe bail on 24 September. It cited concern that her release could interfere with ongoing investigations involving cyber-related evidence. On 5 October, the Adenta Circuit Court granted her bail of GH¢100,000 with two sureties, after the prosecution, led by Deputy Attorney-General Dr Justice Srem-Sai, said it did not oppose the application. She must report to the police at Hansua every two weeks. Her lawyer is Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, the NPP Member of Parliament for Manhyia South.

The case resumes on 17 February 2027.

GES reports progress on teacher pay as NAGRAT warns

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GES reports progress on teacher pay as NAGRAT warns

The Ghana Education Service (GES) says paperwork for promoted teachers is largely done after unions suspended their strike on 9 October 2026, but one union has threatened fresh action.

Daniel Fenyi, the GES head of public relations, told GhanaWeb TV’s Lowdown show that about 60,000 promoted teachers did not see their new ranks reflected in their September salaries. He said the Service had finished documentation for one batch and was processing about 30,000 more. He said the Ministry of Education had ordered the papers to be ready within a week so the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department can adjust salaries. He expressed confidence that GES would meet the ministry’s 30 October deadline.

Fenyi called the teachers’ concerns legitimate. “If you touch them, you have touched the hearts of the next generation,” he said.

The timeline matters because the suspension is conditional. The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) said on 10 October that it would resume its strike if the government fails to start paying the 20 per cent deprived-area allowance in January 2027. NAGRAT President Jacob Anaba told Channel One TV’s The Big Issue that the allowance has been pending since 2009. He said it is vital to keeping teachers in remote communities, where many leave within a year or two.

NAGRAT, the Ghana National Association of Teachers and the Pre-Tertiary Teachers’ Association of Ghana suspended their two-week strike after talks with the Council of State and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission. They have told members to return to the classroom on Monday, 12 October.

The strike centred on three issues: salary adjustments and arrears for promoted teachers, the deprived-area allowance, and a new collective agreement to replace the one that expired in June 2026. Fenyi said talks between the unions and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission on the agreement would continue. He said consultations on the allowance are scheduled to run until January 2027.

Reported figures on the promotion payments differ. Earlier accounts of the deal said the first batch of arrears would go to about 51,000 teachers by 16 October, with the remainder due by the end of the month. Under the same commitments, a digital support allowance is to be paid in November and the continuous professional development allowance in December.

Yendi MP Jofa and predecessor Farouk Mahama row over transformer

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Yendi MP Jofa and predecessor Farouk Mahama row over transformer

Yendi MP Abdul-Fatawu Alhassan Jofa has accused his predecessor, Farouk Aliu Mahama, of misleading residents of Nayilifong, where the former MP donated a transformer, GhanaWeb reported on 10 October 2026.

The row, in the Yendi Municipality of the Northern Region, pits the constituency’s National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP against the New Patriotic Party (NPP) politician he unseated in the December 2024 election.

Farouk Mahama donated a 100kVA transformer to the community, according to a MyJoyOnline report on 9 October. Residents turned out in large numbers to watch it being offloaded, and some praised him for continuing to support the area after losing his seat. The report said Nayilifong had suffered erratic power supply for months, hurting businesses, students and households.

GhanaWeb reported that the Nayilifong Saasigli area had been without power for about 24 days. It said Jofa then arrived in the community with two transformers of his own after learning of his predecessor’s donation. Residents angry over the outage reportedly drove away the MP’s supporters.

According to GhanaWeb, Jofa blamed Farouk Mahama for the confrontation, accusing him of stirring up residents and lying to them. He also accused him of spreading falsehoods while he was MP.

Farouk Mahama, son of former Vice-President Aliu Mahama, represented Yendi for one term from 2021 before losing the seat to Jofa.

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