A tanker with no brakes

We're probably gonna crash!

Author

Chale News
February 14, 2025

Happy Vals Day! (Stop hiding behind National Chocolate Day)

As you already know, there are only two kinds of people on this February 14, the day of the Lord.

If a dispatch rider hasn’t called you yet with surprises from your bae, please join the nearest “gnashers club.”

And in other stories:

  • National: Ghana’s fuel market is full, but who’s really buying?

  • Regional: When even babies aren’t safe, we’ve lost the plot.

  • National: The annual Harmattan School is open!

  • National: 70% of schools have phased out double-track, but is the chaos over?

  • National: CLOGSAG said "strike," and the government said "new job title."

  • National: National Service is for humans, not Casper & Co.

  • Fact of the Day: Bet you don’t know how many muscles work together just so you can talk.

  • National: West Africa’s security struggles? Mahama just hit up the US for a “collabo.”

QUICK BYTE

  • Ghana’s downstream petroleum sector is looking like a trotro overloaded with passengers but nobody is paying the fare. Civil Society Organisations say Ghana has more Oil Marketing Companies than Kenya and Tanzania combined—but sales haven’t budged in nearly a decade. CSOs claim some companies don’t even lift fuel from depots but still have their prices published by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA). Translation: They’re likely pushing shady fuel from unknown sources. License renewal fees for BDCs hit $300,000 annually, while new entrants cough up over $750,000. Yet, companies are still flocking into the sector like it’s free lunch. Politically connected companies are gaming the system, dodging taxes, and pocketing petroleum margins. If nothing changes, everything might soon crash like a tanker with no brakes. Read more

  • Bawku, what is going on?! As if the conflict wasn’t already tragic enough, a five-month-old baby was literally taken from her mother and murdered. Read that again. A baby. Not a soldier, not a political figure, an innocent child. If that doesn’t make your stomach turn, check your pulse. The baby’s mother was reportedly out hustling, trying to make ends meet, when attackers ambushed her, beat her up, and took her baby just to commit one of the most inhumane acts possible. And before anyone asks, no, this isn’t a plot from a war movie—it’s real life. In Ghana. In 2025. The kind of violence we usually associate with war-torn countries is now casually happening in our own backyard. This is just one of 55 deaths since October, all thanks to a conflict that refuses to die. Read more

  • Ah yes, the Annual Harmattan School is back! And before you ask, no, it’s not a school where they teach you how to survive cracked lips and dusty roads—it’s a big academic talk fest where the brightest minds gather to discuss Ghana’s biggest problem: why every government acts like the country just started when they come into power. This year, the hot topic is inconsistent governance and how Ghana keeps starting projects like an overly ambitious gym bro—only to abandon them halfway. Continue the story in the Deep Dive section.

  • Remember when Free SHS launched, and suddenly schools were so packed that we had to split students into morning and afternoon shifts like factory workers? Well, former Education Minister Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum says that’s mostly over—70% of schools have phased out the double-track system. What about the remaining 30%? The former minister admits some schools still run double-track, but "efforts are ongoing" to phase it out completely. While this sounds like progress, some critics argue the issue isn’t just about ending double-track but fixing the bigger mess—teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms, and underfunded schools. Read more

  • CLOGSAG was ready to throw a tantrum that would make a toddler jealous, all because the government appointed Samuel Adom Botchway as the new Births and Deaths Registrar. Their problem? Dude was allegedly too politically marinated for a civil service job. And just like that, they pulled out the S-word—strike. Now, a Ghanaian strike is like your uncle at Christmas—it threatens to show up every year, but when it actually does, chaos erupts. The government, clearly not in the mood for office shutdowns and radio station rants, did the corporate equivalent of "fine, you win" and reassigned Botchway. Poof! Crisis averted. No strike, no wahala, just a new office for the guy. Read more

FACT OF THE DAY

❝

It takes an interaction of 72 muscles to produce human speech.

  • The National Service Authority has announced that without a Ghana Card, you can’t register for NSS. Why? Because over 81,885 ghost names were found chilling on the payroll like they actually worked there. So now, if your name is not in the system, you’re not getting any NSS clearance—simple!

    Long story short, if you don’t have your Ghana Card yet, start moving like you’re late for a visa interview. Anaa you’re ankasa you don’t care for the service, eh? Read more

  • When life gets tough, you call your strong friends. And that’s exactly what President Mahama did at the Munich Security Conference—he sat down with General Michael Langley of the U.S. Africa Command and basically said, “Bro, we need help.” Terrorists, extremists, and pirates (yes, actual pirates) have been causing chaos across West Africa, and Ghana is trying to stay ahead of the madness. But even the strongest warriors need a bigger shield, and Mahama wants the US to bring some muscle. Mahama also shot his shot for more foreign investment. Read more

  • It looks like the government is finally admitting that you can’t fight galamsey without the people who own the land. Minister Ahmed Ibrahim just announced plans to amend the Chieftaincy Act so chiefs can summon illegal miners and hold them accountable. Why? Because right now, some galamseyers respect river gods more than traditional leaders. The Supreme Court struck down a similar law in 2011, but the government is ready to bring it back. The amendment could also help tackle sanitation issues since some areas have turned into freestyle dumping zones. Plus, the government is considering paying chiefs and queen mothers allowances  Read more

DEEP DIVE

New government, new projects… but what happened to the old ones?

Remember the Saglemi Housing Project? The hundreds of abandoned hospitals? Those highways that remain half-built like an unfinished JHS exercise book? That’s exactly what they’re dissecting. Apparently, since independence, Ghana has been the king of "start and abandon"—a world record we really didn’t ask for.

Professor Seidu Al-Hassan and Professor Mamudu Akudugu of UDS are leading the charge, and they didn’t hold back. The message? Governments need to stop ghosting national projects like bad exes. Every new administration comes in, trashes the old government’s plans, and starts their own grand schemes—only for the next one to do the same. And guess who suffers? Us. Schools don’t get finished, hospitals stay empty, and roads remain death traps.

Even former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo pulled up to drag the system, saying leaders need to stop treating taxpayers' money like Monopoly cash. And while the Northern Regional Minister promised the government would "prioritize completing some abandoned projects," we all know that’s politician-speak for "we’ll see." But hey, at least we’re talking about it at the Harmattan School… again. Read more

NEWS SOURCES

Today’s stories are curated from: