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So, what’s in the bag today?
National: Ghana's corruption score just flopped harder than a bad Afrobeats remix.
Politics: Ghana’s Council of State elections are set, but where are the women? The ratio is giving "old boys’ reunion.
Crime: When a business deal sounds too good to be true, it’s probably a one-way ticket to the Dansoman Circuit Court.
Politics: Kwakye Ofosu says the scales of justice have never tipped in the NDC’s favor.
Politics: Shamima Muslim isn’t here for any “clear and pass” corruption tactics.
Fact of the Day: How many breathes do you take a day?
Politics: Ashanti Region’s Council of State polls got more action than a Kumawood movie—ballot boxes flying, tables turning, and the EC running for cover.
Crime: Bro skipped gold and went straight for alligator pepper—priorities be wild these days.
National: ECG’s numbers are not numbering. A PwC audit has exposed a GH₵5.3bn revenue "discrepancy".
QUICK BYTE
Another year, another flop era for Ghana’s corruption score—we went from 43 to 42 on the Corruption Perception Index. Transparency International just dropped their 2024 report, and it’s giving "Ghana, do better." We ranked 80th out of 180 countries, which means half the world is still doing worse than us—but is that really a flex? If corruption was a contestant in a talent show, it would have gotten a standing ovation by now. Apparently, all the "policy interventions and institutional reforms" have been about as effective as a mosquito net with holes. Read more
Council of State elections are happening today, but the gender ratio? It’s looking like a men’s convention with "special guest appearance" by 10 women. Out of 154 candidates, only 10 women filed to contest. Ten! Like, in the entire country. Greater Accra, Volta, and seven other regions didn’t even try to pretend—not a single woman filed to contest. By 5 pm today, the results will be out, and Ghana will have 16 more people advising the government on things we probably won’t see in action. But we move. Read more
What was supposed to be a Council of State election turned into a full-blown action movie. Unidentified thugs (because somehow, no one ever knows who they are) stormed the election center, flipped tables like waiters at a rowdy chop bar, and scattered ballot boxes. The Electoral Commission (EC) had no choice but to hit pause on the sorting process before things escalated into a full stadium brawl. So what triggered all this? Apparently, the NDC’s Yaw Owusu Obimpeh was the frontrunner, but when things didn’t go as expected, his supporters allegedly decided democracy could wait—violence first. Read more
Kwakye Ofosu insists that for 32 years, Ghana’s judiciary has been unfair to the NDC. He claims court rulings consistently favor the NPP, pointing to case delays, judge replacements, and selective contempt rulings as evidence. One of his biggest complaints? The speed of justice. He pointed out that Afenyo-Markin’s case was heard in just 12 hours, yet the NDC’s challenge to the E-Levy has been pending for three years. Then there’s the judge-swapping saga. He questioned why Kennedy Agyapong’s contempt case saw a judge removed, but Dr. Opuni’s similar request was ignored. Plus, he called out the big difference in how the Montie Three were treated compared to NPP figures. Read more
This time, two Nigerian businessmen, Patrick Piniki and Adawale Julius, found themselves in the hot seat after allegedly finessing a Kasoa-based complainant out of $20,000 in what was supposed to be a crude oil deal. Get the 411 in the Deep Dive section below
FACT OF THE DAY
The average person takes 23,000 breaths a day.
Shamima Muslim is calling out the Akufo-Addo government’s corruption record, arguing that his administration acted more like a “clearing agent” than a watchdog. With millions missing from projects like the National Cathedral and Pwalugu Dam, she insists Ghanaians deserve answers. Every Ghanaian knows how this game plays out though. Political parties take turns pointing fingers at past governments while conveniently forgetting to clean up their own houses. Will the new administration actually take action, or will it be another episode of "Accountability for the Other Guys"? Read more
Ghana’s Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has officially outdone itself in the world of creative accounting. A PwC audit for 2024 has exposed a mind-blowing GH₵5.3 billion in under-declared revenue. Translation? ECG collected GH₵15.8 billion but told the regulator they only got GH₵10.4 billion. If money had legs, this missing GH₵5.3bn would be Usain Bolt. Even the GH₵10.4 billion they admitted to wasn’t fully paid to power suppliers. They were supposed to distribute GH₵6.5bn, leaving GH₵3.9bn unaccounted for. Meanwhile, a private vendor collecting revenue for ECG somehow pocketed GH₵402 million in commissions, almost matching what VRA got (GH₵412 million) and way more than Bui Power (GH₵323 million). How is a commission agent making more money than the people generating the electricity? Read more
Listen, stealing is bad. But stealing alligator pepper?? Now, that’s a crime against Ghanaian spice lovers everywhere. 19-year-old Enoch Buamah, an illegal miner, has officially entered the "worst thief of the year" competition after he got jailed for three months for snatching a bag of alligator pepper worth GH¢600. Man had a whole illegal mining gig but chose to risk his freedom over something you sprinkle in soup. Read more
DEEP DIVE
The $20K Oops Moment
It all started in November when the complainant decided to try his luck in the big boy energy sector. He linked up with Piniki through a mutual friend named Olowo (who we are low-key suspecting is the real MVP in the scam). Piniki, in true middleman style, connected Julius from Nigeria, and together, they came to Ghana to flesh out the deal at a hotel in Tema—because, obviously, a hotel lobby is where all legit oil deals happen. They even brought in a third guy, the mysterious Engineer Chidi, who played the role of the trust-me-I-got-you oil boss before disappearing into thin air like a WhatsApp DP after an exposé.
Our guy, the complainant, dropped his hard-earned $20K for a vessel that never arrived. When the oil ship didn’t pull up, he confronted them, and like all fraudsters who suddenly develop network issues when money is due, they refunded a petty $3,200 and told him stories. By December, Engineer Chidi had ghosted back to Nigeria, leaving Piniki and Julius to face the music in court. Now, they’re out on a hard-to-meet GHC 200K bail with three public servants as sureties. (These public servants are brave oo)😂😂
The case has been adjourned till April 2, which means we have two months to see if our complainant will ever see his money again or if he just paid $20K for a lifetime lesson in “Shine Your Eye, Accra Edition.” Read more
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