Sweet sixteen going on seventeen...

Like play like play eh, let’s say life had an undo button. What’s the first thing you’d rewind? 🙄🙄

Until someone invents that, here’s a rewind of what’s happened (happening) today.

• National: UTAG’s ready to drop everything if the galamsey madness isn’t shut down by the end of September.

• National: After two attacks on their firefighters, fire isn’t the only thing GNFS is about to fight.

• National: Asantehene drops the mic on galamsey: "doing nothing? Not an option!"

• Politics: Ballot-smashing drama unfolds at NPP Walewale primary as a mystery man wrecks the votes—Election Commission hits pause on results!

• Fact of the Day: Read how Mozart pirated music from the Pope.

• National: Forget the campaign promises—Prof Aning wants Bawumia and Mahama to tell Ghanaians now how they’ll crush galamsey before it crushes Ghana.

• Economic: The cedi’s chill vibes got ruined again – it’s now GHS16.35 to the dollar, and we’re feeling it in our wallets.

• National: A judge is on her knees for street lights.

QUICK BYTE

• The cedi is like that friend who promised they’d stay on track, but then halfway through the journey, they’re all “Oops, I tripped again.” Yeah, that’s where we’re at. After all the hype that demand pressure on the cedi was finally chilling, it still slid down the depreciation ladder like it just couldn’t help itself. At GHS16.35 for one US dollar, it's kinda like when you’re trying to budget but somehow end up ordering pizza for the third night in a row—whoops. The struggle is real. Now, the pound? It’s still giving our cedi a hard time, like that one bully in school who won’t let you live. The cedi weakened by 0.71% against it. But, plot twist—when it comes to the Euro, our dear cedi decided it wasn’t going down without a fight. It made a low-key comeback from its 0.42% losses, like, “Not today, Euro!” But let’s not get too excited—this win was about as small as finding an extra fry in your fast food bag. And yo, this year has been rough for the cedi. Read more

• The Asantehene is fed up with galamsey, and honestly, who can blame him? Otumfuo Osei Tutu II recently took the stage at a Bar Association event, and let’s just say he didn’t hold back. He basically told Ghana’s big players—lawyers, doctors, and even professors—that it’s time to step up or step aside. His words? “Doing nothing is no longer an option.” Talk about putting people on notice. He threw some serious side-eye at the legal system, asking why folks who pour mercury into rivers aren’t getting the same treatment as someone poisoning an entire community’s water supply. Want the deets in full? Check out the Deep Dive section.

• UTAG is coming in hot and not in the "your crush likes your IG story" kinda way. Nope. They’re fed up with the whole galamsey circus and are telling the government, “Fix this illegal mining mess or we’re outta here!” By “outta here,” we mean they’re threatening to ghost all teaching duties nationwide if galamsey isn’t completely banned by the end of September. Get the 411 in the Deep Dive section below

• Walewale's NPP parliamentary primary rerun just got canceled because some dude thought it was a good idea to go Hulk on the ballot papers! Right when they were about to count the votes, this random guy swoops in, grabs the ballots, and turns them into confetti. Talk about bringing drama to a whole new level.

  The Electoral Commission was like, "Nope, we're not dealing with this mess." The suspect? Arrested and chilling with the police. The results? Yeah, those are history. Now the NPP has to decide what to do next. Read more in the Deep Dive Section.

• The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has had enough of the nonsense. After back-to-back attacks on their firefighters, including one poor soul getting his ankle fractured, they’re gearing up to throw some serious legal punches. On September 3, ADO Il Abdul Aziz Annor got assaulted at La Palm T-Junction by a driver and his mate while simply refilling the station’s fire truck. And to make things worse, a few days later, firefighters at Dansoman faced verbal and physical abuse from residents as they tried to do their job.

  The GNFS isn’t letting these incidents slide. They’ve filed reports, sent their firefighter to 37 Military Hospital for surgery, and promised to use every legal tool at their disposal to protect their team. Read more

• So you want to watch the World Cup final but someone refuses to show you the game. Instead, they just tell you the final score. Yeah, kind of frustrating, right? Well, that’s how the Attorney General feels about Ghana’s court system right now. Godfred Yeboah Dame came through at the Annual Bar Conference saying, “Nah, fam, we need to see it all—open justice, full transparency!” In other words, it’s time for the courts to let us in and maybe even stream some of the big cases like it’s divorce court. Now, let’s talk about the “naysayers”—you know, those people who just love to stir the pot and throw shade at Ghana’s electoral system. AG Dame is not here for that. He’s giving them a big “nope,”. Finally, Dame dropped a truth bomb about the legal profession itself. The man was basically like, “Lawyers, y’all gotta chill with the false info!” Read more

• Galamsey—aka illegal mining—is like that friend who crashes your party, eats all the food, wrecks the place, and then dips. It’s not just an eyesore; it’s tearing apart Ghana’s environment and messing with our water bodies, livelihoods, and, basically, our future. Now, security consultant Prof Emmanuel Aning is fed up and wants the two biggest names in Ghanaian politics—Dr. Bawumia and former prez John Mahama—to do more than just talk about it on the campaign trail. Mandem is like "Yo, enough with the campaign rallies. How exactly are you gonna stop galamsey before it turns Ghana into a wasteland?" Read more

• Judge Sedinam Awo Kwadam has had enough of dark highways. During a court case involving a fatal accident, she passionately appealed to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) to illuminate highways and fix defective streetlights. Her concern? The rising number of road accidents, many of which happen because drivers can’t see pedestrians in the dark. In the case before her court, Tagoe, the driver of a Mercedes Benz, allegedly knocked down and killed Cynthia Dede Tetteh near Madina Redco Junction in April 2021. The incident occurred at dusk when visibility was poor. The judge emphasized, “We pay for streetlights, yet there are no lights on our highways. Read more

DEEP DIVE

If Galamsey Ain’t Gone by September, We Out!

UTAG (University Teachers Association of Ghana) has had enough. They’ve been watching the government’s half-hearted attempts to tackle illegal mining (aka galamsey) like someone trying to swat a mosquito with a pillow—it's just not cutting it. So now they’re saying, “If galamsey isn’t banned by the end of September, we’re going on strike.” Not a drill, people. These teachers are about to drop the chalk.

Why the drama? Well, galamsey has been wrecking Ghana’s forests like your ex ruined your love life. Over 2.5 million hectares of forest are gone, vanished, poof! And the ripple effect? People living near mining areas are breathing in the worst vibes—respiratory diseases have shot up by 35%. Imagine coughing your way through a lecture. Nope, not cute.

It gets worse. If this galamsey thing keeps going, UTAG says we might have to start importing water within six years. Yup, we could be out here buying bottled water like it’s Black Friday, and let’s be real, nobody wants that. Also, the hit to cocoa farming is real—45% of our cocoa productivity, gone, and that’s a serious blow. All this chaos is raking in a $2.3 billion annual price tag for the economy. Basically, the galamsey bill is too high, and UTAG’s not here for it.

They’re not just whining, though. UTAG is ready to squad up with other unions, Avengers-style, if the government keeps pretending this isn’t a big deal. They’re urging Ghanaians to get on board with banning illegal mining for good. Read more

Asantehene Osei Tutu II calls out everyone

You take a road trip to Cape Coast, maybe for some fresh air and a little beach action, but what do you see? Rivers so brown, they look like they’re auditioning for a horror movie. Yeah, that’s what Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II saw on his recent visit to the Pra River. And let’s just say, the King was not impressed. He’s calling out illegal miners like they’re the villain in a reality TV show, and rightfully so. Galamsey (illegal mining) is turning Ghana’s rivers into toxic soup, and Asantehene’s basically saying, “Nah fam, not on my watch.”

But it’s not just about looking bad—it’s about survival. Otumfuo Osei Tutu II practically begged Ghana’s professional bodies—the Bar, the Medical Association, UTAG—to stop sitting on their hands. He’s saying, “You guys have the power, so use it!” This isn’t just an environmental issue anymore; it’s about people’s lives. Mercury in the water? That’s some next-level villain stuff. And yet, the legal system seems to be napping on the job.

Now, the Asantehene didn’t just come with complaints; he came with receipts and ideas. He straight-up suggested that the Bar Association should roll up their sleeves, hit the road, and tour the worst-hit areas. Seeing the devastation firsthand? Yeah, that’ll light a fire under you. He even asked them to huddle up and figure out how to toughen the laws. If someone’s poisoning an entire water supply with mercury, they should be facing some serious jail time, right? Read more

Ballot Brawl at NPP Walewale: Votes Torn, Results Tossed!

It's election day in Walewale, everyone's hyped to find out who won the NPP parliamentary primary rerun. Votes are in, and the EC officials are sorting the ballots. Everything's chill—until it's not. Out of nowhere, this guy shows up, grabs the stack of ballots, and just starts ripping them up like they're old homework assignments he forgot to turn in. The audacity!

People are standing there, jaws on the floor, like, "Did that really just happen?" Security jumps in, and the police manage to arrest the guy—turns out his name is Kamara Bawah. He's now cooling off in police custody, probably rethinking his life choices. But the damage was done; most of the ballots were destroyed, and the EC couldn't even finish the count.

Gabriel Manu, the Electoral Commissioner for Walewale, told reporters that with the ballots shredded, there's no way to determine a winner. It's like when your phone dies before you can save your high score—game over. So the EC declared the results null and void, leaving everyone in suspense.

Now the NPP has a big decision to make: rerun the rerun or find another solution. Meanwhile, the police have beefed up security in Walewale to prevent any more election shenanigans. Read more

CHECK OUT WHAT’S TRENDING

• What happened to the Black Princesses?

• We’re in a crisis!

NEWS SOURCES

Today’s stories are curated from:

1. www.myjoyonline.com

2. www.ghanaweb.com

3. www.citinewsroom.com

4. www.norvanreports.com

5. www.channel1new.com