No-case submission contested as health and electoral reforms urged

The Attorney-General has urged the Accra High Court to dismiss a submission of no case filed by Mr Kwabena Adu-Boahene, former Director-General of the National Signals Bureau, arguing that the prosecution has established a prima facie case against him and his co-accused.

In a response filed in court, the Attorney-General said the evidence presented by the prosecution warranted calling the accused persons to open their defence.

The submission followed an application filed on September 25, 2026, by lawyers for Mr Adu-Boahene, led by Mr Samuel Atta-Akyea, seeking the discharge of their clients.

The defence argued that the prosecution had failed to establish its case, citing gaps in the evidence and the absence of key witnesses, including the late National Security Coordinator, Mr Joshua Kyeremeh.

It also challenged the prosecution's ability to link GH¢49.1 million allegedly diverted from state funds to properties and vehicles belonging to the accused persons, and raised concerns about missing pages in bank statements.

The Attorney-General rejected the defence's arguments, maintaining that the prosecution had presented sufficient evidence to require the accused persons to answer the charges.

The prosecution called four witnesses and tendered bank statements, cheques and other documents in support of its case against Mr Adu-Boahene, his wife, Angela Adjei-Boateng, and their company, Advantage Solutions Limited.

The State alleged that the accused persons dishonestly took GH¢49.1 million intended for the procurement of a US$7 million cyber-defence system for the country.

According to the Attorney-General, three cheques for GH¢27.1 million, GH¢1 million and GH¢21 million were drawn from a National Security account and allegedly diverted. The State contended that only US$1.75 million was paid to Israeli company ISC Holdings, while the remaining funds were allegedly channelled into private businesses, properties and investments.

The Attorney-General argued that the death of Mr Kyeremeh did not invalidate the documentary evidence presented by the prosecution, including bank records and signatures. It further maintained that the alleged failure to fully deliver the cyber-defence system supported its case concerning the handling of the funds.

The prosecution said the evidence, considered as a whole, established a case requiring the accused persons to explain the transactions and their alleged involvement.

The charges against the accused persons include stealing, conspiracy to steal, causing financial loss to the State, using public office for profit and money laundering. The Attorney-General is asking the court to dismiss the submission of no case and direct the accused persons to open their defence.

The court is expected to rule on the application after the defence files its response to the Attorney-General's submission.

The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) is calling for amendments to the National Health Insurance Act, 2012 (Act 852), to accommodate the government’s Free Primary Healthcare initiative and population-based payment systems.

Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the NHIA, Dr Kwesi Djokoto, told Parliament’s Health Committee that the existing legal framework needed to be updated to support the new healthcare financing arrangements and strengthen efforts to eliminate claims fraud, leakage and unauthorised charges imposed on patients.

“The legal framework is something that has to be modified to accommodate the free primary healthcare and the population-based payment methods,” he said.

Dr Djokoto said the Authority was pursuing tariff adjustments and deploying artificial intelligence (AI) and other digital tools to improve claims verification, identify fraudulent practices and address discrepancies between service tariffs and available funding for the National Health Insurance Scheme.

He also highlighted plans to establish an anti-fraud and illegal payments directory to help prevent and detect unauthorised charges, including illegal co-payments, and ensure appropriate sanctions for offenders.

He urged the committee to support the proposed legal changes, strengthen penalties for fraud and illegal co-payments, and help prioritise capital budget allocations for 2027.

Dr Djokoto said the NHIA had already introduced electronic claims processing to improve efficiency and accelerate reimbursements to healthcare providers.

“In summary, claims are fully electronic with 20 days turnaround time. We are paying monthly; we have digital interventions to enhance the work of the National Health Insurance Authority,” he said.

President John Dramani Mahama launched the Free Primary Healthcare initiative on April 15, 2026, to provide essential first-contact medical services without charge at the point of use.

Services are expected to be delivered through CHPS compounds, health centres, polyclinics, public health units, health posts, community pharmacies and mobile or container-based health kiosks in busy locations such as markets and lorry parks.

The recent demolition of structures at the La beachfront in Accra has generated considerable controversy over land ownership, the rights of affected businesses and the involvement of State security agencies. The exercise, undertaken on 2nd October, 2026 under National Security supervision, has seen beachside businesses suffer demolition, leaving investments destroyed, workers displaced and families counting their losses.

Facilities associated with La Pleasure Beach and Polo Beach Club estimated to cost tens of millions of Cedis now face potential judgment debt. It followed an earlier demolition controversy at Laboma Beach.

The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), which has interests in Labadi Beach Hotel through Hotel Investments (Ghana) Limited (HIG), has defended the intervention as necessary to protect the hotel's property and the investments of contributors and pensioners. The affected operators and traditional authorities have challenged aspects of the exercise, including the characterisation of occupants as squatters.

The controversy has since attracted political attention, with discussions about compensation and the suspension of redevelopment plans pending further consultations.

But there is a substantial history behind this dispute that deserves public attention. It involves an alleged compulsory acquisition of land by the State, agreements entered into by a government ministry and traditional authorities, commercial transactions involving the hotel company, and decisions of the High Court and Court of Appeal concerning the management of La Pleasure Beach.

That history makes the legal issues considerably more complicated than the simple question of removing squatters from State land.

One important aspect of the controversy is the claim that the beachfront formed part of the lands acquired by the State under Executive Instrument No. 10 of 1967 , for the Accra–Labadi Trade Fair project.

If the particular parcels affected by the demolitions fall within the boundaries of that acquisition, the State's title and the legal consequences of the acquisition become central to the dispute.

However, the fact that the State acquired land in an area does not automatically establish that every adjoining parcel belongs to it. The precise boundaries must be determined from the acquisition instrument and the relevant survey records.

Even where State ownership is established, a separate question remains: what rights did the State subsequently grant or recognise in respect of the land?

State ownership and lawful occupation by another person are not necessarily inconsistent. Government may own land while another person lawfully occupies or uses it under a lease, licence or other legally recognised arrangement.

On 29 th April, 2002 , the Ministry of Tourism and the La Traditional Council entered into a Memorandum of Understanding for the joint management of La Beach.

The agreement was intended to promote beach tourism while ensuring that the local community benefited from the commercial activities conducted there.

It provided for a six-member management team, comprising three representatives of the Ministry and three of the Traditional Council.

The agreement also provided that the Traditional Council would receive 20% of the net monthly proceeds from beach operations, while the Ministry would allocate 30% of the remaining 80% to a La Development Fund.

Importantly, the parties agreed that neither would transfer its interest under the agreement without the other's prior written consent.

These provisions establish that, as far back as 2002, the Ministry of Tourism was formally involved in arrangements recognising the La Traditional Council's participation in the management and commercial benefits of the beach.

The agreement did not, by itself, determine ownership of the land. But it created a framework for management and revenue sharing involving the State and traditional authorities.

The beach was therefore not simply an area operating beyond the knowledge or involvement of Government.

The documentary history becomes particularly interesting in 2007.

On 23 rd March, 2007 , Hotel Investments (Ghana) Limited, the company associated with Labadi Beach Hotel, entered into an agreement with the La Pleasure Beach Resort Management Committee for the use of beachfront between the hotel's southern fence and the sea.

The agreement provided for a ten-year term, commencing on 1 st March, 2007 and ending on 28 th February, 2017.

It also provided for the payment of annual rent, subject to adjustments linked to inflation.

Under the arrangement, HIG could demarcate the area, plant coconut trees, install temporary facilities and use the beachfront for specified hotel-related purposes.

On 6 th May, 2008 , HIG entered into a further agreement with the Management Committee for an additional beachfront area, at an annual rent of GH¢1,627, with inflation-based adjustments.

The supplementary agreement also addressed the removal of a bandstand and another structure near the hotel's beachfront.

Both agreements demonstrate that HIG had a documented commercial relationship with the Management Committee and dealt with it as a body capable of permitting the hotel company's use of portions of the beachfront.

It does not conclusively establish that the Management Committee owned the land or possessed authority to grant every interest it purported to grant. Neither does it establish that all persons affected by the recent demolitions were lawful occupants.

But it complicates any sweeping suggestion that the hotel and the beachfront operators had always stood in the relationship of lawful owner and unknown trespassers.

The hotel company itself negotiated for the use of beachfront space through the La Pleasure Beach Management Committee.

On 28 th April, 2022 , Hotel Investments (Ghana) Limited wrote to the Registrar of the La Traditional Council requesting renewal of its expired beachfront lease.

"I write on behalf of Hotel Investments (Ghana) Limited (HIG) to request for a renewal of our Beach Front Lease which has expired."

The company requested a further twenty-year lease and indicated that the previous lease agreement and site plans were attached.

The significance is that HIG acknowledged the existence of an earlier lease arrangement and sought its renewal through the La Traditional Council.

The letter does not establish that the requested renewal was granted. It also does not, without the underlying lease and survey documents, establish the exact extent of the land concerned.

Nevertheless, taken together with the 2007 and 2008 agreements, it reveals a sustained history of commercial dealings concerning beachfront occupation and use.

Those transactions deserve to be reconciled with the present competing claims to ownership and the authority to control the beachfront.

The management of La Pleasure Beach was not left entirely to private arrangements.

Disagreements arose over the implementation of the 2002 agreement, the management of beach operations and the handling of revenue.

The National Chairman of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has urged the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church and other religious bodies to support proposed constitutional amendments to permanently make Tuesday election day for presidential and parliamentary elections.

“Fixing the election on a Tuesday will obviously provide a lasting solution that respects all religious faiths and prevent the recurring disagreements when the election falls on a day of worship”, he stressed

He made the remarks while speaking as the guest of honour during the centenary celebration of the Sekyedumase Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Ejura-Sekyedumase Municipality in the Ashanti Region last Saturday.

He recalled being petitioned by both the SDA Church and the Saviour Church of Ghana ahead of the December 7, 2024 elections regarding how the standard December 7 date which often falls on a different day every four years clashes with sacred days of worship like the Seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday)

Additionally, he indicated that other Christian churches and Muslims also raised similar legitimate concerns ahead of previous elections when the election day fell on their days of worship.

He mentioned that the repeated phenomenon continues to generate unnecessary political discussions by political parties and members of the affected religious groups and organisations in the country.

The 2024 elections fell on a Saturday, and some church leaders, in a proactive stance, petitioned Parliament in December 2021 to consider an amendment based on grounds of religious liberty.

The president of the Southern Ghana Union Conference, SDA Church, Thomas Techie Ocran, said the current inflexibility around the choosing and fixing of general election dates did not only operate against members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, but also other Christians.

“An amendment as proposed would make it possible for all Ghanaians to exercise their franchise and discharge their civic responsibility without being made to choose between their faith and civic responsibility,” he said.

In putting the matter to rest, Mr Nketiah said “I wish to call on all religious bodies to come together to push for the amendment of this entrenched provision so that the election day can be permanently fixed on a Tuesday for the benefit of all”

By doing so, he said it would put to rest the recurring situation and bring finality to the matter, stressing “it is important for us to ensure that citizens are able to exercise their franchise during elections without any hindrance”.

Further, he urged the leadership of the church to make conscious efforts to incorporate civic education into their spiritual teachings towards the growth and development of the nation.

He emphasised that the church had a responsibility to contribute to shaping young people into becoming patriotic, law-abiding, and responsible citizens, stressing “the church must play a pivotal role in raising morally-upright citizens for national development”.

He warned that the upsurge of hate speech and political intolerance in public discourse was alarming, and posed a direct threat to Ghana's democratic stability and social cohesion.

He said “I urge religious groups to use their moral authority to preach unity and tolerance to safeguard the nation’s peace and security”.

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The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) has introduced six Ghanaian languages on its computer-based driving theory test platform to help applicants who cannot read or write in English.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the authority, Mr Julius Neequaye Kotey, announced this at a press briefing in Accra on Monday, October 12, 2026.

"I am happy to report that the DVLA has introduced six local languages into its Computer-Based Test platform to assist applicants who cannot read or write in English," he said.

The languages are Twi, Ga, Ewe, Dagbani, Nzema and Hausa. Translation software allows applicants to take the mandatory driving theory examination in their preferred language, he said at the press briefing dubbed Government Accountability Series and held at the Jubilee House.

Mr Kotey said the initiative was intended to reduce language barriers and help applicants demonstrate their knowledge of road signs, traffic regulations and safe driving practices. He said the authority was working to increase the number of local languages available on the platform.

The authority has also introduced SMS notifications to remind licence holders of their renewal or replacement dates. The system sends reminders one month and two weeks before a licence expires.

"This is done a month before expiry, and then the last message is sent two weeks before the date of expiry. For every customer whose mobile number used during the licence application has not changed, they must be qualified to receive such notifications," Mr Kotey said.

He said a similar system was being developed for vehicle roadworthiness renewals. "Work is currently ongoing to deploy a similar system for vehicle roadworthy renewal services as well. We will soon prompt clients on their due dates for roadworthy renewals," he said.

The authority is also introducing an electronic library system at its offices to give clients access to driver refresher and road safety videos.

"We are also introducing an electronic library system which would allow clients to walk into our offices to take some time to watch driver refresher and safety videos that enhance their driving skills on the roads," Mr Kotey said.