President John Dramani Mahama has assented to ten Bills passed by Parliament, giving them legal effect as part of efforts to strengthen governance, public administration, national security and economic management.
The legislation, signed at a brief ceremony at the Jubilee House, covers a wide range of areas, including customs administration, community sentencing, regional tribunals, maritime offences, defence education, income taxation, energy sector levies, cocoa sector reforms, value-added tax and excise duties.
President Mahama said the enactments formed part of the government’s broader programme to modernise key state institutions, close loopholes in the country’s revenue system and support Ghana’s economic transformation.
Among the legislation is the Customs Act, 2026, which the President described as a major consolidation of Ghana’s customs laws.
According to him, the new law brings together various amendments to the country’s customs legislation that have been introduced over the years into a single legal framework.
“[The Customs Act, 2026] incorporates all the amendments that have been done over the years into one single document, and so it codifies all the customs acts into this document,” President Mahama said.
He explained that consolidating the laws would make customs administration simpler and more efficient while helping to address loopholes that have contributed to revenue losses.
The President said the reform was intended to strengthen the government’s ability to collect revenue by providing a clearer and more coherent legal framework for customs operations.
President Mahama also assented to the Community Service Act, which introduces a framework for non-custodial sentences for misdemeanours and other minor offences.
The President said the legislation would provide the courts with an alternative to imprisonment in appropriate cases, particularly where offenders had committed relatively minor offences.
He explained that instead of sending people to prison for certain minor offences, courts could sentence them to perform community service for a specified period.
The reform, he said, could also reduce the financial burden on the state associated with keeping large numbers of people in prison.
“Instead of putting people in jail and government going to have to pay for looking after prisoners, a lot of prisoners, for stealing goods or for committing some very minor offences, they can be sentenced to do community service,” he said.
The measure is expected to support a broader shift towards non-custodial sentencing while ensuring that offenders contribute positively to their communities.
The Tribunals Act was also among the legislation signed by the President.
President Mahama explained that the Constitution provides for the establishment of regional tribunals and that the new law provides the legal framework for their operation.
He said the legislation would enable the Chief Justice to establish regional tribunals to deal with specified categories of offences.
The development is expected to expand the country’s judicial capacity and facilitate the handling of cases falling within the jurisdiction of the tribunals.
Another major legislation is the Maritime and Related Offences Act, which provides a domestic legal framework for dealing with crimes and other offences committed at sea.
President Mahama said the legislation would also give effect in Ghanaian law to relevant obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which Ghana is a party.
“This is the local domestic legislation to enforce that particular Maritime Offenses Act,” he said.
The law is expected to strengthen Ghana’s legal framework for addressing maritime-related crimes and ensure that the country’s domestic laws are aligned with its international obligations.
The President also assented to the National Defence University Act, 2026, giving statutory recognition to the institution.
President Mahama noted that the National Defence University had already been established, but the new law would provide the statutory framework necessary for its operations.
He said the legislation would give legal effect to the university, including the accreditation of its programmes and courses.
“It makes it a legal and statutory entity,” the President said.
The legislation is expected to provide the institution with a formal legal foundation for training, education and research in defence and related areas.
The Income Tax Amendment Act is another significant component of the new legislation.
President Mahama said the amendment exempts workers who earn the minimum wage or less from paying income tax.
“Anybody who is on the minimum wage or below the minimum wage is exempt from income tax,” he said.
The measure is aimed at providing relief to low-income earners and ensuring that workers at the lower end of the income scale retain more of their earnings.
The President also signed the Energy Sector Levies Amendment Act, 2026, which he said seeks to address what he described as an abuse of an existing exemption relating mainly to fuel oil used by factories and maritime vehicles.
According to President Mahama, such users had previously been exempted from paying certain levies, a situation he said had created room for abuse.
Under the new arrangement, affected users will be required to pay the applicable taxes and subsequently provide evidence to obtain reimbursement.
He said the change was designed to plug a loophole that had existed for several years.
The government expects the measure to improve accountability and prevent the misuse of exemptions within the energy sector.
The Ghana Cocoa Board Act also received presidential assent, incorporating key reforms announced by the government for the cocoa industry.
President Mahama said the legislation includes the government’s commitment to process at least 50 per cent of Ghana’s cocoa beans locally.
The President also highlighted the inclusion of a commitment to ensure that cocoa farmers receive 70 per cent of the world market price of cocoa.
“Promise made, promise fulfilled,” President Mahama said in reference to the government’s commitments to cocoa farmers.
The legislation therefore provides a statutory basis for key aspects of the government’s proposed restructuring of the cocoa sector, including increased domestic processing and improved returns to farmers.
The Value Added Tax Amendment Bill was also signed into law.
President Mahama linked the amendment to the government’s arrangement with large-scale gold mining companies under which they are required to surrender 30 per cent of their gold production to the Bank of Ghana.
He said the amendment provides a VAT exemption in relation to the gold covered by the arrangement.
The measure forms part of the government’s broader gold and reserves management strategy.
The tenth legislation assented to by the President was the Excise Act, which he said consolidates provisions contained in previous excise legislation.
Although the President did not provide extensive details on the Excise Act during the ceremony, its inclusion among the newly assented laws forms part of the broader effort to streamline Ghana’s tax and revenue administration framework.
Taken together, the ten enactments represent a wide-ranging legislative programme touching on revenue mobilisation, taxation, justice, national security, defence education, maritime governance and the cocoa industry.
President Mahama said the reforms were intended not only to create new legal frameworks but also to make existing systems more efficient and close loopholes that have affected government revenue and public administration.
The enactment of the laws gives the government and relevant state institutions the statutory backing required to implement the reforms.
The President’s assent therefore marks the transition of the Bills from legislation passed by Parliament into enforceable laws, subject to the applicable commencement requirements.
The government is expected to rely on the new legal frameworks as it pursues its wider agenda of institutional reform, improved revenue mobilisation, social justice and economic transformation.
By 1960news.com
