Accra: President John Dramani Mahama has signed five Bills passed by Parliament into law. These include the Security and Intelligence Agencies Bill, 2025, and the University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Bill, 2025. The remaining Bills are the Ghana Deposit Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Growth and Sustainability Levy (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the Education Regulatory Bodies (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
According to Ghana News Agency, President Mahama stated that the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act, 2026, eliminates the office of Minister of National Security, allowing the President to appoint any minister to supervise security agencies. The Act also changes the name of the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) back to the Bureau of National Intelligence (BNI) to avoid confusion with a well-known Ghanaian commercial bank.
The University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Act, 2026, establishes a new university in the Eastern Region at Bunso, featuring three campuses: the main campus at Bunso, a second campus at Ohawu in the Oti Region, and a third at Acherensua in the Ahafo Region.
Regarding the Amendment to the Growth and Sustainability Levy Act, the President noted that the levy had been increased from one per cent to three per cent, but this Act reduces the levy on mining companies back to one per cent due to the introduction of a sliding scale of royalties.
President Mahama also stated that the Government Education Regulatory Bodies Amendment Act removes the obligation for universities to charter. Furthermore, the Ghana Deposit Protection Amendment Act amends the original act to guarantee public deposits held in commercial banks or financial institutions.
The Bills were presented to President Mahama by Mr Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, the Clerk to the Parliament of Ghana. The signing ceremony was attended by Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, Mr Julius Debrah, the Chief of Staff at the Presidency, and Dr Callistus Mahama, the Executive Secretary to the President. Other attendees included Madam Marietta Agyeiwaa Brew, Senior Legal Advisor to the President, Dr Dominic Akrutinga Ayine, the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, the Finance Minister, and Mrs Joyce Bawa Mogtari, a Senior Presidential Advisor and Special Aide to the President.