Two hundred individuals across the Upper East Region have undergone training to serve as members of the newly constituted National Taskforce on Health, Safety, and Compliance under the Ministry of Labour, Jobs, and Employment. The training forms part of a nationwide rollout aimed at strengthening workplace safety, improving compliance with labour regulations, and protecting both workers and the environment.
Dr. Daniel Ayikwe, National Chairman of the Occupational Health and Safety Committee, described the initiative as a crucial step toward reducing avoidable workplace accidents and safeguarding lives. He said many tragedies—ranging from fire outbreaks and building collapses to injuries and wrongful dismissals—could be prevented through consistent inspections and adherence to safety protocols.
“This training is one of the most important safeguards for our workplaces and even our homes,” he noted. “Most incidents occur because basic safety checks are ignored. If institutions conduct the right inspections, many disasters, such as the China Mall fire in Kumasi, could have been prevented.”
Dr. Ayikwe said the ministry was not taking over the work of other regulatory bodies but rather strengthening their efforts through collaboration. He explained that a national target of recruiting 20,000 taskforce officers is underway, with personnel deployed at district, constituency, and regional levels to ensure full coverage—including rural areas where compliance challenges are common.
“In the Upper East alone, we are looking at over 200 officers,” he said. “When the 24-hour economy begins, we will deploy some of them to ensure workers are not overworked, and workplaces remain safe around the clock.”
The officers, who will be fully uniformed and issued with verifiable digital IDs, have been trained on enforcement procedures and empowered by law to access facilities for inspections. Dr. Ayikwe emphasized that their mandate includes identifying hazards, checking expired certificates, preventing unsafe working conditions, and ensuring proper evacuation and investigation procedures during structural incidents or accidents.
“We expect them to be professional, polite, and to educate the public,” he stressed. “It costs far less to fix a safety problem than to rebuild a collapsed structure or lose lives.”
Head of Programmes for the National Taskforce, Emmanuel Ayire Adongo, explained that the team was established to operationalize existing laws that many establishments have ignored for years. He highlighted widespread non-compliance with EPA certifications, fire safety requirements, basic factory registration, employee welfare standards, and chemical handling protocols.
“Government loses billions of cedis because organizations fail to comply with workplace safety and labour laws,” he said. “Our job is to change that. The taskforce is here to ensure compliance, protect workers, and support national revenue mobilization.”
To ensure efficiency and transparency, an advanced inter-agency digital monitoring system has been launched. Representatives of the EPA, Fire Service, Standards Authority, FDA, and other regulators receive real-time alerts whenever an inspection identifies non-compliance in their respective areas, enabling immediate action.
Mr. Adongo added that assemblies could also use the task force to enforce property rate payments and improve local revenue mobilization, noting that over 80% of property owners currently fail to comply.
Each officer is expected to conduct at least five inspections daily, with salaries pegged to performance and paid from a dedicated revenue account managed by the ministry.
Upper East Regional Minister, Donatus Akamugri Atanga, lauded the initiative, saying it will go a long way to reduce hazards at workplaces.
“Right here in the Upper East region, on construction sites, mining operations, across agro processing centers, and even within our civil service offices, workplace hazards are present and real. A safe working place is not only a legal obligation but a moral imperative. No economy can achieve sustainable productivity when the safety of its workforce is compromised. It is therefore clear that this initiative by the ministry is both timely and essential to the growth and advancement of our local economy”, he stated.
While entreating members of the taskforce to remain up to date with international best practices, the minister admonished them to guide businesses towards compliance but not to harass them. The training of the 200-member taskforce in the Upper East Region aligns with the government’s broader agenda to improve workplace safety, promote decent jobs, enhance revenue collection, and build a healthier, more productive national workforce.
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