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After 35 years of rich journalism… Editor of The Spectator bows out
Mr-Emmanuel-Amponsah
Oprah Winfrey succinctly summarised the significance of discovering one’s life’s purpose when she said, “I’ve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that’s unique as a fingerprint- and the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you.”
Having discovered and obeyed his calling in life, the longest serving member of the editorial staff of the New Times Corporation will “put down his pen” in a few days after 35 years of significant experience in the journalism field.
Everything has its appointed time, and The Spectator’s Editor, Mr. Emmanuel Amponsah, has come to the end of his work with the New Times Corporation – he has retired.
He recalls with nostalgia how he began his career as a young journalist in the era when fax machines served as the primary means of sending and receiving news reports. The experienced sports journalist recounts some of the headlines of the stories which called his byline, some common ones were; “Kumasi favours Hearts of Oak” and “Okwawu Utd can’t disturb Kotoko” which were published on 18th and 25th February, 1995 editions among other stories in The Ghanaian Times.
Portifolios
Mr. Emmanuel Amponsah was appointed the Editor of The Spectator, the weekly newspaper of the New Times Corporation (NTC), on November 2, 2020.
Until his appointment, Mr Amponsah, who is a Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) graduate was the Deputy Editor of the Ghanaian Times, the flagship newspaper of the NTC.
Before assuming the role of Deputy Editor, he was the Business Editor of the Ghanaian Times, where his job responsibilities involved selecting and analysing business and financial news for publication in the newspaper.
Prior to that, he was in charge of the Sports Desk of the Ghanaian Times and doubled as a columnist (The Watchdog) for the erstwhile Evening News.
The Board of Directors of the Corporation appointed Mr. Amponsah as the Deputy Editor of the Sporting Times in 1999 which was a weekly sports newspaper of the Corporation. He acted as the Editor of the newspaper also for a while.
Advise to young people
Mr Amponsah said one must not be an “arm chair journalist… if journalism is your passion, you must always be on the look out for stories that are of interest.”
Again, he said, a determinant of successes in the field of journalism was the ability of the reporter to have and maintain reliable sources of information. This, he said, could be achieved by writing or reporting credible information and professionally dealing with people.
A good and passionate journalist the Editor said, must have the ability to scrutinise and criticise some misdeeds in society that are not in the general interest of the public. However, in doing so the good journalist must be constructive.
A product of GIJ and Saint Thomas Aquinas Secondary School, both in Accra, Mr Amponsah’s areas of interest include Sports, Business/Finance and Environment.
He has attended a number of national and international conferences and tournaments, and written extensively on global and local events bordering on various fields of human endeavours.
By Portia Hutton-Mills
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GEXIM deepens relations with US EXIM Bank
A management team of the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) led by the Acting Chief Executive, Sylvester Mensah met with the leadership of the Export–Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) on Wednesday April 23, 2025 in Washington DC, United States of America.
The Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM, Mr. James C. Cruse and Vice President, International Relations, Ms. Isabel Galdiz received the GEXIM delegation, which included Deputy CEO for Banking, Mr. Moses Klu Mensah and Head of International Cooperation, Mr. Jonathan Christopher Koney at the headquarters of US EXIM.
The meeting offered the GEXIM team the opportunity to share the strategic direction of the Bank in line with the resetting agenda of the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama for the repositioning of the Ghanaian economy into an export-led one by providing the requisite investment to Ghanaian businesses.
Mr. James C. Cruse expressed US EXIM’s eagerness to deepen its existing relations with GEXIM and proposed the signing of a new Cooperative Framework Agreement following the expiration of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 to utilize US EXIM’s medium term loan guarantees to procure machinery by GEXIM for qualified Ghanaian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Mr.Sylvester Mensah thanked the Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM for hosting the GEXIM delegation and reaffirmed the Ghanaian government’s commitment to strengthening trade and investment between Ghana and its global partners for economic transformation of Ghana with GEXIM playing a pivotal role.
The two teams will be meeting on the sidelines of the 2025 US EXIM Annual Conference on 29th and April 30, 2025 to explore possible areas of collaboration and matching Ghanaian businesses to American companies. The meeting ended with an exchange of gifts.
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Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation –Pres.Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has expressed concern over the misuse of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) for personal financial gain by individuals in leadership positions.
Speaking during a meeting with Chief Executives of specified entities under the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) on Thursday, March 13, the President directly attributed the dire state of SOEs to their leadership, accusing chief executives, management teams, and governing boards of prioritising personal enrichment over organisational efficiency.
He pointed to bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures as factors draining public funds while SOEs continue to rely on government bailouts.
“Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation by appointees. The chief executives, management, and boards of these enterprises are responsible for this situation. Some SOEs have become perennial loss-makers, draining public funds with bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures while relying on government bailouts as if entitled to them. Many of these entities are at their lowest point in the entire history of the Fourth Republic,” he said.
President Mahama further noted that many SOEs have been plagued by inefficiencies, corruption, and mismanagement, leading to consistent financial losses. He cited the 2023 State Ownership Report by the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), which highlighted systemic inefficiencies and wasteful expenditures within these entities.
He therefore reaffirmed his commitment to reforming under-performing SOEs and ensuring they serve national interests.
He warned that loss-making SOEs will no longer be tolerated and will either be merged, privatised, or closed.
“I will assess you based on your performance. If you do not align with the pace of the reset agenda, you may be asked to step aside. If that adds to the horror movie, so be it,” he added.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
