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Government needs to get into survival mode – Ken Thompson
Chief Executive Officer of Dalex Finance, Ken Thompson, says it is about time government channels its expenditure into sectors that will improve the condition of living in Ghana.
He was referring to the ballooning public debt and expenditure amidst an economic downturn and its resultant economic hardship on Ghanaians.
The CEO listed the health sector, education sector, security and food sectors, and the private sector as key areas the government must focus on.
“From where I sit Ghana needs to move to survival mode now and we need to focus on how we make the ordinary Ghanaian survive. It is survival mode now. The point I’m trying to make is that we can’t afford not to do anything now and let’s focus on supporting in this survival mode the ordinary Ghanaian,” he said on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show.
Ken Thompson said it was imperative for government to ensure basic health care for all Ghanaians.
He called for investments into health infrastructure, the health insurance scheme and other health-centered programmes to ensure quality healthcare delivery.
Speaking on education, he reiterated calls for the scrapping of the boarding school system.
“We cannot afford this boarding school system, it’ll kill us, it is killing us. I mean, go to any school… it’s pathetic. We can’t afford it,” he added.
According to him, in its stead, the government can introduce a new system where parents who want their children in boarding schools can pay hostel fees to the school among others.
“And if you want your child to go to Adisadel or Achimota, we can have a system where you pay for the hostel fees… And if you go to countries with good educational systems the people that go to boarding school pay through their nose and the rest go to public schools which are community-based,” he said.
He called for more investment into security as well.
He said the rise in violent extremism outside of the country’s borders is a matter of grave concern and must be prevented from spilling into the country.
“Security is important because we’re aware of things that are happening outside our borders and we don’t want an overspill to disrupt the little peace that we have, and let’s not take that for granted,” he said.
On food, he said government must do more to ensure food security and arrest the rapid food inflation that continues to double food prices every few months.
“I mean food inflation in Ghana now is nearly 50%, I think it’s probably more. That means that nearly every 12, 13, 16 months or so prices double. There are Ghanaians that are going to bed hungry as we speak every day. This is survival. And if our politicians don’t understand it, we’ve got to make them understand,” he said.
“As for the list of expenditures to cut, the list is so long I don’t want to go there, but focus on getting us to survive, focus on getting ordinary Ghanaians to survive , focus on not lying to us, focus on showing us that you understand the issues and give the private sector room to work.
“I mean as private sector there are so many obstacles and we lack inspiration. If you want to do business in Ghana you give up. What is wrong with us?” he added.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
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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
