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Thugs extort, rape market women at “No man’s land”
Thugs have taken over the various unapproved paths and stretches of ‘no man’s land’ between Ghana and Togo, intercepting traders who flout the border closure to either rape them or to extort money from them.
They usually target market women from the Ghana side of the border who continue crossing the border into Togo day and night to buy vegetables in large quantities for resale in Ghana, in spite of the official closure of the frontier because they are cheaper there.
Some of the gangsters are raking a fortune from assisting traders to cross the border and charging them big money.
For the past two weeks, however, the cross-border business by the market women from Ghana has fallen drastically as a result of the persistent threats of rape by the gangsters along the unapproved routes.
One trader from Ho, who spoke to The Spectator on anonymous grounds, said that the thugs often asked the illegal cross-border traders to choose between paying huge fees for assistance to cross the frontier or get ready for gang-rape in the bush.
Some of the traders, she said, have now folded up their businesses due to the danger along the unproved paths.
According to other traders, some of their colleagues, who fall victim to the criminals along the unapproved border routes cannot report the matter to the police because “it all takes place on no man’s land.”
” We were so embarrased to report these incidents to our families and law enforcement agencies, “they lamented.
Giving details, they said. The hoodlums would extort various amounts of money from them and those who could not pay, were dragged into the bush and raped.
Senior immigration officers stationed at the various border posts confirmed the story.
They said the activities of the tugs, if not checked quickly, would become uncontrollable.
Worse still, they said that the traders were afraid of getting arrested for attempting to flout the border if they report the matter to the police on either side of the border.
Meanwhile, there are growing reports of a large number of Ghanaians trapped and distressed in their homes located behind the gates of the immigration check points which are located far away from the frontier.
This was evident last Saturday when members of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs visited the border town of Leklebi-Kame and other communities along the frontier.
At Honuta in the Ho-West District, the traditional authorities expressed misgivings over the activities of some organised thugs who were terrorising the natives and calling them ‘Togolese’.
At the Honuta Border Post, it emerged that dealers in food items such as cooking oil from Togo often left them on the border for the customers to pick without crossing the frontier.
This reporter was at the Ghana side of the frontier when two motorcycles arrived to deliver big gallons of cooking oil at the gate separating the two countries, before riding back into Togo.
Pix: xah 1
Caption: The Honuta border
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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
