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Africa Media Convention delegates tour historical sites
Nkrumah bronze head
Hundreds of delegates, stakeholders and partners from over 40 countries converged in Accra for the third African Media Convention (AMC) held on May 14-17.
It was on the theme “Enhancing freedom, innovation, and environmental sustainability in a dynamic media leadership.”
It is a collaborative effort supported by the African media stakeholders to reflect on the fundamental role of journalism on the continent, celebrate the fundamental principles of freedom and deliberate on measures to safeguard media freedoms and promote access to information, the safety of journalists and media viability in African Media (AU) Member States.
One of the highlights for the event was the ‘tour of the beautiful city of Accra’ by a large number of the participants who visited the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park (KNMP), the Black Star Square, Arts Centre among others.
There were emotional moments at the KNMP as the Tour Guides briefed the participants about the life of the First President of Ghana, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and the history behind his bronze head and statue.
Mounted separately, the head has the inscription “the bronze head of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s original statue which stood in front of the old Parliament House, Accra, vandalised during the February 24, 1966, military and police coup d’état. This was recovered and presented by a patriotic citizen to the Information Services Department (ISD) which in turn released it to the park on May 28, 2009 and mounted in the park on September 1, 2009.”
The statue also has the inscription “the original statue of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah which stood in front of the old Parliament House opposite the Old Polo grounds, Accra attacked by a mob, vandalised as it stands now in the wake of a military with police coup d’état on 24th February 1966 recovered for the national museum in 1975.”
This is on loan to the KNMP from Ghana Museums and Monuments Board mounted on 11th June, 2007.”
From Dzifa Tetteh Tay, Tema
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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
