Hot!
Be cautious to prevent accidents during and after the festive seasons- Drivers advised
Drivers in the country have been advised to be cautious on the road and exercise due diligence while driving to help prevent accidents during and after the festive seasons.
The Corporate Communications Manager of Vivo Energy, Shirley Tony Kum who gave the advice, said it was necessary they drove with diligence to help reduce the many accidents on the roads.
She stated that it was unfortunate that many of the drivers do not have first aid kits in their vehicles, let alone not having to apply medical care to passengers during accidents or emergencies and reiterated the need to have such basic kits coupled with due diligence to ensure their own safety and that of passengers.
Mrs Shirley Tony Kum gave the advice at the launch of the 2023 Stop, Think and Drive Road Safety campaign initiated by Vivo Energy in collaboration with the National Roads Safety Authority and Transporters in Koforidua on Wednesday.
The launch of the campaign was aimed at building the capacity of motorists to improve road user behaviour and reduce the risks of involvement in road accidents.
As part of the campaign, participants were taken through a refresher defensive driving training course and were equipped with basic first aid skills in administering medical care to passengers during accidents or in case of emergencies.
Mrs Shirley Tony Kum revealed that provisional statistics from the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service indicated that Road Traffic Crashes, Injuries and Deaths (CID) saw a consistent month-on-month reduction in 2022 ending the year with 14, 960 crashes, 15, 690 Injuries and 2,373.
“Deaths representing 7.55%, 1.54% and 20.11% reductions respectively, compared to the year 2021,” she added.
She believed that the initiative has contributed significantly to the reduction in the observed CIDs and should be sustained, hence the launch in the Koforidua to train more drivers.
The Corporate Communications Manager advised the drivers to be careful on the roads and drive with caution to ensure their safety and that of their passengers.
The Eastern Regional Manager of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), Nana Akua Ansaah Cobbinah said research has shown that most road accidents and their associated fatalities were caused by human error, poor mechanical maintenance, bad road and bad weather conditions.
She again noted that 96 per cent of accidents were caused by human error, and reiterated the need to educate drivers on road safety to urge them to obey road traffic rules as well as ensure that they drive safely.
“We have also educated the drivers on maintaining their vehicles so that they will be for use,” she said and added that training would impact knowledge on road safety issues to enable them to drive well during and after the festive season.
The Principal Industrial Relations Officer at the GPRTU in the Eastern Region, Alhaji Salifu Alhassan said one of the causes of road accidents in the region was bad roads and therefore appealed to the government to expedite action on roads which were under construction, adding that due to the bad nature of road, drivers have to resort to alternative roads making driving difficult.
He stated that the festive season was the time drivers conveyed more passengers to their various destinations and added that the training would make them more cautious on the roads.
From Ama Tekyiwaa Ampadu Agyeman, Koforidua
Picture Caption
The drivers being sensitised by the Eastern Regional Manager of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), Nana Akua Ansaah Cobbinah
Hot!
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.
Hot!
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
