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Black Stars visit ‘Heal Komfo Anokye’ Project in Kumasi
President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku led a powerful delegation of officials, Black Stars players and Technical team members to the ‘Heal Komfo Anokye’ project, spearheaded by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II on Tuesday June 11, 2024.
The President led the team from the GFA, including the Black Stars players, technical team and management members to show support and affection to patients at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), as they encouraged and wished them speedy recovery.
The visit also afforded the GFA President and his entourage the opportunity to witness and be briefed, at first hand, the mounting challenges facing the health facility.
The visit by the team follows Ghana’s thrilling 4-3 win over Central African Republic (CAR) in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Monday June 10, 2024 at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi, to go top of Group I of the qualifiers.
Top officials of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital led the players and officials on a tour of the facility while interacting with patients in a heartwarming gesture.
The GFA President pledged the commitment of the Football Association to support the renovation of the biggest hospital in the Ashanti Region using the GFA Foundation as a vehicle to offer critically needed help.
He said, “I think all the players and technical staff, who are all here, have heard the message. On behalf of the entire team, I want to assure you of our commitment towards honouring the call by Otumfuo Osei Tutu II. Everybody here is naturally an ambassador. We have our images as a potential avenue for use in supporting such a worthy course. We’ll never know who will be a beneficiary of this facility in future. It can be our good selves, families and friends amongst others. We have a lot of footballers who have used these facilities and continue to use them.”
“We appreciate the call from Otumfuo, our father. He’s always been there for us whenever we have needed him. He has been our spiritual head. He has attended a lot of our games and he’s an icon we all look up to,” he said.
“Through the GFA Foundation, we will play our part, and the message will pierce through the hearts of many. This is a firm commitment that we’ll offer to this clarion call by Otumfuo. Actions, they say, speak louder than words, and football will speak with a much louder voice. Our presence here confirms our commitment. We’ll confirm and affirm our support to the project, in due course.” he concluded.
The ‘Heal Komfo Anokye’ project is an initiative of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, to raise funds to renovate the deteriorating Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.
The Asante King is seeking to raise $10 million for the refurbishment of the main ‘G’ block of the facility, which serves as the main referral centre for 12 out of the 16 regions of Ghana.
Despite its reputation for providing quality and affordable healthcare services and conducting groundbreaking research, KATH faces serious infrastructural challenges that affect service delivery.
President Simeon-Okraku led a delegation that included Vice-President Mark Addo as well as Executive Council members Frederick Acheampong, Dr. Ransford Anertey Abbey, Black Stars Coach Otto Addo and Captain Thomas Partey, the technical team and the players of the Black Stars.
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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
