Hot!
CEHDAR express worry over increasing sexting in Ghana
The President of Centre For Health Development and Research (CEHDAR), Dr Jemima Dennis-Antwi, has expressed worry about the increasing number of children lured into the act of sexting in the country.
According to her, sexting is becoming common in our society, as young girls are engaged in photographic literatures on their phones, by some recalcitrants men to lure them into the act, which may end up jeopardizing their future through sexual abuse.
Speaking in an interview with thespectatoronline.com yesterday in Accra, Dr Dennis-Antwi said, parents should be concerned about what their children used their phones for, especially those who allowed their children to go on the internet.
CHEDAR is a non-governmental organisation that promote health system strengthening, and policy advocacy.
Dr Dennis- Antwi added that, sexting makes girls sexually inclined, and urged parents to protect their girls from these recalcitrants, to prevent them from being sexually abused.
She appealed stakeholders, especially religious bodies and educational institutions, to train the youth to have some sort of positive distraction, that allows girls seek for their future, to enable them become better persons whose contributions would impact positively in our society.
Dr Dennis-Antwi called on the government to strengthen institutions such as the Ghana Police Service , the Judiciary, and other relevant institutions with the needed logistics, for them to provide justice for victims of sexual abuse.
She explained that, if the law does not put measures to protect girls whose future could be compromised through sexting, these children would one day become pregnant, and becomes a burden to society.
” When a girl have a baby which is she not ready for, and the baby cannot get the protection he or she needs to able the baby grow into responsible adulthood.It means that we are breeding people who will become a burden to society, and at the same time, the girl may carry a huge physiological burden which affects their social development and health” Dr Dennis-Antwi said.
She added that, when girl are not ready to have babies, it creates danger for them, as some lose their lives through delivery, and others who cannot afford to take care of themselves financially, also get themselves into indecent lifestyles such as prostitution.
“Institutions such as the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit, the Department of Social Welfare, the Legal Aid Scheme, and others, should also be supported to provide justice for sexually abused girls and women,” she said.
Acorsing to her, “If we fail as stakeholders to protect these children, we are undermining the future of these girls who may someday becomes the future leaders of our country.”
“It is also important to say that, children, especially girls need to focus on their future and education, and desist themselves from any behaviors that may jeopardize their vision,” Dr Dennis-Antwi said.
BY BERNARD BENGHAN.
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
