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Create special fund to attract youth into agric
The Paramount Chief and President of the Nsein Traditional Council in the Nzema East Municipality, Awulae Agyefi Kwame 11 has asked the government to create a special fund to attract the youth into agriculture.
He said the special fund should be used as seed money to motivate the youth to go into any branch of agriculture adding “the fund should attract very little interest or no interest but will be paid back for others to also benefit”.
Awulae Agyefi Kwame 11 who was the chairman at the Nzema East Municipal Assembly 37th National Farmers’ Day celebration at Nsein in the Western Region was speaking to The Spectator after the celebration.
He said gone were the days when young men and women went to the farm with hoes and cutlasses to clear the bush before planting.
He said technology had now made inventors to come out with simple agricultural implements which were simpler and faster and could be used to clear farms before planting or sowing.
He said the government must come out and walk the talk about agricultural programmes for the youth to be attracted into the sector because office work was no longer adequate to absorb the many graduates being churned out from the universities and other tertiary institutions all over the country and beyond.
He said the youth wanted to go into agriculture but the motivation was not enough to attract any young boy or girl to go into the sector and the sweet talks from successive governments were not enough to allow the youth go into the sector.
Awulae Agyefi Kwame congratulated past and present governments on maintaining the Farmers’ Day started by late President John Jerry Rawlings who saw it prudent to recognise the contributions of Ghanaian gallant farmers who fed the nation 37 years ago.
He said that though he was a traditional ruler, he believed farming was one of the major solutions to the economic woes of Ghana so he was very serious in farming and would encourage any young man to go into it.
The Paramount Chief said he was ever ready to arrange for land for any individual or group of young men or women who decided to go into agriculture adding “the Agricultural Extension Officers are always available to assist anybody in farming techniques, aquaculture, among others.
From Peter Gbambila, Nsein.
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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
