Hot!
ER DOVSSU Coordinator cites lack of financial support to clamp down on perpetrators of SGBV
The Eastern Regional DOVSSU Coordinator, Police Chief Superintendent, Mrs Florence Anaman has revealed that the lack of support, especially financial for victims of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) was a big challenge to clamping down on perpetrators through legal action.
According to her, most of the victims were of poor backgrounds and found it difficult to foot the financial burden associated with the legal actions, including payments of medical endorsement fees.
“Unfortunately, these developments and financial constraints have become a huge barrier in making headway in gender-based and sexual violence issues and we need to address it,” she said.
Mrs Anaman made these statements during a town hall meeting on the Gender-Based Violence campaign, as part of the “Our City Project” which formed part of a three-year Action for Youth Development programme (AfYD) implemented by Star-Ghana, four civil society organisations, New Juaben South Municipal Assembly and National Youth Authority in Koforidua.
The project which was funded by the Botnor Foundation was aimed at strengthening and enabling youth inclusion to influence governance and access quality goods and services within the municipality.
Mrs Anaman stated that even though the Domestic Violence Support Fund was set up years ago, it has been difficult accessing the funds to help victims of SGBV.
She said there was a need for the government to operationalize the funds and allocate it to the right authorities for usage to help such victims and educate them on how to access it.
That, she said, would reduce the financial burden they experienced when legal actions on SGBV cases were taken, adding it would also encourage the victims to report SGBV issues to authorities when they experienced it.
For her part, the Project Manager of Star-Ghana Foundation, Dr Ernestina Tetteh urged young ones to report to appropriate authorities when they experience SGBV for redress.
She said most often, victims of such abuses were young due to several factors and stressed the need to encourage them to report perpetrators to be punished to deter others from abusing young ones.
Dr Tetteh indicated that as part of the empowerment of the youth, there was also the need to build youth’s capacity on SGBV issues to create awareness and empower them to stand up for themselves.
“Young people must stand up against any form of wrongdoing or crime, by empowering themselves and their peers to stand for their rights in matters of Gender-Based Violence and all other issues which affect them,” she added and stated that such education should be organised frequently to encourage effective reporting on such issues.
For his part, the Municipal Chief Executive Officer of the New Juaben South Municipal Assembly, Mr Isaac Appau-Gyasi expressed his appreciation to Star-Ghana Foundation and their partners for collaborating with the assembly to organise such education for the youth.
He stated that SGBV was criminal which should not be overlooked and called on the youth not to allow themselves to be intimidated but to report such issues to the appropriate authorities for redress.
From Ama Tekyiwaa Ampadu Agyeman, Koforidua
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
