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Excerpts of ‘Tuesday showdown’ at Kwame Nkrumah Interchange
Sanity is returning to the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange in Accra following the ‘showdown’ led by the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr Henry Quartey, and taskforces from various Municipal Assemblies on Tuesday in the ‘Operation Clean your Frontage.’
Defiant traders who often seized the pavements and other undesignated areas to display their wares advised themselves as unauthorised wooden and concrete structures were pulled down.
Business temporarily came to a halt with sanitation trucks and personnel standing by to clear the filth that had engulfed the area.
As expected, some traders resisted the exercise by pelting stones at the bulldozers brought to site. However, the hundreds of security personnel deployed to the area managed to execute the task in record time. Floating commercial drivers operating lawlessly were also not left out.
The pavements now appear organised as parts have been demarcated with wire mesh to separate trading from pedestrian activities. City authorities said some of the merchants had been relocated to available spaces at the Odawna and nearby markets.
Mr.Quartey had earlier indicated that the exercise was in the best interest of the traders but not meant to deprive them of their livelihood. That, indeed, was the case as some law-abiding traders and pedestrians hailed him and the team for resolving to make ‘Accra work again.’
The exercise which formed part of the ‘Make Accra Work Again’ agenda, was extended to Kaneshie, Abossey Okai and the Central Business District.
It was part of measures by the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council to keep the City clean and enforce sanitation regulations in the city.
Although there has been some satisfaction with the exercise, some members of the public want the prevailing sanity to be sustained.
By Lizzy Okai
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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
