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From producer to first female Programmes Manager of Joy FM …Edem Knight-Tay tells her story
When life gets tough, dreams are sometimes sacrificed temporarily or permanently but that was not the case of indomitable Mrs.Edem Knight-Tay.
She had studied General Arts at Okuapeman Secondary School at Akuapem-Akropong in the Eastern Region and was yet to discover where the road to her dream would lead her.
But after many years of sailing through turbulent tides, she has risen to become the first female Programmes Manager of Joy FM, one of the pioneers of private radio business in Ghana.
The Spectator recently caught up with the industrious lady, currently the hostess of Home Affairs on the 99.7 dial in Accra and a Communications Consultant to delve into aspects of her life and career.
Background
Edem, as she is affectionately called, was born to Madam Eugenia Ankrah and Mr.Gladstone Yaw Kuma Dagadu, all of blessed memory.
In her teenage years, she took up teaching at New Nation School in Accra in a bid to save money and further her education at the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI).
According to her, the choice of NAFTI at the time was against the “fanciful trend” of some young people yearning to enter the university, solely for the lavish lifestyle they intended to live.
As young as she was, she was able to read the “hazy map” of her life and determine the career she wanted to pursue.
Education
In 2004, she successfully completed Bachelor of Film and Television Directing and was the only female in her year group to obtain a First Class Honours.
Her silent movie produced in second year, earned positive reviews from her lecturers. She made a music video using the hit song, ‘Kpanlogo Y3d3”, by Amandzeba Nat Brew which was adjudged the best music video of her year group.
The video, she noted, had become a reference point which was still being used as teaching material at the institution.
Her final year project “Image Africa” was also adjudged the best directed movie.
While in school, she had started working with Ivan Quashigah who had just begun Farm House Production, worked as a Production Assistant and Director.
Edem, as a trainee, helped produce some popular programmes of that era such as Frytol Women’s Digest and ‘Nsem Wo World’ a local language TV series aired on GTV and Metro TV.
She explained it was some of those productions that shot Agyakoo to fame and enhanced the status of popular actor Akrobetu.
After completing the course, she worked as a Teaching Assistant at NAFTI between 2004 and 2005 and had some stints with GTV in 2003, and later started her own production company in 2006.
Work
As it is the case with many women, Edem after marriage had to spend about five years at home to help her children find their feet before she could take up another permanent role.
She admitted that those five years were quite challenging and feared the impossibility of bouncing back to her career.
Nonetheless, she managed to secure a job as Channel Manager for Sky Digital TV in 2009, and hosted Young Adults, a TV programme at the station, which saw to the rejuvenation of her creativity.
She later set up Evergreen Child Development Centre, a nursery at home, where busy parents found her trustworthy to keep their children.
“I started with one child and in no time, I had 30 screaming children at home. That level of activity was very therapeutic for me”, she noted.
Edem, who now has four children, had run the Child Development Centre for two years until her sister-in-law drew her attention to a job advertisement at Joy Fm in 2011. She applied and took off as a radio producer.
Joy FM
Edem’s first engagement was to produce Home Affairs and Ultimate Health. But two days to the start of her role at the radio station, she got an enhanced offer to handle the award-winning “Drive Time” show as well.
She later rose from the position of producer to become the hostess of the Home Affairs programme and after years of dedicated service, became Head of Productions at the Multimedia Entertainment Hub in 2017.
In 2019, she was again promoted to Head of Talk, Entertainment and Religious Programmes at the station. In August 2020, she was appointed the first-ever female Programmes Manager.
Edem who holds Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Human Resource Management, describes her task as “a tough one.”
“My role included creating compelling content through the talents and resources I have while attracting audiences and revenue with the content we create,” she said.
While acknowledging the support of the Management of Multimedia Group Ltd, She expressed confidence in her team as she works hard to accomplish the task at hand.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
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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
