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GES: Parents must assist children to observe COVID-19 protocols
The Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Professor Kwasi Opoku Amankwa has appealed to parents to assist their children to comply with the necessary protocols outlined by government as they return to school to ensure their safety is not compromised.
According to him even though government had instituted a lot of measures to ensure the safety of all students, there was the need for parents to compliment these efforts.
“There is no need for any parent to prevent his or her ward from going to school to prepare and write their final exams. Government has put in place all the necessary measures to safeguard the children and it will be appropriate for parents to compliment this gesture,” he emphasised.
Speaking to the Ghanaian Times in a telephone conversation, Prof Amankwa said even though no one could force any parent to send his or her ward to school, it was important that the parents placed the development of the children above all other consideration.
He said government would not deliberately endanger the lives of the very student it had spent so much on, stressing that as a result, parents must do away with the fear factor and support them in safeguarding the welfare of the children.”
Outlining a number of measures put in place at the various schools, he said each student had been provided a dedicated desk with their names embossed on it and would be arranged spaciously in accordance with the social distancing protocols.
In addition, he said all the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) including face masks, Veronica buckets, santisers, paper tissues and thermometer guns meant for the schools had been sent to the schools.
On parents who were contemplating keeping their wards and home and hiring private teachers to teach them, he said there was no guarantee that such arrangement would keep the children safe.
H explained that unless the private teachers to be hired by the parents lived under one roof with the students as well as their parents, the potential spread of the infection could not be stopped.
“Those parents who say they are afraid and for that matter will let their children stay home and get them private teachers to teach them, I want to know if they have the capacity to detect whether the teachers are infected or not?” she queried
Furthermore, he said even if the parents succeeded in that direction, it was important that they realised that their wards would still have to join their mates to write the exams.
Source: Ghanaian Times
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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
