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Gov’t lauds GEL for contributing towards economic dev’t
Dr Acheampong(left)presenting bananas to Mr Rich at the programme
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Bryan Acheampong, has commended Golden Exotic Limited (GEL), a banana grower and export company, for its contribution to the country’s socio-economic development.
He said the company contributed over 60million Euros annually in foreign exchange and injected over 20million Euros to the economy through salaries, purchases, electricity and rent.
At the 20th anniversary of the company last week, Dr Acheampong said GEL’s success underlined the strong public and private sector ties in agricultural development, leveraging government incentives and facilities.
The anniversary brought together Ministers of State, members of the diplomatic corps, traditional rulers, Municipal and District Executives, Civil Society Organisations and other dignitaries who later toured the plantation.
The Minister stated that the company’s aim to expand its market in West Africa and export 80 per cent of products to Europe had shown its desire to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the African Continental free Trade Area (ACFTA).
He, therefore, assured of government’s commitment to ensure that the road challenge hampering the company’s operations would be resolved to alleviate the financial burden on the company.
The Managing Director of GEL, Benedict Rich said as part of efforts to maximise crop yields, GEL had resorted to the use of drone technology in Asutsuare in the Eastern region.
In collaboration with the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), he said, the drones were being used to monitor the company’s banana plantation to identify areas of needs in order to optimise farming
From Anita Nyarko-Yirenkyi, Asutsuare
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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
