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Influx of fake dentist …Dental Association caution public

• Dr (Dent.) Cecilia Kakrabah Quarshie - GDA President

The Ghana Dental Association (GDA) is concerned about the invasion of fake dentists in the country practicing in barber and hairdressing salons.

Dr (Dent.) Cecilia Kakrabah Quarshie, President of the Association, said the development was becoming alarming, stressing the need for a collaboration between the association and security agencies arrest the quack dentists.

This came to light at the 33rd Annual General Congress (AGC) of the GDA in Kumasi, Ashanti Region.

It was under the theme, ‘Strengthening the GDA: An All Inclusive Membership for Tomorrow’s Success.’

According to Dr Quarshie, it was a development every member of the public must be concerned about because of the dangers these fake doctors pose to life and health.

“Dentistry is a noble profession deeply rooted and steep in medicine and science and should not be trivialised as mere fashion statement because implications of these unregulated practices are alarming,” she said.

According to her, efforts were being made to end the practice and asked the members of the public to deal with qualified dentist in order to avoid any health implications.

In attendance at the AGC was the Minister of Health, Dr Bernard Okoe Boye, who stressed the need for teaching hospitals to collaborate with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to allow consultants at the hospitals to do clinicals at rural or peri-urban areas periodically.

He said it should be possible for specialists to extend their services to other areas of the country that lacked their expertise.

On his part, the Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Prof. Ellis Owusu-Dabo, in a statement read on his behalf, expressed worry about the exodus of health workers which he said could have repercussions on the provision of health care in the country.

In 2023, he said about 4,000 nurses left the country to Europe and America in search of better opportunities.

He said, already, there was an unequal distribution of health workers, particularly specialist medical staff in the country, and that the current situation would exacerbate the plight of those already at a disadvantage.

“It is estimated that about 70 to 80 per cent of dentists are clustered in the southern part of the country, mainly Accra and Kumasi, while the remaining 20 per cent are distributed across the northern sector.

“This leaves thousands of people without access to professional care services, especially in rural and peri-urban Ghana,” he added. As of 2022, there were a total of 570 dentists for a population of 31 million people – a ratio of one dentist to 58,400 people.

This, he said, falls below the World Health Organisation’s recommendation of a dentist for every 7,500 people.

From Kingsley E. Hope, Kumasi

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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