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Kronum-Afrancho fire: 18-year-old SHS student burnt to death
An 18-year-old student has died in a fire that swept through a plastic recycling factory at Kronum-Afrancho in the Afigya Kwabre South District of the Ashanti region.
Stephen Agyekum died in an attempt to control the spread of the inferno with a fire extinguisher.
Excessive heat, coupled with strong wind and smoke blocked his exit from the burning building.
The deceased, Stephen Agyekum, is a form one student of Adugyama Senior High School.
His friend, Joshua Asiedu Boafo Junior, says they had successfully removed a gas cylinder from the kitchen to avoid explosion.
But the thick black smoke from the fire blocked their view of the door.
Joshua managed to crawl out of the room, but his friend Stephen lost his way out.
Some residents made unsuccessful attempts to rescue him.
Stephen got trapped and died in the fire.
The inferno swept through a plastic recycling factory and spread to about 5 houses in the area.
Melted plastic, cooking utensils and burnt electrical appliances are in the debris of the fire.
The factory block and the apartment of the owner were burnt completely.
Abubakar Sulemana is a victim of the inferno. Four of his fifteen apartments got burnt.
The fire lasted for close to 10 hours before it was totally doused by firefighters.
Access route to the area and availability of water hydrants were major challenges for the firefighters.
Residents, however, applauded their efforts.
The Breman Fire Service Department had to call in reinforcement from four other fire departments in Greater Kumasi to help douse the fire.
Divisional Officer 3 Prosper Selasie Avevor wants government’s support in accessing modern PPEs.
He advised residents not to keep combustible materials in their homes.
The fire service is currently investigating the cause of the fire.
Source: www.adomonline.com
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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
