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Sight of poverty makes me cry – The New Force leader
Nana Kwame Bediako
Everyone has that one thing that could move them to tears- it could be the loss of a loved one, being jilted by a lover, failing to meet a target, losing an election, being robbed and the list could go on and on.
For Nana Kwame Bediako, the leader of the New Force, he just cannot stand the sight of poverty.
Poverty, he said makes him emotional and could let tears run down his face uncontrollably.
Speaking in an interview with The Spectator on Monday, Mr. Bediako said it was heartbreaking that poverty is everywhere in the country.
“People are struggling but you cannot help everybody. The pain isn’t because people are poor, but the pain is you cannot help everyone” he lamented.
He said as an individual, he had tried to help as many people as possible by giving them jobs or one form of assistance or the other to improve their lives.
However, he was sad that it was not possible for any individual to help everyone eventhough they all needed help and that is what makes him cry.
Mr. Bediako said some people were going through so much difficulties that they could not even afford basic needs of life such as food, water, clothing and shelter.
The man behind the mask on several billboards all over the country which got many speculating what that was about, said the fact that people were not being given enough opportunities to explore their full potentials was something every well-meaning citizen should be concerned about.
Ambitious of becoming the next President with a vision to change the lives of the citizenry, especially the youth through job creation and industrialisation, Mr Bediakosaid he was convinced that, the young people were not being given the chance to give what they have to their country.
Mr Bediako, also known as Cheddar, said the potential of children should even be built right from the scratch when they are very young so that they could become a force to reckon with in whatever field they find themselves in future.
According to Cheddar, countries that had done these over the years had made commendable progress.
He advised that the youth should be groomed to have entrepreneurial skills so that the country could make a lot of money for development.
He said, it was important for people to know that there would beimpediments on their ways but instead of being bitter about them,they should see that as a motivation to strive harder to be successful.
He recalled that as a young person, tension between him and his stepmother, had motivated him to be determined to work for his own properties and not just sit back to inherit what his father had acquired.
He said crisis could bring a lot of good things out of people to make them and achieve things they never thought they could.
Mr. Bediako encouraged the youth to do what is right at all times and work hard for things to get better.
“Pray before you start whatever you want to do and if you are convinced that what you are doing is good, don’t allow anyone to discourage you. Go all out and do it. I tried it and it worked for me” he assured.
From Dzifa Tetteh Tay, Tema
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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
