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Stop use of illicit drugs! …ER Minister cautions youth

Mr. Seth Acheampong (inset) speaking to the students

The Eastern Regional Minister, Seth Kwame Acheampong, has advised the youth, especially those in Senior High School (SHS), not to allow themselves to be influenced to experiment with illicit drugs.

The experiment, he asserted, may cause them to crave it and become a burdensome part of their daily lives.

According to him, the use of illicit drugs or the abuse of drugs was affecting a lot of the youth, adding that there was a need to address the growing menace, so as not to lead to debilitating effects on the country’s future generation.

He said students relying on illicit drugs could destroy their academic performance and make them a burden to society, advising the youth to rather engage in activities such as sports that offer creative and relaxing alternatives to drugs.

The Eastern Regional Minister was speaking at a day’s seminar organised by the Perfector of Sentiments (POS) Foundation, a youth development and human rights non-governmental organisation, in collaboration with Open Society Initiative for West Africa, for students of the Koforidua Senior High Technical School.

The seminar on the theme, “Prevention of Use of Illicit Drugs: The Youth Our Future,” which was attended by both students and teachers, was purposed to enable POS to interact with them and create awareness about illicit drugs as well as educate them on the dangers associated with drug abuse.

Mr. Acheampong noted that most of the time, the youth were influenced by peer pressure to experience the use of illicit drugs, especially cannabis.

He explained that the abuse of illicit drugs could dull the mind and impair the user’s judgement and would put that person at risk of making wrong and dangerous decisions, indicating that such decisions could affect relationships, performance in school or work, and eventually lead to addictions that could be extremely difficult to overcome.

The Minister revealed that another problem that drug abuse could cause was problems with the law, Narcotics Drug Law 1990 PNDCL 236, where offenders risk heavy fines or imprisonment as such acts could also cause social problems.

The Acting Eastern Regional Officer of the Narcotics Control Commission, Millicent Badu, said it was sad to be called to scenes where young students or youth were arrested or lost their lives due to the illicit use of drugs.

She said there was a need for stakeholders to come together to educate the youth on drug abuse to ensure that they were protected from its dangers.

The Executive Director of the POS Foundation, Mr. Jonathan Osei Owusu, advised the youth, especially students, to desist from the practice to prevent them from being apprehended by the law, adding that being jailed for drug abuse could disrupt their lives and successes.

From Ama Tekyiwaa Ampadu Agyeman, Koforidua

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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