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Teacher gets 12 years for defiling 8-year-old girl
Enoch
The Odumase-Krobo Circuit Court has sentenced Enoch Amponsah, a 28-year-old teacher at a private basic school at Kpong, to 12 years’ imprisonment for defiling an eight-year-old girl.
He pleaded guilty to the charge of defilement at the court presided over by Mr Kwasi Appiatse Abaidoo.
Police Chief Inspector Daniel Apedo, said on October 19, 2023, the victim went for a weekend class organised by the school, and after closing, the accused told the victim to get him his laptop from the office.
The accused then followed her, removed her underwear, had sexual intercourse with her and warned her not to tell anyone else he would be punished.
He said the next day, the accused person lured the victim to his house which was adjacent the school, had another intercourse with her and repeated the act again on November 4, which caused the victim pain such that she could not walk properly.
Upon reaching home, her mother detected changes in the walking of her daughter, and when interrogated the victim said, “Sir Enoch,” as they affectionately called him, had sexual intercourse with her several times.
The accused person was arrested, and in his caution statement, admitted having intercourse with the victim several times.
Meanwhile, two teachers, who forged Judicial Service official receipts, have been sentenced to six years imprisonment each by an Accra Circuit Court.
Lordfred Heward Mills, the main architect of the crime was jailed in absentia while Lawrence Ansu Asante, the second accused person, was escorted by the Police to jail. This was after the court presided over by Mrs Afia Owusua Appiah found them guilty on the charges of conspiracy to wit uttering of forged documents and uttering forged documents at the end of the trial.
The prosecution, led by Inspector Wisdom Alorwu, told the court that the complainant Eric Ansah Agyei, was a Pastor and a resident of Aburi.
It said Mills resided at Bubuashie and Asante, a resident of James- Town, were sureties in the case of Republic verses Jeffery Wilson Ofori, which was pending before Circuit Court four, then presided over by Mr Emmanuel Essandoh, now deceased.
The court heard that in June 2021, the complainant gave GH¢3, 500 to the accused persons, now convicts, to be paid on behalf of Jeffery Wilson Ofori, who was anaccused person in a case.
The prosecution said the accused persons (convicts) then hatched a plan to forge an official Judicial Service receipt and failed to pay the money to the court. It said the convicts then contacted one Boakye Boateng, who got them forge the Judicial Service official receipts.
It said the convicts later submitted a Judicial Service official receipt with the number 19/0263336 dated June 11, 2021, with a face value of GHC3, 500.
The prosecution said they then handed over the receipt to the prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Rita Asaah.
On November 23, 2021, the prosecutor presented the said receipt to the court, but it was rejected, with the judge ordering for the arrest of the convicts.
They were consequently escorted to the community 18 Police Station where they were detained for further investigations.
The prosecution said Mills mentioned one Boakye Boateng now at large as the one who issued them with the receipts at a fee of GH¢500. It said the remaining
GH¢3,000 was shared between the convicts. In their caution statements, the convicts admitted the offences before an independent witness.-—GNA
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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
