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Two jailed for flouting AMA sanitation bye-laws
An Accra Magistrate Court has sentenced two persons to a fine of GHC 10,000 or in default spend three months imprisonment with hard labour.
The two – Ebenezer Lamptey and Mawuli Wudaa- who pleaded guilty, were convicted on Monday by the court for flouting provisions in the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) Bye-laws 2017 and Public Health Act, 2012 (851).
The court has also fined Madam Mercy Sackey GHc 1,200 for preparing food for sale using firewood, producing smoke nuisance to some residents of the Okai-koi Sub-Metropolitan District.
According to the Head of Public Affairs, Gilbert Nii Ankrah, the offenders were dragged to the court on a bench warrant effected by Public Health officers of the AMA led by Florence Kuukyi after they failed to appear before the court when they were summoned.
He disclosed that Mr Lamptey was dragged before the court by the Assembly for operating an unhygienic dilapidated concrete pit latrine on the verge of collapsing and discharging effluent into the drains contrary, to Section 11 of the AMA Sanitation Bye-laws whilst Mawuli Wudaa at the time of inspection had employed the services of seven persons without health certificates at an eatery and stored their food items in a rusted refrigerator likely to cause contamination.
He explained that under the AMA 2017 Sanitation bye-laws, a person commits an offence if that person for instance discharges effluent into the open, drains, the compound of that person or the environment, operates a public or commercial toilet without a valid permit from the Assembly, defecates in the open, drains, or one’s compound, or indiscriminately dumps solid and liquid waste in open spaces, drains, gutters, behind walls, or burns solid waste in one’s compound.
“It is an offence u der the by-law if you fail to keep the premises free from overgrown weeds & hedges, stagnant water, and any unwholesome or otherwise offensive matter as well as drains that abut the premises up to the middle of the street, clean,” he added.
He said the AMA Food and Hygiene bye-laws 2017 also mandates all food handlers to be subjected to screening after which they would be issued with valid health certificate renewable yearly basis adding that Food handlers were required to produce on demand.
He cautioned individuals and entities that produce food for public consumption to ensure that their staff were medically screened and issued medical health certificate cards to ensure food and public safety.
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
