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Wearing of helmet: Don’t value hair, make up over life

Mr. James Morgan, the Director for Road Safety for the Okada
Riders Association.

Even though crash helmets protect the heads of riders and pillion riders against traumatic injuries in the event of a crash, many ladies refuse to wear them.

Their reasons are that it messes their hair or makeup.

“They say it will mess up their hair and so they would not wear it. Others say it makes them sweat profusely and affect their makeup. We always try to convince them to wear them but they wouldn’t listen,” the Director of Road Safety for the Okada Riders Association of Ghana (ORAG), Mr James Morgan disclosed.

According to him, the constant failure of women to carry out this directive was a major concern for the association.

In an interview with The Spectator last Friday, Mr. Morgan said the association had cautioned its members to ensure that riders, especially women wear their crash helmets.

He wondered why some ladies prioritise their hair and makeup over their lives.

“Others also claim that due to the frequent use by other clients, the helmets have foul smell.”

But according to Mr Morgan, such excuses were unfortunate, explaining that, properly wearing a crash helmet could save a person from serious injuries, permanent disability or even losing lives.

Meanwhile, when interviewed, some female patrons of commercial motorcycles in interviews said they usually patronise the services of Okada riders when they were in a hurry to get to their destinations.

“Imagine that I am in a hurry to get to work and has to wear a helmet. When I get there, it means I have to dress my hair again and also do my makeup all over again. I have no time to waste so I would rather not wear the helmet,” a 25-year-old public servant said.

She said some crash helmets smell badly and so it was difficult to breathe under them; adding that it was dangerous for their health.

A student, however had a contrary opinion saying, she would rather wear a dirty crash helmet and limit the chances of injury or death.

She appealed to the Police to arrest persons without helmets to serve as a deterrent to others with the habit of not wearing

From Dzifa Tetteh Tay, Ashaiman

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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