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Be cautious to prevent accidents during and after the festive seasons- Drivers advised
Drivers in the country have been advised to be cautious on the road and exercise due diligence while driving to help prevent accidents during and after the festive seasons.
The Corporate Communications Manager of Vivo Energy, Shirley Tony Kum who gave the advice, said it was necessary they drove with diligence to help reduce the many accidents on the roads.
She stated that it was unfortunate that many of the drivers do not have first aid kits in their vehicles, let alone not having to apply medical care to passengers during accidents or emergencies and reiterated the need to have such basic kits coupled with due diligence to ensure their own safety and that of passengers.
Mrs Shirley Tony Kum gave the advice at the launch of the 2023 Stop, Think and Drive Road Safety campaign initiated by Vivo Energy in collaboration with the National Roads Safety Authority and Transporters in Koforidua on Wednesday.
The launch of the campaign was aimed at building the capacity of motorists to improve road user behaviour and reduce the risks of involvement in road accidents.
As part of the campaign, participants were taken through a refresher defensive driving training course and were equipped with basic first aid skills in administering medical care to passengers during accidents or in case of emergencies.
Mrs Shirley Tony Kum revealed that provisional statistics from the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service indicated that Road Traffic Crashes, Injuries and Deaths (CID) saw a consistent month-on-month reduction in 2022 ending the year with 14, 960 crashes, 15, 690 Injuries and 2,373.
“Deaths representing 7.55%, 1.54% and 20.11% reductions respectively, compared to the year 2021,” she added.
She believed that the initiative has contributed significantly to the reduction in the observed CIDs and should be sustained, hence the launch in the Koforidua to train more drivers.
The Corporate Communications Manager advised the drivers to be careful on the roads and drive with caution to ensure their safety and that of their passengers.
The Eastern Regional Manager of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), Nana Akua Ansaah Cobbinah said research has shown that most road accidents and their associated fatalities were caused by human error, poor mechanical maintenance, bad road and bad weather conditions.
She again noted that 96 per cent of accidents were caused by human error, and reiterated the need to educate drivers on road safety to urge them to obey road traffic rules as well as ensure that they drive safely.
“We have also educated the drivers on maintaining their vehicles so that they will be for use,” she said and added that training would impact knowledge on road safety issues to enable them to drive well during and after the festive season.
The Principal Industrial Relations Officer at the GPRTU in the Eastern Region, Alhaji Salifu Alhassan said one of the causes of road accidents in the region was bad roads and therefore appealed to the government to expedite action on roads which were under construction, adding that due to the bad nature of road, drivers have to resort to alternative roads making driving difficult.
He stated that the festive season was the time drivers conveyed more passengers to their various destinations and added that the training would make them more cautious on the roads.
From Ama Tekyiwaa Ampadu Agyeman, Koforidua
Picture Caption
The drivers being sensitised by the Eastern Regional Manager of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), Nana Akua Ansaah Cobbinah
The Global Network of Export-Import Banks and Development Finance Institutions (G-NEXID) successfully held its sixth (6th) Exchange Programme, hosted by the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) Bank in Accra from March 22 to 23 March.
The event brought together member institutions, partner organisations and Ghanaian public entities to advance dialogue on South-South trade, investment and development finance, while also creating opportunities for knowledge-sharing and institutional cooperation.
Organised as a capacity-building and networking platform, the 2026 edition of the G-NEXID Exchange focused on GEXIM’s experience in developing innovative solutions to promote intra-African and extra-African trade.
It also highlighted trade and investment opportunities in Ghana, particularly in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and broader national development initiatives.
The Exchange Programme forms part of G-NEXID’s mandate to foster cooperation among export-import banks and development finance institutions in support of South-South trade and investment.
This 6th edition follows earlier successful programmes hosted by India Exim Bank (2016), BNDES (2017), Indonesia Eximbank (2018), Afreximbank (2019) and Saudi EXIM Bank (2025).
On the first day, participants were presented with G-NEXID institutional information and received an update on the Network’s 2026 work programme.
There were a series of substantive presentations, including an overview of the Ghanaian economy by the Ministry of Finance, with particular attention to debt-related challenges; a presentation by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), on investment opportunities in the country; and institutional presentations by GEXIM and Development Bank Ghana (DBG) on their respective mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Discussions during the sessions underscored strong interest in sector-focused webinars and business dialogues, particularly in agribusiness value chains such as poultry and rice.
Participants also emphasized the importance of continued information exchange and the sharing of best practices, especially in the area of guarantees.
The second day opened with a presentation on the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme, a national economic transformation strategy launched by President John Dramani Mahama in July 2025.
The initiative aims to enhance economic productivity through continuous industrial activity, accelerated export development and strategic import substitution.
As the programme is expected to mobilise both private and development capital, it presents concrete opportunities for G-NEXID members in areas such as co-financing, guarantees, trade finance and technical cooperation.
The programme also featured institutional presentations by guest organisations, namely the African Guarantee and Economic Cooperation Fund (FAGACE) and the West African Development Bank (BOAD), which shared their mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Following these exchanges, the G-NEXID Secretariat held bilateral discussions with both institutions as part of the Network’s ongoing membership drive.
Participants further benefited from a presentation by the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB), as well as a showcase of GEXIM’s key pipeline projects.
On the margins of the Exchange Programme, G-NEXID members also held their 20th Annual General Assembly Meeting to review progress and discuss strategic priorities.
Following the event, participants joined the GEXIM@10 International Conference, held from March 24-25, 2026 under the theme, “A Decade of Enabling Export Trade and Industrial Transformation: Resetting GEXIM for the Next Frontier.”
The conference provided an important platform for exploring how Ghana can strengthen its transition from a primary commodity exporter to a more competitive player in value-added trade and industrial development.
Source – G-NEXID
President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, signed five bills including three amendment bills passed by Parliament into law.
They are: Security and Intelligence Agencies Bill, 2025; University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Bill, 2025; Ghana Deposit Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2025; Growth and Sustainability Levy (Amendment) Bill, 2026; and Education Regulatory Bodies (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
In a brief remark after assenting to the bills, President Mahama explained that the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act, 2026, scraps the Office of Minister of National Security and frees the President’s to appoint any Minister to supervise the security agencies.
He said it also reverses the name of the office of National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), to the original name, Bureau of National Intelligence, (BNI).
This the President said, addresses the confusion between that security agency and a well-known Ghanaian financial institution, the National Investment Bank.
President Mahama also noted that the University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Act, 2026, establishes another University in the Eastern Region, at Bonsu, with three campuses – the main campus at Bonsu in the Eastern Region, with the second campus to be cited at Ohawu in the Oti Region.
The third, the Presdient assed will be located at Acherensua in the Ahafo Region.
Touching on the Amendment to the Growth and Sustainability Levy Act, the President said, “As you’re aware, the act was amended to increase it from 1% to 3%, and so this act reduces it again. That is the levy on mining companies. It reduces it again to 1%, because of the introduction of the sliding scale of royalties.”
He also spoke to the passage of the Government Education Regulatory Bodies Amendment Act, emphasising that amends Act 1023 to grant greater flexibility to private tertiary institutions and the option to Charter.
The Ghana Deposit Protection Amendment Act, the President concluded, is an amendment to an original act that was supposed to guarantee deposits held in commercial banks or financial institutions.
It basically expands protection to include mobile money wallets and other digital platforms, ensuring a wider scope of digital financial assets are secured.
The signing ceremony, was witnessed by the Clerk of Parliament, Mr. Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, Secretary to the President, Dr Callistus Mahama, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Dr Dominic Akrutinga Ayine, Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, a Senior Presidential Advisor and a Special Aide to the President, Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, and the Vice President, Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang.
