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Ghana Exim Bank CEO hosts US Embassy team
L-R; Jonathan Christopher Koney, Laurie Kelleher, Dean Matlack, Rosemary Beryl Archer, Lawrence Agyinsam, Hon. Michael Okyere Baafi, Victoria Afua Agbai, Paa Ekow Quansah.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM), Lawrence Agyinsam, on Thursday, August18, 2022, hosted a team from the United States of America Embassy in Ghana, led by the Commercial Counsellor, Dean Matlack.
The meeting was held at the head office of GEXIM in Accra and afforded the Bank the opportunity to discuss areas of mutual interest for collaboration and building synergy with the United States of America Embassy.
In addition, it was a follow up to a meeting held between GEXIM and the United States of America Exim Bank (US Exim Bank) in May 2022 on the sidelines of the 2022 Spring Meeting of the International Union of Credit and Investment Insurers (Berne Union) held in Istanbul, Turkey.
Mr. Lawrence Agyinsam reiterated the Bank’s commitment to drawing a framework to operationalise an existing agreement for a USD300 million guarantee to be provided by the US Exim Bank after reviewing the existing memorandum of understanding signed by the two banks in 2019.
“In our quest to assist the Government of Ghana’s agenda to reposition the Ghanaian economy to become an export-led one and spearhead the industrialization drive, we need strategic partnerships such as the collaboration with the US Exim Bank. This is very important in helping us to carry out our mandate to help in realising the agenda to make Ghana a pillar in regional and continental trade. Currently, our team is working with officials of US Exim to finalise this and we are certain of great prospects from this partnership”, he added.
On his part, Dean Matlack expressed his appreciation for the warm reception accorded him and his team by GEXIM and said the US Embassy in Ghana is prepared to assist at all levels to ensure the success of the collaboration between the US Exim Bank and GEXIM. He further indicated the Embassy’s willingness to collaborate with GEXIM on projects aimed at ensuring healthy lives and wellbeing of people.
Other members of the GEXIM team at the meeting were Hon. Michael Okyere Baafi, the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, who is a Board Member of GEXIM, Rosemary Beryl Archer, Deputy Chief Executive Officer – Banking and Jonathan Christopher Koney, Assistant Manager, Corporate Affairs & International Cooperation.
Dean Matlack was accompanied by Laurie Kelleher, Commercial Officer, Victoria Afua Agbai, Commercial Specialist and Paa Ekow Quansah, Commercial Specialist.
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Prof Alidu Seidu files nomination for Tamale Central seat
The newly elected parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Tamale Central, Prof Alidu Seidu, has submitted his nomination forms to the Electoral Commission.
As of 10:00 a.m. today, he was the only person who had filed to contest the seat.
Nomination of candidates will close at the end of the day.
Associate Professor and Head of the Political Science Department at the University of Ghana Legon, Prof. Alidu Seidu won the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary primaries in the Tamale Central constituency with a landslide victory.
The elections, supervised by the party’s Elections and IT Directorate in the Northern Region, saw Prof. Seidu poll 840 votes out of the total valid ballots cast.
His closest contender, Lawyer Hanan Gundadow Abdul-Rahaman, secured 536 votes.
The other aspirants could not make significant gains, with Dr. Seidu Fiter obtaining 44 votes, Aliu Abdul-Hamid 23 votes, and the rest recording fewer than 10 votes each.
In all, 1,500 ballots were cast, with 6 ballots rejected and 7 spoilt ballots recorded.
The results were signed and declared by Dr. Arnold Mashud Abukari, NDC Northern Regional Director of Elections and IT.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) held parliamentary primaries in Tamale Central to choose a candidate for the upcoming by-election following the death of the sitting Member of Parliament, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed. Dr. Mohammed, who also served as Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, tragically died in a military helicopter crash in the Adansi Akrofuom District on August 6, 2025, alongside seven others.
His passing left the Tamale Central seat vacant, as required by Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
The Electoral Commission has scheduled the by-election for September 30, 2025. While the NDC moved quickly to open nominations and vet aspirants, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) announced it would not contest the seat, citing the need to respect the somber circumstances and promote national unity.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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Ghana to locally refine its gold starting October 2025 – Sammy Gyamfi
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board, Sammy Gyamfi, has announced that plans are far advanced for the establishment of a state-owned gold refinery in the country.
Speaking at the 2025 Minerals and Mining Convention, Mr Gyamfi said the refinery will process locally mined gold into bullion instead of exporting it in its raw state.
According to him, it is unacceptable that Ghana, despite being a leading gold producer in Africa, continues to export raw gold known as dore.
He explained that the Gold Board, working with the Bank of Ghana and local refineries, will from October 2025 begin refining gold locally.
He also disclosed that an ultramodern assay laboratory will be built to ensure international standards in testing gold quality.
Mr Gyamfi noted that the refinery will be wholly state-owned and will help Ghana move away from raw mineral exports to value addition.
This, he said, will boost foreign exchange earnings, create jobs, and position Ghana as a hub for gold refining and jewellery production in Africa.
The CEO stressed that the project forms part of government’s strategy to ensure the country benefits fully from its natural resources and to transform the mining sector into a driver of economic growth.
By: Jacob Aggrey
