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Ghana EXIM Bank hosts Gambian export promotion delegation
Ms. Rosemary Beryl Archer with the Gambian delegation
The Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Export Import Bank (GEXIM), responsible for Banking, Ms. Rosemary Beryl Archer, on behalf of the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Lawrence Agyinsam, on Thursday, December 1, 2022, hosted a Gambian delegation at the Bank’s headquarters at the Africa Trade House in Accra.
Mr. Modou Lamin Sowe, Director of Investment Promotion and Facilitation of the Gambian Investment and Export Promotion Agency (GiEPA) led the six-member delegation made up of officials of GiEPA and representatives of the Gambian Ministry of Finance.
The delegation was on a two-day study tour of selected strategic government agencies to understudy their management and operations.
The delegation had a full day programme at the Bank, which involved strategic presentation of key departments to get a deeper insight into the Bank’s operation as well as its innovative approaches at championing the Government of Ghana’s agenda to transform the Ghanaian economy into an export-led-one.
Receiving the delegation, Ms. Rosemary Beryl Archer expressed excitement of the Bank’s Executive Management to be hosting the delegation to share with them the Bank’s processes, major milestones, initiatives, award-winning projects as well as some of its challenges in executing its mandate.
“We are very excited to have you here with us today and as it is always said, we need to learn from best practices. At GEXIM, we have been focused on helping the Government to create industries and ensure the narrative is changed by reducing our dependence on imports and rather increasing production for local consumption and exports,” she said.
Ms. Rosemary Beryl Archer added that “earlier this year, one of our novel initiatives, Tuesday Market, an SME fair for our financed SMEs and other Ghanaian manufacturers to showcase and sell their products whilst harnessing their export potential was adjudged the Best SME Initiative in Africa at the African Union SME Awards held in Cairo, Egypt.”
Various Departmental Heads of the Bank took members of the delegation through presentations before touring the Bank’s Knowledge Centre and the GEXIM MiG Town, a one-stop shop for everything Made –In-Ghana located at the Ground Floor of the Africa Trade House.
They later visited the Bank’s “Tuesday Market on Thursday” held at the car park of the World Trade Centre in commemoration of the 38th National Farmers’ Day celebration.
Other members of the Gambian delegation included Mr. Gabriel A. Gomez, Senior Manager, Finance, GiEPA, Mr. Alieun Baye, Senior IT Officer of GiEPA,Mr. Omar K. Jammeh, Business & Export Development Officer, GiEPA. Mr. Hamang BL Manjang, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, Ministry of Finance of the Republic of The Gambia and Mr. Fansu Saidykhan, Financial Controller at the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of The Gambia were also part of the delegation to Ghana.
The Vice Chancellor of the Pentecost University, Apostle Professor Kwabena Agyapong-Kodua, is advocating an intentional conversation about the development and education of the boy child in creating stronger families and societies.
According to him, the boy child must not be ignored in conversations on leadership, education, family stability and national transformation because they are key to national development.
“There is a reason why a boy child must not be denied opportunities like education; he is a future leader. When boys are trained well, society becomes safer and stronger,” he stated.
Apostle Prof. Agyapong-Kodua made the remark at a forum organised by the Church of Pentecost Schools Outreach Ministry in Accra to observe the International Day of the Boy Child observed on May 16.
It was held in collaboration with the Pentecost Men’s Ministry and the Ghana Education Service (GES), and under the theme: ‘Flourish and Thrive: Investing and Unleashing Boys for Strong Families and Communities.’
Leading the discussion, the Pentecost University Vice Chancellor warned that poor mentorship, declining in education, harmful social media influences and emotional neglect have made a lot of young boys vulnerable.
With a lot of the attention switching to the girl child, the boy child, he said was confronted with many challenges including violence, substance abuse, educational decline, emotional neglect and the absence of positive role models.
According to Apostle Prof. Agyapong-Kodua, he noted that boys were turning to social media for direction due to the absence of fathers and mentors to help shape their lives.
“If we are not intentional, social media will mentor our children for us. We are not saying they should not use social media, but they should be guided to access the right information to excel in life,” he stated.
Prof. Agyapong-Kodua urged society to encourage boys to become creators of technology rather than mere consumers.
Contributing, Madam Gifty Asiedu, Director of the Girls’ Education Unit at the GES Headquarters, said the service remained committed to ensuring that no child was left behind, adding that, “supporting the boy child should not come at the expense of progress made in girl-child education.”
“If you focus intentionally on one gender and neglect the other, you create a societal problem,” she underlined.
She said the GES had observed some decline in boys’ retention in school, although the gap between boys and girls was not yet too wide.
“Over the years, attention has been focused on the girl child and we have seen the benefits. However, data now show that the statistics concerning the boy child continue to decline,” she indicated.
She explained that the service was implementing gender-responsive education to ensure that classroom teaching addressed the needs of both boys and girls equally.
Elder Barima Acheampong Sarpong II, Deputy Director of the Pentecost Men’s Ministry and Chief of Asante Asaman in the Ashanti Region, said society needed to critically examine the plight of boys.
“As we celebrate the International Day for the Boy Child, I urge every man to identify one boy child, find out how he is doing and dedicate some time to mentoring him,” he explained.
The programme, attended by educators, church leaders and policymakers, was the second edition following a partnership initiated last year between the Schools Outreach Ministry, the Pentecost Men’s Ministry and the GES.
It sought to improve school enrolment, completion rates and learning outcomes among boys so they could grow into responsible men who would build strong families and communities.
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
Candidates that wrote the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in Ho Municipality are hopeful of obtaining good grades to make everyone especially their parents and the Regional Minister proud.
The candidates said they had so far sat the examination with focus and integrity after a call from Mr James Gunu, Regional Minister to avoid examination malpractice saying, they expected great performance upon release of results.
Mr Gunu, at the start of this year’s BECE delivered the message during a monitoring visit to some centres in the municipality including Ho Kpodzi EP Basic A School, Mawuli School, Mawuko Girls Senior High School (SHS), and Kabore School.
He urged the candidates to rely on hard work and discipline, warning that shortcuts could jeopardise their future.
“Stay focused and give your best in this year’s BECE – your determination and hard work will pay off. Avoid shortcuts and examination malpractice; integrity matters just as much as success,” he said.
The Minister, accompanied by the Ho Municipal Chief Executive, the acting Volta Regional Director of Education, and the Ho Municipal Director of Education, encouraged candidates to view the exam as a foundation for their academic journey and to celebrate responsibly after the final paper, commending parents, guardians, teachers, and officials of the Ghana Education Service for their support in preparing the candidates.
Candidates at some of the centres Ghana News Agency visited, echoed the call for honesty and high standards.
At Kabore School, Ms Francisca Atsu of Sokode Lokoe MA Basic School said, “The Regional Minister was here earlier to speak to us and also to encourage us. We’ve done our best. I assure him that we will make him and our parents proud.”
At Taviefe SHS Centre, Ms Valentina Sakpla of Taviefe R.C Basic School added, “We are expecting good results to make everyone proud and for our own good.”
Mr David Dotse, Supervisor at Kabore School, hosting 11 schools, with a standby ambulance on site to cater for any health emergency, reported smooth proceedings. –GNA
