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New Times Corporation, partners move to ensure road safety
The Commanding Officer of the Greater Accra Regional Motor Transport and Traffic Department (MTTD), DCOP Mr. Martin Ayiih, has advised drivers to avoid practices that increase the risk of road accidents in the country.
addresing the gathering
Photo: Lizzy Okai
He said instead of attributing road crashes to the “work of the devil,” drivers must drive cautiously and observe road safety regulations as Christmas approaches.
Highlighting some safety measures, the police officer urged drivers to keep safe distances between vehicles and avoid the practice known in local parlance as ‘bumper-to-bumper’ driving.
DCOP Ayiih made the remarks at the launch of New Times Corporation (NTC) Road Safety Campaign dubbed “Road Safety in Ghana: Preserving Lives, Sustaining Our Nation,” on Wednesday in Accra.
Speaking on behalf of the Regional MTTD Director, he said drivers must “give sufficient information to other road users when vehicles encounter faults on the road.”
He said drivers must avoid drunk-driving and the use of mobile phones, adding that police surveillance cameras remained active in the city, therefore, drivers should drive responsibly so as not to be “caught in the web.”
“We must be conversant with the Highway Code which is the bible for the road. When you think that the policeman is not there the surveillance camera is the policeman.
Editor Ghanaian
Times making a
presentation to DCOP
Martin Ayiih
Ing. Mrs May Obiri-Yeboah and other management members of NTC
“There are other things that do not directly contribute to accident on the road but they may disable other people you might come into contact with on the road. Do not wait until road certificates expire before you go and renew them,” he said.
Acknowledging the collective responsibility towards road safety, he said the police would offer the needed support to achieve the aims of the NTC road safety campaign.
Mr. Martin Adu Owusu, Managing Director of NTC, noted that road indiscipline had to be addressed from diverse perspectives hence the corporation’s partnership with stakeholders to tackle “acts of recklessness” on the road.
“If we begin to look back at the number of talents we have lost and the number of families that are traumatised in diverse ways due to irresponsible driving, we would begin to appreciate the urgent need to scale up our effort in fighting this canker.”
He said the road safety campaign was, therefore, one of the many initiatives intended to reduce the number of “unwarranted deaths on our roads.”
Engineer (Mrs) May Obiri-Yeboah, Director General, National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) noted that road crushes had adverse economic implications so the public should “exercise greater caution in the days leading to Christmas.”
Praising the Corporation for the initiative, she said that the launch was in line with the “Stay Alive Campaign” which sought to “induce positive behavioural change among road users.”
“Building a fatal free road system is not just an idea but it is an achievable vision and all of us including the media must be part of the campaign to realise this vision,” she said.
Mr. Alfred Koomson, Marketing Manager, NTC, also said the Corporation as state owned entity, had an obligation in the fight against road indiscipline hence the move to partner stakeholders to promote road safety from an “economic and emotional point of view.”
By Ernest Nutsugah & Priscilla Efriyie Ankapong,
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.
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