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Western Regional minister commends GEXIM for ‘Western Weekend Market’
The Western Regional Minister and Member of Parliament (MP) for Takoradi, Kwabena Okyere Darko – Mensah has commended the Board and Management of the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) for organising a special edition of its popular Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Fair dubbed, Tuesday Market, in the Western Region.
Dubbed the “Western Weekend Market”, the fair took place at the Takoradi Mall, from Friday May 17 to Sunday May 19, 2024 at the Takoradi Mall, between 8am and 10pm daily.
The fair provided a platform for Ghanaian entrepreneurs across the Western and neighbouring regions to showcase their various top-quality and uniquely packaged Made-in-Ghana products.
Mr.Kwabena Okyere Darko – Mensah participated in the fair on Saturday May 18, 2024.
Supported by the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of GEXIM, responsible for Banking, Ms. Rosemary Beryl Archer, the Minister inspected the Made-In-Ghana products being exhibited and took time to engage the vendors to get an insight into their business operations and products.
Speaking to the media after the event, Mr.Darko – Mensah congratulated GEXIM for the initiative to support SMEs to scale up and harness their export potential.
Very impressed with the unique and amazing products being exhibited, the Minister urged the Bank to continue organizing more fairs in the region to benefit the growing entrepreneurs in the Western region.
“It is exciting and refreshing to be seeing these uniquely packaged products here today and most importantly, knowing there were products by Ghanaians and most of them produced in the Western region. I am very impressed with the work that has gone into organizing this amazing fair and I wish to commend the Ghana Export – Import Bank for this great initiative in addition to all the great things the Bank is doing for and with Ghanaian entrepreneurs across the country,” he said.
I must say it is the way to go as it contributes towards economic development and the creation of jobs for Ghanaians. With this initiative and others, we are on our way to achieving the Government of Ghana’s industrialization agenda. We will urge GEXIM to continue with the fair in the Western region and the SME Clinic to help build the capacity of SMEs in the region and beyond”, he stated.
On her part, Ms. Rosemary Beryl Archer expressed the Bank’s appreciation to the Minister and all stakeholders who made the “Western Weekend Market” a success.
She further highlighted the significance of developing the Ghanaian SME sector and the important contribution entrepreneurs can make to economic development when they are empowered and supported to become more efficient.
She noted that “I am happy we have all these SMEs here today and they are being promoted both locally and internationally to be patronized. We cannot belittle the crucial role of SMEs in the national development agenda, witnessing the sector’s important contribution to the economic transformation of several countries globally, where it accounts for over 50% of private output.“
“We have had some great feedback from the vendors which indicates how the fair has broadened their knowledge base from engagement with their colleagues from other regions. We are looking at sending some of the SMEs from the Western Region to our SME fairs in other regions to get them aligned with what their colleagues in other regions are doing,” she added.
On the sidelines of the “Western Weekend Market”, the Bank organized a training programme for the SMEs, dubbed “SME Clinic”, on Saturday May 18, 2024 also at the Takoradi Mall. The “Western SME Clinic” is aimed at building the capacity of entrepreneurs, exploring solutions to challenges faced by Ghanaian businesses as well as identifying pragmatic approaches to assist SMEs to scale up and become more efficient in their operations.
Under the theme “Growing Your Business And Export Financing”, the participants were taken through important elements of business development and growth as well as the export value chain. They were further enlightened on the concept of governance, risk and compliance in business management.
Nana Ekua Kodu II, the queen mother of the Esikado Traditional Area and multiple award winning Ghanaian musician, Kofi Kinaata were part of the dignitaries that participated in the “Western Weekend Market.”
President John Dramani Mahama has commissioned four career diplomats as ambassador-designates to represent Ghana in four countries.
The commissioning ceremony took place on Friday, October 16, 2026.
The new envoys are Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo, Ambassador-Designate to Angola; His Excellency Louis Kwame Obeng, Ambassador-Designate to Qatar; Her Excellency Evelyn Korantemaa Ofosu-Amable, Ambassador-Designate to Israel; and His Excellency Jedidiah Reuben Adogla, Permanent Representative-Designate to Switzerland.
President Mahama charged them to advance Ghana’s national interests through strategic partnerships, economic diplomacy, investment mobilization, and expanded access to international markets.
He said Ghana’s diplomatic engagements must deliver tangible economic benefits, create jobs, and strengthen the country’s standing on the international stage.
The four envoys are career diplomats with over 27 years of experience.
On behalf of her colleagues, Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo thanked the President for the confidence reposed in them and pledged their commitment to emulate his leadership and deliver on the mandate given to them.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The professor who spends his days exploring the intricacies of African languages found himself at the centre of a different kind of lesson on Friday, October 2, 2026. 
This time, there were no lecture notes, academic arguments or university classrooms. Instead, there was the weight of tradition, the rhythm of a community celebration and the solemnity of an oath at a royal palace.
Professor Ọbádélé Kambon, a full Professor of African Linguistics at the University of Ghana, was enstooled as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene of Akuapem Mampong in the Eastern Region in a ceremony that brought academia and traditional authority together.
For the professor, the occasion was more than a new title. It was a moment that connected his academic interests in African languages and indigenous knowledge with the living traditions of an Akan community.
The day’s events unfolded through a series of customary observances. Kambon was first taken to the compounds of the Ɔkyeamehene and Gyasehene, where the preparations for his installation continued.
Then came the application of hyire, the white kaolin powder associated with traditional rites.
With the customary proceedings underway, the new chief was lifted onto the shoulders of celebrants and carried along the main thoroughfare of Akuapem Mampong.
The procession transformed the streets into a public stage for a ceremony rooted in the community’s traditional institutions.
There was something striking about the image, a university professor, accustomed to the measured language of academic discourse, being carried through the town in a display of traditional recognition.
Yet the celebration was not complete with the procession.
A ram was sacrificed at the Mamponghene’s compound before Kambon was taken to the palace, to swear the oath associated with his new offices.
The ceremony brought him formally into his roles as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene.
Beyond the colourful proceedings, the titles themselves carry layers of historical meaning.
Kambon in his research explores the historical connections between Apagya and Akan political and military organisation.
Accounts cited in his work linked Apagya to an asafo, or military company, while historical writing traces an Apagya stool in Asante to the reign of Opoku Ware I in the eighteenth century.
These historical associations offer a glimpse into the institutions that have shaped Akan society over generations, although they do not automatically define the precise responsibilities of the office in Akuapem Mampong.
Kambon’s own professional life reflects a similar interest in preserving and examining African knowledge.
His work encompasses Akan language structure, naming practices across the Black world, proverbs and indigenous intellectual traditions.
Through Abibitumi, the platform he founded, he also promotes language learning, scholarship and cultural engagement.
But tradition was only one part of the story that day.
When the formal ceremony gave way to a reception, the occasion expanded into a celebration of three milestones: Kambon’s enstoolment, his promotion to full professor and his daughter Ama’s admission to the University of Ghana.
The gathering therefore carried a personal significance that went beyond the honours bestowed on one man. 
It celebrated professional advancement, the continuation of family aspirations and a connection to cultural heritage.
For a father, seeing a daughter gain admission to the same university where he holds a distinguished academic position offered another reason to celebrate.
For the professor, the moment placed family achievement alongside his own professional and traditional milestones.
Kambon had already established a place in the traditional life of Akuapem Mampɔn through an earlier installation as Banmuhene Kyidɔmhene, recorded in 2017.
His latest enstoolment adds another chapter to that relationship.
In Akuapem Mampɔn, the day brought together the university, the palace and the family table in one celebration. And for Kambon, the journey from the lecture room to the traditional procession showed how scholarship, cultural responsibility and family achievement could converge in a single memorable occasion.
By Enoch Ntiamoah Siaw
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