NewzPresident John Dramani Mahama has assured the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Export-Import Bank (GEXIM), Sylvester Adinam Mensah, of his continued support in its efforts to recover funds from individuals and businesses that have defaulted on loans secured from the bank. According to the President, the recovery of the funds is necessary to ensure that Ghana Exim Bank has the resources to finance viable businesses and industrial projects capable of contributing to the country’s economic development. Speaking at the commissioning of the Northshore Apparel on August 28, funded by Exim Bank and Germany’s KfW Development Bank, President Mahama said the institution was established to provide financing for projects that promote value addition, exports, employment and sustainable development.
He, however, expressed concern that after his previous administration left office, access to financing from Ghana Exim Bank was allegedly dominated by politically connected individuals who, he claimed, had no intention of repaying the loans. “It was the politically well-connected who had access to the financing without any intention to pay back the money,” President Mahama said. He said this had resulted in the bank pursuing several beneficiaries who had failed to honour their repayment obligations.
“That is why today Sylvester Adinam [Mensah] and his group are running after so many people who took the money and have not paid. And I will continue to support them to take the money back from those who have taken our money,” he stated. His comments come amid the ongoing case of Bernard Antwi Boasiako, aka Wontumi, the former Ashanti Regional New Patriotic Party Chairman accused of fraudulently obtaining a GH¢19 million loan facility from EXIM Bank for a maize farming project on 100 acres of land.
The loan facility is alleged to have increased to about GH¢30 million. He’s currently in court over the matter. On Thursday, August 2028, the Accra High Court ordered the prosecution to file disclosures within 14 days after plea bargain negotiations ended without an agreement.
Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, who’s already serving jail time for a mining-related offence, had been engaged in plea bargain discussions with the State for about a month, but the negotiations did not result in an agreement. The development means the case is now expected to proceed to trial. President John Dramani Mahama says Ghana is seeking a new form of partnership with international development partners, with greater emphasis on investment rather than aid.
According to President Mahama, the financing structure supporting the Northshore Apparel industrial project is an example of the kind of partnership his administration wants to pursue to accelerate economic growth and industrialisation. Speaking at the commissioning ceremony at Savelugu on Friday, August 28, the President said Ghana’s international partnerships must increasingly focus on productive investments capable of creating jobs, expanding exports and generating sustainable economic returns. “This is a new partnership we look for with our international partners.
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