Today in History: Politics tearing down businesses in Ghana - Ibrahim Mahama

A Ghanaian mogul, Ibrahim Mahama, stated that the reason most Ghanaian businesses are unable to flourish is due to selfish interests.

He said “I’m competing against a Nigerian business company, the Nigerian businessman has told all the Nigerian banks not to help you because they want to support the Nigerian. Big Nigerian businessmen are not more clever than we Ghanaians.

The laws of Nigeria help Nigerian businessmen, we Ghanaians don’t help our businessmen, we rather bring them down for the sake of politics that’s why most of you graduates should have been leaving school and being employed by Ghanaian institutions. In the past when you go to Kumasi you’ll have a sawmill, this chambers, a company, a brewery, etc. We don’t have it anymore, instead of us thinking and seeing how we can, it’s all tearing one another for the sake of politics.”

Read the full story originally published on April 20, 2018, by GhanaWeb

Local businesses in Ghana are unable to flourish and or compete with others, particularly external businesses owing to the selfish interests and ‘pull him down’ attitude and posturing of politicians across the country, Business Mogul, Ibrahim Mahama has said.

Speaking to graduates at the 2018 GRASSAG Entrepreneurship Seminar, Mr. Mahama bemoaned the situation where politicians make conscious efforts to ‘tear down’ businessmen and businesses rather than support them with the required finances and resources to thrust forward in the business world, provide employment avenues for graduates in the process and empower businesses such that they can compete with other businesses beyond the country’s shores.

According to him, most of the country’s indigenous local businesses that were thriving in the past, creating employment for many have over the years been wrecked and waste away while several youth remain unemployed in the country.

“I’m competing against a Nigerian business company, the Nigerian businessman has told all the Nigerian banks not to help you because they want to support the Nigerian. Big Nigerian businessmen are not more clever than we Ghanaians.

The laws of Nigeria help Nigerian businessmen, we Ghanaians don’t help our businessmen, we rather bring them down for the sake of politics that’s why most of you graduates should have been leaving school and being employed by Ghanaian institutions. In the past when you go to Kumasi you’ll have a sawmill, this chambers, a company, a brewery, etc. We don’t have it anymore, instead of us thinking and seeing how we can, it’s all tearing one another for the sake of politics”

“So some of us, our business is in the bush, we’ll employ you, we’ll employ the mass, we share profits together, the boys are happy and some of the workers we pay we pay them even better than the lecturers you pay”.

The Engineers and owners also attacked government banks over their unwillingness to help businessmen through loans to grow their businesses when their prerogative is to assist in development.

“My brother was president, and I couldn’t build a cement plant, I borrowed money from local banks. Government banks which were built for development are not interested in development….that’s why most international companies will do better than Ghanaian companies”.

He however urged the graduates to study hard and be determined to make it such that they won’t be discouraged in the face of trials.

“Yes, state institutions are supposed to help, but unfortunately our laws don’t work. If the laws worked, so many Ghanaians would be in business now. You need to put what you learn here into practice out there. You cannot afford to depend on people, stay focused, be honest, and work hard,” he said.