By Alhaji Alhasan Abdulai
The founder of UT Bank, Mr. Prince Kofi Amoabeng
Undoubtedly Mr. Kofi Amoabeng is a household name that would remain with us for a long time to come. Out of nothing this man has managed to develop himself into a top business entrepreneur who has gained recognition in Ghana, Africa and whole wide world. He owns a chain of reputable firms, one of which is the indigenous, popular Bank known as the UT Bank. Over the years he has scaled through smooth and difficult hurdles as a businessman. Though not a partisan politician he has the right to voice out his feelings about what goes on in the country. He said it all when he stated that the erratic power supply situation that Ghana suffered for almost four years affected several businesses including UT Bank saying in an interview with DJ Premier on Entertainment Capital on Accra100.5FM on Saturday August 27, that a lot of businesses collapsed because of the power crisis and UT suffered a lot of bad loans.” By his account he seems not to be speaking about the woes of UT Bank alone but for all the businesses and individuals who suffered as a result of the erratic power to Ghana’s homes, offices and industries. With the relative solution found to the power problem it is our prayer that a way would be found to deal with the power supply problems in Ghana’s industries, commercial firms and our homes . Our problems with power largely emanated from impromptu cut in supply of gas from Nigeria, used in fueling power in Ghana. Besides that our own gas company, Ghana Gas has often closed down for maintenance without prior early notice given to the public with some people alleging that the unfortunate situation is largely caused by failure of the government to pay debts owed Ghana gas and other suppliers over a long period of time. Government communication staff and leading staff of Ghana Gas and Ministry Of Energy have often come out to explain away to the public the problems with gas supply. All that notwithstanding the Government must do well to allay the fears and doubts in the minds of people behind about possible erratic power supply us in future , by making good its promises to pay up debts it owes its gas suppliers and get Volta River Authority and Electricity Company to do their works very well. If there are other difficulties being faced by government’s outfits such as the VRA and the ECG, the government must come out to get the people the right information to our satisfaction. The outspoken businessman is also worried about the country possibly drifting into conflict over exchanges of insults during discussions in the media. Prince Kofi Amoabeng bemoaned the politics of insult in the country ahead of the 2016 elections slated for December 7. He is right for it is wrong for some members and supporters of some political parties to hurl venom at both President John Dramani Mahama and the main opposition leader Nana Akufo-Addo in a bid to discredit them for political gain, a trend many political scientists have identified as worrying.
According to Mr. Amoabeng, many young people now consider it as normal to hurl insults at adults such as the president and leaders of political parties in the name of politics. But this is a taboo to our religious and traditional cultures in Ghana.
What worries the prince of business is that the values and the general character of the youth are deteriorating especially when he listens to some of the young people who have just joined these media houses straight from school . They need quality guidance.
You cannot insult the head of state because you [would be] insulting Ghana. Or even let’s take the opposition; Akufo-Addo is 70-something years old. For goodness sake, [because of] African training, by our culture, you cannot insult somebody who is probably two times your age. So, the values of Ghanaian youth have gone to the dogs,” the businessman lamented, adding: “…I don’t understand how young people can look at people like Akufo-Addo and the rest who have served this country and in their 70s and you just come out from school and insult them.”
Mr. Amoabeng advised the youth to respect the elderly as Ghanaian traditions and customs demanded.
“I think the youth of today have lost a lot of values and generally we are in a rush. We think we are there, but we are empty, and we don’t know what we are about. You have to take your time and go through the mill and respect the other people and learn from them until you get there. If you don’t know how to serve, you cannot expect that people will serve you,” he advised.
For goodness sake Prince Amoabeng apart from being a shrewd businessman is an elderly statesman who means Ghana and Ghanaians well. It is only proper that the authorities and all take into consideration all that he has been saying about the economy and ur utterances on radio and television .We must not insult him or tag him with a political grouping as done when experienced people open up on national issues . this way we would together help steer the nation out of troubled waters from till December 7 when elections would be held to chose a president and parliamentarians for Ghana
Executive Director
EANFOWORLD FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
0244 370345 (Airtel)/ 0274853710 /0208844791 / abdulai.alhasan@gmail.com/eanfoworld@yahoo.com
\.
