President John Dramani Mahama
At the second edition of the Kwahu Business Forum, President John Dramani Mahama shared some challenges Ghanaian entrepreneurs face when trust and reliability are compromised in business.
He recalled a story from his early years in politics when he decided to support a relative by buying a bus to start a transport business, a decision that ended in failure.
“I bought a bus for a relative to run transport business so that he can look after the family at home and stop disturbing me on my small parliamentary salary. And they gave it to a driver who was a relatively good anytime you saw the bus, the bus had more load on top of it than in the bus”, he narrated.
He detailed how the axle of the bus eventually broke down, marking the start of a frustrating ordeal.
“The axle broke down, and it was the most regrettable experience in my life. When the axle broke down, they came to me to buy a new axle, anytime the bus broke down, they would come to me to come and repair it. And it was costing me more to repair the bus,” he stated.
He mentioned this incident to point out how difficult it is to find trustworthy people to work with these days.
“This driver used to live in the family house. While he was driving the bus, he procured the land, he started to build a house. The house reached lintel level when the bus finally broke down, and by then I had had enough. So, I refused to repair the bus and decided to dispose of it. And so, I sold the bus.
“This was like several years, maybe more than 10 years ago. And since I sold the bus, where the building reached lintel level, it is still at lintel level even till today. And so, what he says is very serious, getting trusted people to work with”, he stated.
The two-day forum, which is themed, “The Future of Business: The Role of the Financial Sector,” is designed to serve as a platform for dialogue between financial institutions and private sector players.
It convened policymakers, entrepreneurs, and investors to explore innovative strategies for economic development and private sector empowerment in Ghana and across Africa.
JKB/EB
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