Politicians killing Ghanaian businesses – Prof. Adei

A former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Professor Stephen Adei, has blamed politicians for the collapse of some companies in the country.

According to him, successive governments from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and New Patriotic Party (NPP) have succeeded in destroying some businesses because of the political affiliations of their owners.

Professor Adei said this while addressing participants at the Ishmael Yamson and Associates Business Roundtable on the theme: “Making Ghana Entrepreneurial” at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Accra on Wednesday, 31 May.

He said: “In this our country, we have a situation whereby actually politicians and successive governments have deliberately sought to destroy Ghanaian industries because they are on the other side and then to create a comprador one during their term. And since power has a shelf life of a maximum of eight years, now they know that it can be four years, then it means that we are going in circles.

“The man who brought Tata [a bus brand], he is a Kwahu man… Kowus Motors wanted to assemble the first cars in Ghana when I was young. Now virtually, as Ghanaians, all our motor vehicles are now foreign-controlled companies bringing their cars which are manufactured there. When even we have a policy of Ghanaian content, I can tell you for sure that when they were building the Atuabo Gas systems, 40 per cent was supposed to be Ghanaian.

I was then the chairman of Zoomlion. We thought we would take advantage of it. We imported $30million worth of equipment at least to do the construction work and other things, but we lost. Why? Because the politicians went back and indirectly made the Chinese do it 100 per cent. When I look at it, it pains me.”