Nana Appiah Mensah, Businessman
A few years ago, Nana Appiah Mensah, infamously known as Nam1, on an Instagram post, in reaction to his business dealings, responding to certain critics stated, “business is not a thing for the pope”. Back then in 2018, I did not fully grasp the understanding of what this meant but fast forward, I have come to the realization of at least, what it means now.
How is the business not for the Pope? Well, can a Pope pay a bribe in order to facilitate quick access to his documentation? Can a Pope be influenced by other valuables in cash or in-kind in order to evade certain penalties/fines? Can a Pope look on whilst his business runs down without making drastic decisions like paying off regulators in order to save his business, instead of perhaps, selling shares or planning mergers? Sadly, that is the Ghanaian business landscape.
There is barely any integrity in doing business here and the Pope who has been ordained by God cannot do such dealings because it goes against his Christian beliefs and training.
In Ghana, often, certain attitudes and actions are regarded as the norm and that is what people usually say it keeps the business going which has been rubberstamped by the popular phrase in the local language “obiara didi n’adwuma ho” which literally translates into, “everyone eats from their work”.
The Government agencies set up to provide services and regulate various businesses across the various industries in Ghana are the most culprit. To get a business registration document is not a walk in the park. Sinister gestures are performed to communicate that, if certain individuals are not sorted out, getting your documents could take an eternity and should you try to ply that path, it may take more than eternity itself. This would in fact wade off potential foreign investors and as a country aiming to become the beacon of economic hub in Africa, attracting all foreign direct investments, this problem certainly does not bode well.
I attended an entrepreneurship seminar in late 2019 and we were put into workshop groups to have personal interactions with the guest entrepreneurs. I posed a question to one of the entrepreneurs, a renowned entrepreneur “if he would or had paid a bribe to save his business and if it was against his beliefs”.
He actually never gave me a direct yes or no, but sort to explain that, sometimes, in Ghana, that is the only to keep operations going or else, you may have to close down. This then explained to me the kind of ordeals some business owners face trying to operate in Ghana.
Regulators, law enforcers amongst other agencies put a lot of entrepreneurs in difficulty just for their selfish desires. Surprisingly, some of these regulators help others to evade tax because they have a share in what the evader was obliged to pay. When this continues to happen, it becomes the norm and it is the government that loses a lot of revenue, hampering the developmental growth of the country.
Miserably, this issue of not being transparent and being dishonest cuts across all the areas in the country. Recently, Ransford Osei, a football talent that never realized his full potential narrated his ordeal in an interview. It then seeks to suggest that, if you do not bribe your way, or appease certain persons in authority, you would never get an equal opportunity to showcase the talent you have that the country has been crying out for. People even go to the extent of extorting from churches. In fact, these persons are indiscriminate when it comes to bribery and corruption.
The matter is a very delicate one, and I believe this norm has created a situation, whereby, these business owners and managers would replicate the same deeds or find ways and means to recover all they have lost or paid to these corrupt officials. In the long run, it’s the ordinary Ghanaian that bears the consequences of these acts. These acts of indiscriminate dishonesty has seen even business owners complain of theft from their own employees. The situation is very sickening.
To solve this issue would need a very careful executed plan, but there is hope for the future as the introduction and the gradual implementation of technology in Governmental agencies to reduce the influence of middlemen and cash transactions would go on to reduce corruption in the system. This would attract foreign investors and Ghanaians who live abroad would be willing to come back to support the economy through the establishment and operation of small and medium-sized enterprises. Further employ the youth to reduce unemployment, thus reducing the economic depression felt by many.
It is not to say that there is a perfect system out there, nonetheless, a solution that could prove vital and have a rippling positive effect is to pay attention to our education system, to train the upcoming children to practice a democratic patriotism. When there is love for the country, the country comes first as depicted in other developed nations and I am backing with the phrase from an unknown author, “the greatest asset a nation could have is its human resource”.