Prince Kofi Amoabeng, founder of the defunct UT Bank, has urged government to prioritise deliberate support for credible companies — including through grants — as a more effective path to job creation than distributing funds to what he described as “lucky foot soldiers.”
Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Point of View with Bernard Avle, Mr. Amoabeng proposed: “Intentionally support them, even with grants to employ people rather than to give the money to some lucky foot soldiers. If we want sustainable and verifiable employment with conviction, that is where the money should go.”
He criticised successive governments for adopting ineffective approaches to poverty alleviation and employment generation.
According to him, administrations often channel money to individuals, particularly artisans, under various intervention programmes, but these efforts rarely develop into sustainable businesses.
Referencing initiatives such as MASLOC, he argued that such interventions have failed to yield meaningful impact.
“Not only this government, but governments come, and they say they want to attend to poverty alleviation, and therefore they try to give money to artisans and people to start businesses,” he said. “You know the story about MASLOC, and all those places where money goes and it doesn’t create anything. Maybe they get something small out of this.”
Mr. Amoabeng stressed that real job creation demands targeted support for credible firms that operate transparently, uphold integrity, and meet their statutory obligations.
“If you really want to create employment, you must identify companies that have credibility, companies that are run transparently, honestly and that pay their taxes, SSNIT contributions. You should have some criteria,” he added.
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