President John Dramani Mahama has underscored the difficulty of finding trustworthy employees as one of the biggest obstacles facing business owners, even more than financial constraints.
Speaking at the Kwahu Business Forum on Saturday April 19, Mahama recounted a personal experience to illustrate the issue.
He shared how he once bought a bus for a relative to run a transport business, hoping it would provide financial stability for his family.
However, the driver, also a relative, prioritised his own interests over the business, modifying the vehicle in ways that led to repeated breakdowns.
Eventually, Mahama was forced to sell the bus, and the driver’s personal ambitions stalled along with it.
The president noted “There are several businessmen who have told me that one of the major hindrances they face in business is not even capital it is getting trusted people to work with. If somebody comes to work for you he thinks that your business is the platform for him also to build his business.
“It is not only him who has had that experience. I have had it too. I bought a bus for a relative to run transport business so that he can look after the family business at home and stop disturbing me on my small parliamentary salary and he gave it to a driver who was a relative, good driver though.
“The first thing he did was he went and put a carrier on the bus and anytime you saw the bus, the bus had more load on top of it than in the bus. And so what happened? 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. So the reason for buying the bus had been defeated. Anytime the bus broke down, they’ll come to me to come and repair it, and they were causing me more to repair the bus than if I had just been ‘MoMoing’ the money to them.
“But you know what happened this driver used to live in the family house while he was driving the bus he procured a 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 and decided to dispose of it, and so I sold the bus.
“This was like several years, maybe, yes, 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.”
Reflecting on the broader implications, Mahama noted that many entrepreneurs struggle with similar challenges, as employees often view their employers’ businesses as stepping stones for their own ventures.
He pointed out that some Ghanaian business owners have resorted to hiring foreign managers due to difficulties in finding reliable local personnel.
The president called for a shift in mindset, urging Ghanaian professionals to embrace a culture of dedication and integrity in business management.
He emphasised the need to build a strong core of trustworthy individuals who are committed to growing businesses rather than exploiting them for personal gain.
“So what he says is very serious. Getting trusted people to work with and so we must look at that aspect. I know that even business people and industrialists are going out of the country and bringing foreigners to come and manage their businesses.
It is indictment on our human resource and it is something that we must begin to think about and find a core of management that is dedicated to working to build the business.”
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