IMPROVING THE HEALTH OF OUR ECONOMY WITH BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS

The celebration of the 20^th anniversary of the enstoolment of Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, in 2019, provided a platform for the nation’s crème de la crème in the business sector to re-think how Ghana can connect with the world in development through business promotion.

The programme, which was initiated by Ghanaian businessmen with enough contacts in the global business fraternity, naturally attracted investors from different parts of the world.

That was, ostensibly, partly because of the attractive image the current NPP government had cut for Africa and how Ghanaian businesses were performing in supporting the economy to create jobs from agriculture to tourism.

The programme that was heavily patronised by members of the diplomatic community highlighted the fact that while the politician has to show direction, those who blaze the trail must be the members of the business community.

Fixing our minds

The fervour with which our young people have been chasing non-existent jobs in the public and civil sectors, as well as the security agencies, makes it evident that, until we re-orient them from over-reliance on government jobs, we might brew an explosion in the coming years. This is simply because the teeming jobs will not always be readily available.

Already, automatic engagement of teachers and nurses, who make up a greatest chunk of our labour force being paid by government, is somewhat becoming a challenge for the government.

That is why initiatives such as the ‘World Meets in Ghana’ investors’ forum are important in our efforts at business promotion, if the originators are genuinely committed to doing something for the general good of society.

Local response

We particularly need such initiatives in our local communities where a lot of untapped business opportunities are often available. This is particularly important, in view of the fact that our local government agencies of trade, agriculture and other economic activities have not been very proactive in helping both the informal and formal sectors in identifying strategies that enhance business or, marketing, for that matter.

While we thank those who dreamt up the initiative and bless them for adding value to our transformational agenda, we also hope that our local government agencies would gradually move away from ‘demolition’ to holistically supporting growth of industries at district and community levels.

Enabling environment

Happily, the current government continues to do enough in creating the required enabling environment for the business promotion and growth.

We therefore encourage all individuals and groups with business ideas to take advantage of the conducive environment being created by the government to seek ways to get enduring business partnerships with other players in the global business community.

With this, more and more businesses can be set up in the country to create more jobs and wealth to improve the health of the economy.

We are confronted with a task of improving our lot, as a people with huge opportunities from various sources. Let’s all commit to doing something for our generation and unborn generations.