Womanizing and rapid unplanned child birth has been cited as part of reasons majority of Ghanaian businesses fail, according to the founder of the A&C mall Andrew Asamoah.
He claims that because business owners typically don’t plan well, their companies don’t survive their deaths.
Mr. Asamoah asserted that having children with numerous women frequently jeopardizes the viability of businesses.
Speaking in an interview on Odana TV, he said: “Because we don’t plan, you must have a vision, you must have a plan. You go some places, someone is a top-class tailor in England, and he makes sure that his son who went to a top-class school comes in, it’s planning.”
“We don’t plan. And then you are doing business, and you start making money then you start doing women, too many women, having too many children then when you die it becomes a contention. I’ve seen it so much.”
Business owners should make sure that their families or other relatives are actively involved in their companies, advised Dr. Asamoah.
Adding that, this will keep businesses should they pass away or become physically unable to manage the affairs of the organization.
Dr. K.Y. Amoako, Founder and President, African Center for Economic Transformation Sixty-five years ago, our nation was born. It was born out of indomitable courage in the face of colonialism and imperialism. It was born through shared struggle, bloodshed, and tears. And it was born on the backs and hopes of ordinary Ghanaians.
I was 13 years old at the time of independence. I grew up with Ghana, and I have lived through our post-colonial journey—the ups and downs, the successes, and the setbacks.
Ghana has so many reasons to be proud. We have been at the forefront of Africa’s movement not only to independence but also to democracy and citizen empowerment. We are known as Africa’s ‘Black Star’, but we are also its North star. We have led, and others have followed.
However, we have not yet attained the heights that our forebears fought and bled for. We have not yet realized the Ghana we want — for ourselves, but most importantly, for future generations.
Despite occasional periods of economic growth, Ghana continues to grapple with critical social and economic challenges that hold us back from achieving our full potential. Our young people are disenchanted and distrustful of our leaders and institutions as they deal with unemployment. The growing polarization of our politics is drawing us further and further apart when we should be working together for our common good. We struggle to translate our abundant natural and human resources into economic and social well-being. At the same time, we must confront and adapt to the challenges—such as climate change, population growth, financial instability, and public health—that pose direct threats to our survival.
We have reached a tipping point and cannot continue along this path if we are to survive as a nation. As we approach the second half of the 21st century, it is imperative that we stop, adjust our sails, and change course to build the Ghana we want.
We have a window of opportunity over the next twelve months, before the 2024 election campaigns go into full drive, to build a national consensus around Ghana’s biggest opportunities and challenges and to put those issues squarely on the agenda for debate during the next election.
It is not enough for Ghana to experience spurts of economic growth with increasing poverty.
Ghana needs sustained and resilient economic transformation that ensures the lives our people continue to improve.
Faster progress on transformation not only will strengthen our economy but also help us better survive shocks, like inflation, rising energy costs and the rapid depreciation of the cedi and more quickly lift our most vulnerable brothers and sisters out of destitution.
Many countries around the world have successfully traveled the road to transformation. Each country is different, but there are lessons and best practices to follow on our journey. And it all starts with having a plan.
To build the Ghana we want, we need to focus our energies on a number of critical areas and set a unified vision with clear and measurable targets and goals — a national consensus on what to do to turn the tide and address the challenges facing us.
This means, among other things that we need to diversify our industries to be more competitive in global markets; increase productivity, especially of our human resources; and advance technology and innovation — all to improve the well-being of our citizens. For instance, we can increase the capacity of local SMEs so they become investment ready and are able to utilize technology for increased productivity and competitiveness on global markets.
This vision will require the agreement and collaboration of all citizens especially the youth, political, traditional, and religious leaders, prominent community organizations, and technical policy experts. It will be our north star for our transformation agenda and for our democracy. We need to act as citizens and not spectators — citizens with a vested interest in building a Ghana we can all be proud of.
Kwame Nkrumah told us: “We have a duty to prove to the world that Africans can conduct their own affairs with efficiency and tolerance and through the exercise of democracy. We must set an example to all Africa.”
During these challenging times in Ghana and around the world, it is past time for us to live up to that duty and set that example once more. The good news is the work has already begun. A few months ago, a group of Ghanaians representing a cross-section of our society came together at Peduase to define what we can do together to chart a path for Ghana’s future. The youngest person in the group was only 13 years old, and the oldest was older than I am. The group included leaders from policy institutes, media, civil society, and business, and brought viewpoints from every angle to enrich and improve our approach. Most importantly, their political affiliations spanned most of the parties in Ghana.
Together, we are collaborating to develop what we call a Compact for Political and Economic transformation in Ghana. The Compact: will be an agreement between citizens and government, regardless of who is in power, on the direction of travel for our country, and on the vision and values that underpin our democracy and pave the way toward the Ghana we want. It will also be a Compact between all of us as citizens on the values we want to uphold as a nation as we embark on this new agenda.
Agreeing on a common vision and a roadmap for Ghana will help make our elections more about the issues and less about the politics. It will help our governments focus on national interest over party interest. And importantly, it will help us as citizens hold our elected officials accountable and take more responsibility for driving the agenda for our country.
What we are starting now will need the commitment of all Ghanaians, regardless of background, religion, political party affiliation, age, or gender. We have an opportunity today to begin a journey toward a better future, and I hope you will all join us.
My journey will one day come to an end, and the future belongs to my children and grandchildren. And your children and grandchildren. What kind of future will they have? What legacy will we leave them? We all appreciate the challenges that still exist. Let us now work together to turn our fortunes around and strive for the aspirations that nearly all of us have, for the Ghana we want — for ourselves and future generations.
For the past fifty years, Dr K.Y. Amoako has spearheaded many of the issues and policies central to Africa’s development. A pioneer and passionate advocate for African transformation, he has worked alongside African leaders and some of the world’s most prominent development specialists to tackle many of the most pressing African and global development issues. Previously, Amoako served as Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa at the rank of UN Undersecretary General. Before then he was a senior official at the World Bank.
Founder of Amazon Jeff Bezos has pledged to donate the majority of his money before he passes away.
Bezos, currently the world’s fourth richest person based on Forbes billionaires list, also admitted that he wants to ensure that the worthiest causes benefits from his charity.
Bezos made the pledge after donating $100 million to country singer Dolly Parton to give to charities of her choice as part of Bezos’s annual Courage and Civility award.
Without providing further details, Bezos said he and partner Lauren Sánchez were “building the capacity to be able to give away this money”.
Bezos founded e-commerce giant Amazon in 1994 out of his garage in Seattle.
He stepped down as chief executive to become executive chairman in July 2021 and now owns just under 10% of the company.
He and his wife MacKenzie divorced in 2019 after 25 years of marriage and he transferred a quarter of his then 16% Amazon stake to her.
Bezos has donated more than $400 million worth of stock to nonprofits in 2022, though it’s unclear which organizations received those shares.
Bezos owns The Washington Post and Blue Origin, an aerospace company developing rockets.
In the past, Bezos has been heavily criticized for his relative lack of largesse toward charity compared with some fellow billionaires.
Bezos is not a signatory to the Giving Pledge, which encourages the world’s wealthiest to give half their net worth to philanthropy and was set up by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.
It has attracted more than 230 signatories including Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.
The Chief Executive Officer, of Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Akwasi Agyeman, has urged women in tourism to work hand in hand to break the stereotypes that hold women down.
He said, “we need more of our women to rise to positions of authority that will enable them to influence policies, especially those that will affect the fortunes of other women.”
Agyeman made the observation at the just-ended biennial congress of the GTA Ladies Club.
The congress brought members across the regions to discuss ways to help the organization achieve its goals, empower each other, and exchange views and ideas aimed at improving the welfare of female staff.
He congratulated the Club for the commitment and efforts towards the successful operations of the GTA and urged them not to relent in their efforts to create a more formidable force of Authority.
Mrs. Doreen Fianko, Founder of the Club, said there were many conscious and unconscious biases around women, which hindered their progressive forward movement.
“This is the reason why women need to be empowered and allowed to redefine their gender roles and to make strategic life choices which will allow them more freedom to pursue their desired goals.”
Mrs. Emma Rachael Akua Oduro, Outgoing President of the Club, urged women in the Tourism, Arts, Culture, and Hospitality industry in Ghana, to mentor and coach one another through support groups to meet up with the growing demands within the industry.
She said the club was formed over two decades ago to, among other things, improve the welfare of the female staff through the exchange of ideas, promote the image and advancement of members as well as assist the management to achieve the basic objectives of the Authority and offer constructive suggestions and criticisms.
The Ladies’ Club has a membership of about 200 drawn from all 16 regions of Ghana.
Some activities that took place during the congress included a leadership training programme, an empowerment summit, a donation exercise, an election and swearing-in of new executives, a tour, and a picnic.
The newly sworn-in executives include Madam Francesca Quansah, President, Ms Abigail Kwayisi, Vice President, Madam Selase Tettevi, Organizer, Nana Yaa Boadu, Assistant Organizers, Madam Millicent Nweada, Public Relations Officer, Madam Ellen Gyeambea, Secretary, and Madam Dela Melchidek, Financial Secretary.
