President John Dramani Mahama says the continuous growth of indigenous Ghanaian firms like Zoomlion Ghana Limited and others have become the envy of many people in the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) to the extent that they want those businesses to fall.
According to the President, many of his party supporters and sympathisers harbour the feeling that Zoomlion Ghana Limited and some other thriving businesses in the country are owned by members of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Therefore, making those businesses to survive and keep on expanding their frontiers under the governing NDC will be detrimental to their course, hence, the need to wipe them off from the system.
Addressing thousands of workers of Zoomlion Ghana Limited and other subsidiaries of the Jospong Group of Companies on the occasion of their 10th Anniversary at the Trade Fair Centre in Accra on Friday, December 2, 2016, President Mahama said some members of the NDC were so bitter about the survival of Zoomlion Ghana Limited and other firms that they approached the late President John Evans Atta-Mills and himself to collapse those businesses.
“The history of our country is replete with businesses going down because government has changed. We will like to label our indigenous businessmen with a political paint brush. So, the person is running his business, and we say oh he is an NPP businessman or an NDC business man or he is a CPP or GCPP businessman. And so when government changes, it is like you must run down all these businesses that are not on your side.”
“Dr. Siaw Agyepong had started his business when we came into government. He established it under the illustrious administration of President John Agyekum Kufour. And so, by the time we came into office, his company had spread quite across the country.”
“Thank God for the life of Prof. Mills and thank God that Prof. Mills’ thinking and I were on the same wavelength. When we came into office, there were many on our side that believed that Zoomlion was an NPP company and must be killed. That it had become a monopoly in the waste management sector and that we that we do things to open up and other businesses should come in.”
“But Prof. is very principled, and determined person with my support said he (Dr. Agyepong) is a Ghanaian businessman and he is employing Ghanaians. It is the responsibility of the government to provide employment to our people and so whether he is red, green, or black as far as he is providing jobs in the economy, his business must thrive and continue,” noted President Mama.
He said his belief in Ghanaian businesses has seen a number of such firms protected over the last couple of years.
“As President, I believe strongly in the Ghanaian indigenous business persons. Our companies if they get the right support, they can prove themselves. That is what my government has been determined to do,” he noted.
He added “For me when it comes to Ghanaian businesses; I’m colour blind … I’m politically blind. It doesn’t matter who you are. As far as you are a Ghanaian and contributing to the growth of the economy, you have a right to do your business and earn profit.”
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