Cowries in a Calabash

14 May 2021

I really love the conversations on-going about the cost of running our democracy, government and bureaucracy.

In the lifetime of my career, I saw changes done to conditions of service of Directors and Chief Executives, to match the times and the purse. In the company that Yamson ran, I saw a movement from when Directors had their own drivers and secretaries to when they drove themselves and typed their own letters or at best shared secretaries. I saw the movement from when the company had residences even for CEOs and numerous guest houses to a point where top managers lived in their own rented/own apartments and when employees stayed rather in hotels with sales of guest houses done. Always optimising, always finding ways to be more efficient, to improve the bottomline and to stay afloat and solvent.

I always thought about that, and also thought about similar companies in the town that Nkrumah built, which ran aground as they continued to live like sons of previously rich (but now poor) parents. Like the one that dealt in iron distins.

At independence, A.G. Leventis and UAC existed, with Leventis becoming GNTC. UAC eventually merged with sister companies into Unilever Ghana. We all know how the story ended.

We can’t borrow from frugal countries to fund our lavish lifestyles. We can’t continue to operate as if the topline and the bottom line of Ghana PLC are independent variables. We can’t have our leaders wearing elastic belts whilst asking us to tighten our belts (to quote PAV Ansah).

If Ghana PLC were a business, it would surely have been sold off by now, I am very certain of this. Or referred to the Diversification Implementation Committee.

Let the conversations continue. Better still, let it lead to changes in both our appetites and the response to same.