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BY Emmanuel Akonnor, Policy Analyst/Communicator
When I first saw the picture capturing the newly appointed Greater Accra Regional Minister and Mr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, the chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, having a tête-à-tête, it was clear that Manasseh would launch a tirade of abrasive attacks on the two. In fact, many who have followed Manasseh’s writings predicted that the picture alone would provoke him into another long epistle of lamentations and accusations. Personally, I was not surprised when, on Wednesday, Manasseh launched a scathing attack in an article titled: LINDA OCLOO IS COURTING CORRUPTION, NOT SOLUTION.
Apart from maliciously maligning the person and character of the Chairman of the Jospong Group, the article rehashed the same allegations that Manasseh has continually directed at the company, typical of his style. This sustained and predictable pattern of attacks on Jospong, and many other Ghanaian-owned companies, exposes not only Manasseh’s rather warped understanding of how businesses operate but also reveals, to any patriot, that these patterns are an attack on the industry, ingenuity, and creativity of Ghanaian-owned businesses.
Understanding the Rudiments of Building a Business: Where Manasseh Woefully Fails
Evidence, by way of media reports and documentaries, abounds to show the stress and hustle that businesses in our part of the world endure. From lack of capital to bureaucracies, sabotage, and other hurdles, it takes a lot of courage and patriotism for anyone to attempt doing business in Ghana. Indeed, Ghanaian-owned businesses are not spared the hurly-burly of running enterprises. Especially for Ghanaian business owners who partner with governments to solve pressing social and economic issues, like Jospong, SML, and many others, political witch-hunting is among the least of the pains they endure.
Sadly, most of them are not exempt from the tax exemptions their foreign counterparts enjoy. Aside from paying taxes and servicing loans—often at a ridiculous rate of 35%—they also bear the burden of managing people, processes, and all the challenges that come with building viable businesses in our region. The buffers that should support these businesses to compete on equal footing with foreign counterparts are non-existent.
Unfortunately, Manasseh, who has made a career out of attacking some of these businesses, lacks an appreciation of these nuances. His analysis of numbers is incredibly biased and populist, always seeking to appease a section of his audience rather than the broader public. For example, Manasseh frequently uses words like “inflated,” “scandalous,” and “scam” to describe businesses whose investment outlays he knows little about. Why would any reasonable person question a company being paid fees from the proceeds of its labour and significant capital investments?
Videos of the Chairman of the Jospong Group lamenting the stress he endured to secure funding for his waste management contracts are available and should provide context for any fair critic. But for mischief, why would Manasseh always focus on costs rather than benefits when targeting these companies? Perhaps he needs more education on conducting proper cost-benefit analyses. If his one-sided focus on costs, rather than value or benefit, isn’t rooted in hatred, personal agendas, or parochial interests, then it is simply ignorance.
Given his tendency to oversimplify the complexities of partnerships of this nature, Manasseh should be the last person any serious government or individual should consult on critical issues such as contracts and businesses. Building and creating systems and structures that solve critical issues like revenue leakages and waste management demands more than the ability to string words together. Perhaps that’s why Manasseh, despite his numerous attempts to interpret businesses and contracts, has no single business of his own.
His Advocacy Lacks Any Viable Choice of Action, Merely Attacks
Typical of Manasseh, he has always been quick to call on governments to abrogate contracts. He has asked for the termination of YEA’s contract with Jospong, as well as SML’s contract with the GRA. However, when he takes this stance, he woefully falls short of providing viable alternatives or ideas for addressing the issues these companies were contracted to solve.
It appears Manasseh harbors a desire to see these companies fail rather than focusing on resolving the problems they address. Ghana generates tonnes of waste daily. Solving this issue goes beyond funding; the efficiency and urgency with which private players mobilize resources become critical. Over the years, successive governments have struggled to mobilize the necessary funding and expertise to address these challenges. This explains why partnerships with private businesses are inevitable.
The case of revenue assurance services by SML in Ghana’s downstream sector is no different. Without SML, how would the government have mobilized the substantial capital outlay required for technological and expert deployments that have strengthened and digitized the GRA’s surveillance, reduced potential under-declaration, and increased mobilizable revenues in Ghana’s petroleum downstream sector?
Manasseh’s suggestion that state institutions can address these challenges without private sector partnerships is disingenuous. It is no coincidence that the government seeks private participation to address recurrent losses in electricity generation and distribution, among other sectors. Demanding that these contracts be terminated without providing viable alternatives is a disservice to the people. This further exposes Manasseh’s lack of understanding of how businesses at this level operate. I trust the new government will not be swayed into making hasty decisions based on such shallow analysis.
A Tone of Hatred
Beyond these matters, one could sense a personal vendetta and hatred for these companies from Manasseh’s tone, diction, and style. Unfortunately, he has been unable to detach personal biases from his professional work, contrary to the expectations of any true professional. He attacks these businesses, especially Jospong and SML, at the least provocation, using words like “scandal,” “inflated,” and “scam”—language that should typically be reserved for rivalries.
Without further ado, I will quote some phrases from his latest article to illustrate this point. While I regret rehashing these unfortunate remarks, quoting them is necessary to expose Manasseh’s personal vendetta:
“By partnering with Zoomlion, you are courting corruption, not a solution.”
“Linda Ocloo, our elders say the herbalist who adds pepper to a soothing balm is definitely not seeking a cure. With your misstep, you are courting corruption, not a solution, to the waste management problem in Ghana’s capital.”
“Relying on Zoomlion to solve the sanitation problem in Ghana is like partnering with a convicted pedophile to undertake a campaign against child sex abuse.”
Conclusion
To hate a person to the extent that everyone can predict how you will react to them in vulnerable moments is the height of hatred and envy. Like any other business globally, Ghanaian-owned businesses may have their shortcomings, just as governments do. When they do, they should be encouraged and supported rather than vilified and destroyed, as critics like Manasseh advocate.
Our sustained harassment of Ghanaian businesspeople who employ many, pay taxes, and keep our economy running must stop, as it stifles their creativity and courage. Manasseh’s approach of discarding entire ventures due to isolated flaws should be ignored. This attitude could have dire consequences, potentially leaving Ghana’s economy in the hands of foreign interests, which would bring their own complexities and challenges.
