Chief Executive Officer for Dalex Finance, Kenneth Thompson has disclosed that most financial insitutions in the private sector have more than enough to support startups in the country.
Bewailing Ghana’s inability to accommodate new workers on government’s payroll, he charged the youth and entrepreneurs to try sourcing finance to support their businesses.
He made this sentiment on the Happy Morning Show (#HappyHMS) aired on e. TV Ghana and Happy 98.9FM. “The country is currently owing, we borrow for almost everything we do as a nation especially to pay for loans and salaries,” he told Sefah-Danquah who sat in for regular host Samuel Eshun.
According to him, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta made it known that Ghana’s payroll is full and the country cannot accommodate anymore workers. “The government is unable to borrow like previous years to meet the demands of new workers,” he revealed.
He added that business men in the private sector are willing to give out loans for start-up businesses. “We are unable to do that because of the canning nature of some citizens. They create fake national identities and when it’s time to pay back what was borrowed they are nowhere to be found,” he cried out.
He suggested the government creating a platform where the lender will have authentic information about the lendee without having complications. “Ghana card should be linked to bank accounts, passport, GRA, DVLA, so that business men can give out loans feeling safe,” he said.
Concluding he said the private sector is willing to step in for the government in giving out loans for businesses.
Background
The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has urged fresh graduates from the various tertiary institutions to find innovative ways of becoming entrepreneurs.
According to him, that is the only way the rising unemployment rate in the country can be reduced. He said it will help reduce the over-reliance on the government for jobs, and also reduce the burden on the government’s payroll.
Speaking at a graduation ceremony at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), Mr. Ofori-Atta explained that 60% of Ghana’s revenue is spent every month on the payment of salaries of public sector workers.
By: Louisa Antiede Tetteh