Accra, Feb 25, GNA – The growing level of indifference to work among young tertiary graduates is becoming a bane for Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) in the private sector.
At a meeting to launch the Ghana Chapter of the African Chamber of Trade (ACT), some CEOs called for a reengineering of the minds of the youth to have the right attitude and discipline to work and excel.
Mr Victor Abbey, a management consultant and CEO of V5 solutions limited, said the work culture of the youth was affecting businesses and charged educational institutions to prepare young graduates for the world of work.
That, he said would entail helping graduates understand the realities on the ground with manageable expectations and dedication to personal development.
Mr Michael Bartlett-Vanderpuye, the Chairman of M&C Group Global, said negative attitude towards work was widespread among the Ghanaian youth, including artisans who were gradually losing out their jobs to expatriates within the subregion.
“Comparing the francophone labourers to ours, they work 24/7. Put a Ghanaian there and Saturday he will tell you he is going for a funeral,” he said.
The increasing level of young graduates in the country, he said, required the building of the capacity of the private sector and the creation of a conducive environment to engage the youth since government could not provide employment for all citizens.
Sharing thoughts on creating conducive atmosphere for businesses, Mr Manuel Kwame Ahianyo, the CEO of Manglad Roofing Systems Ltd., advised against the use of taxes as a tool to coerce businesses into silence.
He said the tax system had been structured in such a way that it could easily be used to target business owners who shared differing opinions on matters of national interest so “if you speak the truth, you have become a target.”
The loopholes in the tax collection coupled with the lack of monitoring and enforcement of punitive laws on tax evasion, he said, tended to disincentivise businesses to be genuine.
“It looks like if you want to be the honest person in Ghana to do business and do the right thing and pay the taxes, you will pay more, and they come at you more,” he said.
Acting President of ACT-Ghana Chapter, Reverend Ismaila Awudu, said it was long overdue for businesses to unite, support one another to grow and be in a better position to take advantage of internal and external opportunities and build a stronger private sector.
The ACT is a pan African chamber of commerce and industry, which promotes and facilitates intra-African trade and investment according to the terms of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Some member countries of the ACT are Benin, Gambia, Nigeria, Botswana and Rwanda
GNA