President John Mahama has eulogised the Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, Mr Joseph Siaw Agyepong, for his extraordinary business acumen that has caused Zoomlion Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of the group, to gain international recognition.
Describing Zoomlion as a “strong Ghanaian brand,” President Mahama said currently the company was the only indigenous multinational company in the country.
President Mahama gave the commendation when he joined the management and staff of the company at a thanksgiving service to climax the 10th anniversary of Zoomlion Ghana, the nation’s leading waste management company.
He said the contribution of Zoomlion to waste management in the country could not be overemphasised and that Zoomlion’s initiatives, which had led to the creation of over 200,000 jobs for the youth was exemplary.
He mentioned the recently inaugurated ‘Lavender Hill’ Faecal Treatment Plant, and the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant at Adjen Kotoku, as some of the striking initiatives of the company.
President Mahama assured the company of the continuous support of the government.
“As a government, we believe in having strong indigenous companies that will promote local production and business to support economic growth,” he stressed.
Political persecution
President Mahama said never again should the country return to the days when businesses were politically tagged for persecution during regime change.
He said the history of the country was replete with businesses targeted for destruction during the change of government, a development he stated was counterproductive.
He said Mr Agyepong started Zoomlion during the Kufuor administration and it was, therefore, perceived to be an NPP company.
President Mahama said today, not only was Zoomlion being supported to thrive but many other Ghanaian companies were also supported by the government.
He cited how the government had injected huge capital into pharmaceutical companies to enable them to expand their operations.
Again, he indicated that currently, 95 per cent of companies in road construction were indigenous companies.
“When it comes to Ghanaian businesses, I am politically blind,” the President told the audience who responded with loud applause.
Don’t kill businesses
Preaching the sermon at the service, the President of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC), Apostle Dr Opoku Onyinah, urged political leaders not to destroy businesses because their owners belonged to different political parties.
“When God gives someone the skills to do anything he must be supported and encouraged because he works for the benefit of humanity and for society. If you kill the business many people will suffer,” Apostle Onyinah, who is also the Chairman of the Church of Pentecost worldwide, stated.
He said God had created the world for man to take care of it which He did through the abilities he had given to people. “God gives special knowledge and special abilities to harness something in the right manner in order for the rest of humanity to benefit from it.”
Quoting various scriptures to confirm that God had given man special abilities of craftsmanship for a purpose, he said, Joseph, David and Daniel in the Bible were all given those abilities.
‘Galamsey’
Pitching his message on Psalm 104 of the Bible, Apostle Onyinah said: “If we mismanage what God has given to us, the responsibility will fall on us. If we don’t manage our forests well, very soon we are going to become a desert. It is not God who has asked us to live on a desert but we have mismanaged the forest that he has given to us.”
He added that if we pollute the sea then we will have to suffer for it. If we pollute our water through ‘galamsey’ we will have to suffer the consequences of our action, he stressed.
Speaking in both English and Twi, he urged the chiefs and government appointees in communities where illegal gold mining was rife to help to stop the menace else we would all suffer the consequences.
Homosexuality
Apostle Onyinah also talked about homosexuality, describing it as post modernity. He said the world had gotten to a stage where people thought they had gained so much wisdom that men could now marry men while women could also marry their fellow women.
But he said that was defeating God’s purpose for creating man and woman, for which reason God would intervene.
Delving into global politics, he said it was because Hillary Clinton, presidential candidate in the last US elections, was bound to continue with President Obama’s gay policy that she lost the election, while the former British Prime Minister, Mr David Cameron’s tenure came to an abrupt end because of his liberalisation of abortion practice in the UK.
Thanks to God
Mr Agyapong gave thanks to God for how far he had brought the company.
He said the company had expanded throughout Ghana and to five African countries, namely Angola, Liberia, Equatorial Guinea, Togo and Zambia.
He thanked former President Kufuor and the late President Mills, as well as President Mahama for their incredible encouragement.
“I embarked on this entrepreneurial journey with the deep conviction that Ghanaians deserved better in the area of sanitation and good health,” he said.
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.
