Former president John Agyekum Kufuor has urged the government to support the private sector to thrive, indicating that without them it would be extremely difficult for any meaningful development to be achieved.

He said without the private sector, no government could be able to develop a country, particularly in the area of employment creation.

“You’ll not overcome poverty with poverty. You need to create the wealth to overcome it. And when you have agencies like Jospong to do the work encourage them,” Kufuor stressed. “It is not an endorsement for any private company to make undue profit.”

Kufuor made the statement when he joined the staff and workers of Jospong Group of Companies (JGC) to mark this year’s annual praise and thanksgiving service in Accra on Friday.

The event, which is held December every year, brought together staff and management of the company to thank God and appreciate his goodness for successes chalked by the entities under the group.

The thanks-giving service, which came off at the forecourt of the Zoomlion Ghana Headquarters at Adenta in Accra, had representatives of other companies, including state officials. This year’s event was also used to honour former President Kufuor as he celebrated his 79th birthday.



Support them

Kufuor said companies that were in businesses ought to be supported instead of people focusing on the profit they made, adding that “although it is not the right thing for companies to make unreasonable profits, we should not raise issues when some are doing so well because they end up paying taxes”.

“The private person with his initiatives we should not envy him. We should encourage him to do more,” Kufuor said.

He said multinational companies in Korea and the United States, for instance, were able to get to that peak because they had the backing of the government and the people.

“We should do same for our own private businesses,” former President Kufuor said.

Kufuor said without the support of the government, the private sector may encounter difficulties in their bid to help grow the economy.

Kufuor applauded

In his remarks, the Executive Director of the Jospong Group of Companies, Mr Joseph Siaw Agyapong, applauded former President Kufuor for the various roles he played during the early years of the company.

He said the former president’s motivation and the support he gave him when he started the flagship company of Jospong Group of Company, Zoomlion Ghana Limited in 2006, was what pushed him to pursue the agenda of helping address some of the development challenges of Ghana.

“Apart from showing gratitude to God, I personally thank former President Kufuor who did not know me from anywhere but called me and encouraged me during the early years of Zoomlion. It was his words that motivated me to do things I never thought I could do,” Dr Agyapong said.

Still strong

After lauding former President Kufuor for his support to the company, Dr Agyapong also commended the staff and workers of Jospong Group of Companies for their dedication and commitment towards the company.

He said all the achievement of the company was as a result of the sacrifices the workers made during the early years of the company.

Acknowledging the successes the company had chalked, Dr Agyapong also talked about some of the challenges that the company had gone through, particularly this year. He said although a lot of attacks were being launched against the company, it would blossom because “the company is rooted in the principles of God”.

“I would have worried if God was not part of the company from day one but once we know this company has the backing of God no stone thrown against the company will stand,” Mr Agyapong said.

For his part, the International Missions Director (IMD) of the Church of Pentecost, Apostle Emmanuel Gyesi-Addo, urged the public to show gratitude to God regardless of the challenges they encounter in their daily lives.