Former President John Dramani Mahama has highlighted the struggle to find trustworthy employees as one of the biggest challenges facing business owners — often even more pressing than securing capital.
Speaking at the Kwahu Business Forum on Saturday, April 19, Mahama shared a personal story to illustrate the point.
He recalled how he once bought a bus for a relative to operate a transport business, hoping it would bring financial stability to the family. However, the driver, who was also a relative, mismanaged the opportunity by modifying the vehicle to carry excessive loads, which eventually caused repeated breakdowns.
“The first thing he did was to install a carrier on the bus, and every time you saw the vehicle, it was carrying more load on top than inside. Eventually, the axle broke down,” Mahama recounted.
He went on to say that the constant repairs ended up costing him more than if he had simply sent money directly to support the family. To make matters worse, while the bus business was struggling, the driver had used his earnings to buy land and start building a house — a project that stalled once the bus finally broke down and Mahama decided to sell it.
“This was more than 10 years ago, and even today, the building is still stuck at lintel level,” Mahama noted.
He used the story to emphasize a broader issue faced by many entrepreneurs — the difficulty in finding employees who are genuinely committed to the growth of a business rather than seeing it as a personal opportunity.
“There are several businessmen who’ve told me their biggest challenge isn’t even capital; it’s getting trusted people to work with,” he said.
Mahama further observed that this problem has led some Ghanaian business owners to recruit foreign managers, describing the trend as an unfortunate reflection on the local workforce.
“It’s an indictment on our human resource, and it’s something we must begin to think about — building a core of management that is dedicated to growing the business rather than exploiting it for personal gain,” he urged.
He called for a mindset shift among Ghanaian professionals, stressing the importance of dedication, integrity, and genuine commitment in business management.