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Business consultant Dr Ishmael Yamson has said that despotism is not the solution to building a vibrant economy as asserted by some people who make such arguments with reference to countries like Rwanda, Singapore and Malaysia.

Using Rwanda as a country that has transformed after years of misfortune, including the 1994 genocide which resulted in an estimated 800,000 deaths, Dr Yamson said their “economic growth trend is amazing”.

He said people try to convince him that the growth is due to the fact that the head of state is a dictator, but “I tell them all the time that if it was about dictatorship, Ghana should be heaven today because we have had more dictators in this country than any single African country”.

He observed: “All the military rulers were dictators; Nkrumah in the second half of his term was a dictator, Rawlings was there for 19 years, first 11 years as military dictator and nine years as a democratic leader but still had the power of the military behind him.”

For him, “Rwanda has become successful because they have become disciplined, become entrepreneurial, and the average citizen understands what he must contribute to Rwanda to make it a great country.”

The Chairman of Ishmael Yamson and Associates made these comments in an interview with Class FM’s Benjamin Akakpo ahead of the fourth edition of the annual Business Roundtable of Ishmael Yamson and Associates on the theme: “Making Ghana Entrepreneurial”.

The programme is being held at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Accra and is meant to explore how Ghana can become prosperous.

Speakers will use the opportunity to examine how government, policy makers, regulators, and the public sector can become entrepreneurial in their approach to the business of government and how they can, through the creation of a sustained enabling operating environment, effectively facilitate entrepreneurship by the private sector, the social sector, and other stakeholder institutions in Ghana.

It will also provide the opportunity for all stakeholders to examine how they can become more entrepreneurial, more agile, and be better able to assess risks, competitively leverage opportunities in the environment, and become less dependent on political patronage.

Speakers at the event include a former rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA, Professor Stephen Adei; businessman Dr Daniel Mackorley, founder and leader of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC), Dr Mensa Otabil; Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, Chair of Yamson and Associates Dr Ishmael Yamson, CEO of Dream Oval Derrydean Dadzie, and a host of other distinguished persons.