Ghanaians Are Lazy - Fmr Director Of Amalbank

�Do you know that in Ghana we are very lazy people, we don�t work...generally we are lazy people�. These are the damning words of former Managing Director of Amalbank, Menson Torkornu who also says that majority of Ghanaians are poor because of our education, culture and attitudes. He adds that the failure to take initiative and develop ideas to create more income is also one of the reasons why many Ghanaians are poor. He said Ghana is a very rich country but the culture and environment does not allow the Ghanaian to develop his full potential. Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Wednesday July 13 on the topic Entrepreneurship, Mr Torkornu noted that Ghanaians were not poor because of the lack of natural resources but rather,it was due to a culturally apathetic nature. He said the Ghanaian culture neither encourages people to aspire for greater heights nor inculcates the desire to become rich. He insisted that many Ghanaians are unaware they can become wealthy by involving themselves in many diverse and profitable ventures. �People don�t have the desire to be rich. The concept of riches has eluded a lot of people. They are not even aware that they can become rich. You can become rich or wealthy from teaching. A lot of people have the skill to impart knowledge to people and make money but most of them sit behind the television wasting their lives�. �Do you know that in Ghana we are lazy people, we don�t work. Generally we are lazy people. I frown at people who leave work and within an hour you are at home depending on where you are and you spend the whole evening watching T.V; you are wasting talents that God has given to you. I believe that the greater majority are very poor and this country is very rich�. �The bottom line is that when you are working for somebody you are enriching the person you are working for and you are impoverishing yourself because it is your skills that you are using to work for him� he argued. Mr Menson Torkornu urged young unemployed graduates to venture into entrepreneurship and avoid the lure of working for people which he says enriches the employer and impoverishes the employee. One must create the opportunity in order to be successful, he counseled. However, Mr Lloyd Amoah, Head of policy think tank, Strategy 3 disagrees with Mr Menson Torkornu; Mr Torkornu�s opinion that people are lazy in Ghana is completely flawed, he maintains. Mr Amoah laid the blame squarely on government, stating that the authorities have not provided the enabling environment for creativity and entrepreneurship to thrive.