Stop destroying Ghanaian businesses – Duncan-Williams repeats despite backlash
Presiding Archbishop and General Overseer of the Action Faith Chapel International, Nicholas Duncan-Williams appears resolute in his defence of indigenous businesses calling for a paradigm shift from the seeming victimisation of local entrepreneurs due to political interests.
The preacher has in barely a week reiterated his call for governments to stop persecuting local businesses and rather, focus on creating the enabling environment for more indigenous businesses to flourish.
Archbishop Duncan-Williams had earlier made a similar call during a church service last sunday. A video of his preaching went viral generating huge controversy and starting conversations on various radio and television programmes.
The archbishop had said, “I don’t want to be political but if you look at people like Zoomlion and others, Zoomlion is a Ghanaian, but every government that has come will go after Zoomlion because they don’t understand why a Ghanaian should make it that big”
“The level of insecurity, jealousy and envy in this country is amazing. Our political system is designed to enhance jealousy and envy. We have become a society of bringing down one another.”
Despite the backlash from a section of Ghanaians following those comments, the preacher has once again posited a similar view, this time on Paul Adom Otchere’s Good Evening Ghana show.
In Duncan-Williams’ estimation, punishing errant entrepreneurs by dealing specifically with the personalities and not their companies as a whole is a better way of securing jobs and livelihoods while dealing with corruption.
“When we deal with the individual and end up collapsing the company, we end up cutting the head of a family because their families depend on them. What happens to all those people who are forced to go home. Eventually, this will lead to all the negative vices that we see in the country,” Duncan Williams said in the interview.
Recounting a recent trip to a neighboring country, Archbishop Duncan-Williams said “when I was coming back to Ghana, I counted 25 private jets packed there and it was no issues to the government, media or anybody, and nobody cared”,
He argued “This can’t happen [in Ghana] because we are small-minded people, we have issues with everything so find pleasure in attacking individuals and in effect causing millions of people to lose their means of livelihood.
“If a young lady is successful, she is a prostitute or sleeping with a married man or she is dealing in drugs. If a young man comes on the scene and for whatever reason, he is not born by one of the old money people we have to investigate him right now,” he said rather worryingly.
According to Duncan-Williams, Ghanaians need to celebrate and accept the progress of others instead of pointing accusing fingers.
The Archbishop urged leaders of the country to help individuals build the nation to the level we want it to be as a country.