Chief Executive Officer of Tropical Cables, Dr Tony Oteng-Gyasi, has cautioned entrepreneurs to avoid mixing business with politics.

He said mixing business with politics presents a risk factor to the growth of businesses.

He stated that there is nothing wrong with being politically aligned as a business person, but cautioned entrepreneurs not to allow their political affiliations to directly influence on their businesses.

The former president of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) made the comments on ‘Time with the Captains’, a discussion programme on TV3.

“You must have political opinions but the point is that your political opinions must not interfere with the businesses you’re running. It shouldn’t matter to you if you’re running a business, who is running the politics of our nation.

“As a business person, you should be able to walk to any Minister of Trade, any minister of industry; you should be able to walk to any government official and if you have an issue, or you have a discussion, go ahead and have that discussion.  It is your entitlement; it is your due as a citizen of this Republic,” the former board chairman for the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) said.

The Tropical Cables CEO also observed that high-interest rate was a major indirect cause of unemployment in Ghana.

Unemployment remains a major challenge for government.

Even though several programmes have been rolled out to tackle the situation, the latest figures from the Statistical Service indicates a 2.4% rise in unemployment figures for 2020.

Dr Oteng-Gyasi said the inability of companies to pay back bank loans has led to the collapse of most businesses, which in turn has increased the unemployment rate in the country.

He cites high-interest rates as a major cause of the inability of companies to pay back their loans.