The Chief Executive Officer of UT Financial Services, Captain (retd) Prince Kofi Amoabeng says to succeed, one must believe in God and live a straight simple life of honesty. He said while doing genuine business is not easy at all in Ghana, adhering to the principles of honesty and living frugal lives were prerequisites for a successful business career in the country. The UT boss was speaking to Joy FM’s Super Morning Show hosted by Evans Mensah. Explaining the principles undergirding the success of the UT Group, Captain Amoabeng said the “why not spirit” has been internalized in all staff of the company. This he said challenges staff of the company to go beyond normal boundaries in achieving set targets. He mentioned integrity, professionalism and respect for all people regardless of their position in the company as some of the shared values of the company. For him one of the difficulties faced by Ghanaians is the cultural milieu prevalent in the country. According to him, in a country where pastors, chiefs, family members and politicians want to have a say in a person’s business, maintaining certain principles becomes a herculean task. He said young people who cannot brave the intrusions of these powerful people often succumb to undue pressure to engage certain people and that is the genesis of the failure of the business. Touching on governmental support to businesses, Captain Amoabeng believes government can lend only a limited support to businesses. He stressed that government should rather create the enabling environment by ensuring that certain fundamentals are put in place. He lamented the lack of a proper address system in the country, saying that makes it difficult to trace people and that one cannot do effective business with people you cannot easily trace. Good information about citizens, he emphasized, is basic to doing business. The business guru asserted that that relying on governments to truly represent the interest of the people will remain a mirage under the current circumstances. This is because when politicians come into office they do things to appease all the people they owe – gratitude and in other ways. By this arrangement, the appointment of board members is not based on competence but as a compensatory measure, he argued. Captain Amoabeng noted that such boards are not expected to deliver on clearly defined results and set targets. He was not also happy that widening the tax net had become the mantra of all governments and yet almost all of them had failed to do that, arguing that the failure of governments to broaden the tax net leads to a situation where companies are over-taxed. Taxing people on adhoc basis cannot generate the needed revenue for government, he said, emphasizing that that situation makes it difficult for government to break the jinx of relying on donors. That for him is interesting, because countries that support the Ghanaian economy, do so with taxes paid by citizens of those countries. He quetioned the justification for seeking support from other people’s taxes when Ghanaians are not adequately taxed. Story by Malik Abass Daabu/Myjoyonline/Ghana