Sam Jonah Laments Ghana’s Judiciary System ‘Frustrating’ Businesses

Ghanaian business mogul and Chairman of Jonah Capital, Sir Sam Jonah is dissatisfied with the state of Ghana's judiciary which he says has a serious effect on businesses, and subsequently worsens the unemployment situation.

According to him, the system is fraught with “legal gymnastics” and very expensive to follow through.

Sam Jonah made the remark while addressing the 69^th annual New Year School at the University of Ghana on Monday.

He noted that the situation was among the many reasons why Ghana is an unfavorable destination for business investment.

“The presence of a fair, efficient, reliable and independent judicial system is absolutely critical. Every investor wants the assurance that in the event of a dispute over contracts they will have a fair hearing and justice expeditiously administered. I'm afraid our justice system is fraught with unending litigation, legal gymnastics, avoidable cost, red tape et cetera.”

In his keynote address themed “Job Creation for Accelerated National Development: The Role of the Private Sector,” Sir Sam Jonah highlighted several factors that militated against the growth of private enterprises in Ghana.

Land administration
Sir Sam Jonah criticized the country's land administration system as being archaic, making it cumbersome for businesses to own or rent land in the country.

Describing it as a critical item for investment promotion, he called for firm efforts to digitize land administration in the country to make it effective.

“Our land administration system has been in a state of confusion for years. It is one of the few agencies that have still defied the digital age…Clearly, something ought to be done because land title is absolutely critical for investment promotion,” he said.

Educational system
He called for a structural change in the country's educational system to ensure that graduates of the country's tertiary institutions are equipped with the skills and knowledge relevant to industry.

“Currently in the advance and emerging knowledge-based economies, jobs are being created in the tech, research and development, artificial intelligence, engineering and agricultural science sectors of the economies. In this regard, we must ask ourselves whether there is a match between industry needs and demands, and output of our educational system here in Ghana. Are we producing knowledge workers, or is the system producing chronically unemployable graduates? Has our curriculum been adjusted to current needs? Is there an obsession for the acquisition of degrees and credentials at the expense of relevant technical skills? Is there a danger of the system producing too many know-hows and not enough do-hows?,” Sam Jonah quizzed.

Unemployment a national security issue
Sir Sam Jonah also noted that, the rising levels of unemployment in Ghana required urgent steps to address the situation, since it has become a national security.

Citing the recent incident of over 84,000 youth applying for work in the Ghana Immigration Service to access the 500 vacant employment slots, Sam Jonah said the fact that the country's population was made up of 60% of youth calls for the prioritization of job creation.

“A fortnight ago, an incident at El Wak Stadium caught the attention of all us; we saw on social media an endless queue of the youth waiting patiently and desperately to be interviewed for vacant job positions in the Immigration Service of Ghana. That incident loudly and eloquently captured the crisis of joblessness in our country. It was a sad spectacle… This crisis calls for bold and urgent action. Indeed the urgency of job creation becomes even more obvious when we look at Ghana's demographics as we all know 60% of our population is under the age of 35, and in this regard I'm sure you will agree with me that unemployment in general and youth unemployment, in particular, has become a critical national security issue,” he said.

Listen to the full audio below: