The mad-rush for the shares of UT Financial Services which ended in an over-subscription has offered The Spectator good enough reason to barge in on Ghana’s Most Admired CEO, Prince Kofi Amoabeng, first to unlock his mind on the financial, political and social issues and second, to understand the concept underlying his Midas Touch continuum. Prince Kofi Amoabeng is one of the few CEOs who carry themselves without any pretensions. Very decent but not flamboyant, he is the man to meet. He is open-minded and disarmingly receptive even when there is a lot of work on his desk. He loves his job but he loves people more. And why not? It is the people who bring him business. SPEC: We have heard that the shares of UT have been grabbed left, right and centre. Congratulations! Are you happy? PRINCE: I am happy. We did our homework well and emphasised the fact that the offer was for Ghana for Ghanaians. That message went down well. The theme for the offer also caught on 'Everybody's share'. SPEC: But there was more to it. Wasn't it? PRINCE: We launched it when there was no credit crunch. And only 0.4 per cent was bought by foreigners. It should tell you that if we hadn't targeted Ghanaians and tried to rely on foreign equity fund managers and SSNIT it would have been a flop. SPEC: Did you foresee all these to begin with? PRINCE: As I said, we did our homework well, got well acquainted with the terrain before we made the move. That is typical of UT, if you care to know. SPEC: Now that you have got all the money you anticipated getting, are you going to spread out into other businesses or projects? PRINCE: Not spread out in the sense of going to start any new business. UT and its shareholders have enough funds to support its associated ventures like UT Logistics, UT Properties and UT International and to partner a bank. SPEC: I am interested in this bank partnering idea. It has been on your mind for a while, I suppose. How many banks do you have in mind? PRINCE: Two banks so far. We have talked to them and we will select one depending on the feasibility and prospects. SPEC: Aren't the banks afraid that if they partner you, you might buy them out eventually? PRINCE: No. On the contrary, they think the UT magic will even help them to do more for their customers and for themselves. Certainly, they think the Most Admired CEO and Second Most Admired Company should have the magic to propel them to higher heights. All in all, the idea is still to the benefit of Ghanaians; to improve financial services to the people so that they can do business and prosper. SPEC: Ultimately, do you hope to expand and grow bigger to the point of being grotesque? PRINCE: We want to grow organically; that is growing into areas that will complement or generate synergies with others. If you want to enter into entirely new projects without understanding the environment and competencies you might end up just throwing money away. SPEC: I have just been wondering. Oil is fast becoming the in-thing. Would you be tempted to invest into oil? There must be some big money out there for people like you. PRINCE: Even if I'll invest in oil, I should know which aspects. If it is logistics, we have UT Logistics to deal with that; if it is estates, we have UT Properties to deal with that. So it depends on which department of the oil industry that will fit into our long term goals. But certainly, we will never go to draw oil from anywhere as part of our investment plans. SPEC: You have done wonderfully as a businessman. You understand the business environment; you know the tactics and the techniques. You sound frightfully intelligent. If you were younger, you would have been called a whiz-kid. If you are offered the position of Finance Minister, would you grab it? PRINCE: (Laughing uncontrollably): Mr Alomele, have you ever asked yourself why I am Most Admired CEO, Marketing Man of the Year and have all those other awards and yet I'm not a member of any board in Ghana? They wouldn't dare put me there because I won't connive or condone all those messy things some boards are made to do. t am above such things and they know it; so they won't get me there in the first place. And no government should try to put me on any board. Woe unto any government that will make that mistake. They will regret, honestly. SPEC: You are getting quite blunt about this one. PRINCE: You know, I even tried to get on the Ghana National Trust Fund to spend money to rejuvenate it and make it a big national icon, get the media on board to promote it, get big business to fund it. It all started well till they chickened out in the end. I won't be a member of any board that will not run things the way they should be run. SPEC: How socially responsible have you been? PRINCE: We have been supporting the Society for the Blind, the Ghana National Trust Fund, Heart Foundation, 37 Military Hospital, orphanages, events like golf and Miss Malaika and others on yearly basis. SPEC: You play golf very well. You also play host to golfers? PRINCE: I host golfers on occasions like Farmers Day to draw attention to the achievements of the Tafo Cocoa Research Institute which plays a big role in sustaining Ghana's cocoa industry. SPEC: Golf is not developing in Ghana. What is the reason? PRINCE: Golf is not developing because the country is not developing. When we were young students at Adisadel College, we were playing hockey, cricket and using the trampoline (gymnastic equipment). We used to have student bands that participated in the Pop Chain. We have lost all these. The type of inter-collegiate athletics we used to have is not what pertains today. Haven't you seen that we go to the Olympics and come back empty-handed? Even how many medals have we got from the Commonwealth Games? We need to address the structures and institutions to get those things back. They reflect the-level of development of a nation. SPEC: Is it a hopeless situation? PRINCE: No, but it will take time. It also needs the change of attitudes and commitment. It is not a matter of only spending but getting committed to doing things. SPEC: Are you a member of any political party? Naturally, you have a preference for one party over another. PRINCE: I'm not in bed with anybody or party. SPEC: Has any party approached you for support? PRINCE: Yes, but I turned them down. SPEC: I'm sure you'd want to go to school again. PRINCE: I hope not. I have seen some professors who are close me and I don't thick I want to wind up that way. Of course, there are many professors you meet and you are highly impressed; they are alert and know what they are about. If I want to school again, I probably would want to study Information Technology (IT). SPEC: Assuming you accepted to be a minister; this is an assumption! What will you do differently from what you think others are doing? PRINCE: Give me the target and strictly no interference. I would 'want your support and if it is not forthcoming, I'll resign. Simple! SPEC: UT has really made it at the shares float. How much was purchased? PRINCE: 24 million dollars. If you take-off overheads and expenses you'll come to about 20 million dollars. SPEC: Do you see anything wrong about the business environment? PRINCE: Look, rich businessmen abroad live in flats. In Ghana, every up-coming businessman wants to build a mansion and starts investing into buildings until the business collapses. I live in a three-room house. I wish I were even living in a two-room apartment. SPEC: Is the blackman cursed? PRINCE: The blackman is rather blessed. Look at the African. He is resilient and has tough skin; successful in difficult disciplines like boxing and athletics. Even whenever blacks are introduced to mental discipline, they excel. The problem is that God has loved the blackman too much and pampered him too much. It is like loving one child so much to the neglect of the other. But God has regretted doing that. We have been pampered and so we are spoilt. If you experience winter In Europe or America and the next winter is coming, you'll certainly think. The blackman's mind has not been tasked because the weather is always good; there is pawpaw and mangoes to eat every time; so how are you supposed to think? The whiteman has to think over the centuries because if he didn't he'd perish in the winter. God loved us more than we needed to the loved. SPEC: Will you say there is something wrong with our democracy? . PRINCE: In the developed world, party supporters offer monies to support their parties. That is democracy. In Africa the party offers money to the supporters to get their votes. So a presidential candidate pays out money to supporters instead of getting monies from the supporters to build the party. Isn't it upside down? We don't understand democracy! If someone pays money to get elected, he is not coming to serve his countrymen but to demand service from them. But the opposite is what democracy is about, 'not what pertains in this part of the world. SPEC: ls democracy good for Ghana? PRINCE: It is a good system if it is practised the way it should be. Otherwise democracy is what will make us not to get out of the vicious cycle of poverty. The element of money is the Achilles' heel of democracy in Africa. If you borrow money to bribe supporters to win an election, when are you going to repay your debts and think about developing the country? SPEC: Finally, I hear that apart from being an accomplished golfer, you dance pretty well. PRINCE (with a broad smile): When I dance, I dance like a young boy. SPEC: With energy? PRINCE: I bet you! Source: The Spectator