''It will be acknowledged even by those that practice it not, that clear and round dealing is the honor of man's nature, and that mixture of falsehood is like alloy in coin of gold and silver, which may make the metal work the better, but it embaseth it."
- Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
The decision by the Nduom family to float shares in their conglomerate, Groupe Nduom, shows what an innovative, forward-looking and generous-spirited family they are.
It offers Ghanaians an insight into Paa Kwesi Nduom's personal philosophy of honest stewardship and abundance-sharing made possible by the fruits of wise investments.
The fact that they were thoroughly scrutinized by the U.S. authorities in due diligence checks before being given permission to acquire and operate a then ailing Illinois Service Federal Savings and Loans - now know as IFS Bank after its acquisition - for U.S.$9 million speaks volumes about the integrity of the Nduoms.
The question is: Would President Mahama and Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo and members of their nuclear families have survived similar scrutiny by the U.S. authorities? Alas, one doubts that very much, for a number of reasons.
President Mahama would definitely have been disqualified from owning a U.S. bank, becuase of the odd trip he undertook to Turkey when he first came to power.
The purpose of that particular trip was to help free a U.S. registered business jet - owned by one of his brother Abrahim Mahama's companies - that was carrying gold worth some US$84 million destined for Iran, but had been seized by the Turkish authorities, when it landed in their territory.
Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo would also not have been allowed to acquire and operate a U.S. bank either - because the Kufuor regime failed to protect Ghana's vital interests, when it discontinued a London court case in a matter involving the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), and Societe General: similar to one that the GNPC had won when it countersued Societe General, which had sued it in the U.S.
The fact that after Ghana settled the matter with Societe General, that French bank then subsequently acquired a bank owned by a government pension fund in Ghana - for U.S.$9 million: a figure less than the annual bonuses of many of their senior executives - would have also raised a red flag against him in any due diligence checks by the U.S. authorities.
Years after entering the Ghanaian market, Societe General then also went on to purchase a hotel belonging to Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo's family, for U.S.$3 million - which it then had demolished to enable it build a new headquarters building on the land it was on. That would have definitely also raised a red flag against him too.
Thus, in the world of Ghanaian politics, Nduom and his family are in a class of their own, in as far as their personal integrity goes: They survived close scrutiny by the U.S. authorities. Nduom is therefore someone Ghanaians can trust will never sacrifice the national interest for personal gain, if elected as Ghana's President. Ever.
Through their honest stewardship of other people's money, they have been successful in increasing their own family's wealth too - and now want to offer others the opportunity to profit from investing in their profitable and dynamic conglomerate, Groupe Nduom.
Aside from the family of the late R. A. Darko, who floated shares in their family business, Mechanical Lloyd, on the Ghana Stock Exchange years ago, virtually no high-profile Ghanaian family business has since opened its shareholding to the general public, by floating shares on the Ghana Stock Exchange.
Naturally, such a strategic move will provide Groupe Nduom with interest-free capital to fund the operations of its subsidiaries as they expand. But, above all, it shows the confidence the Nduoms have in Ghana's future - a future that Paa Kwesi Nduom wants to help shape and secure for all Ghanaians.
From the point of view of Diasporans wanting to invest in Ghana's economy, Groupe Nduom represents a fantastic opportunity - both in terms of buying the company's stock, and in executing their own projects through the company's many well-run and profitable subsidiaries.
It ought to be possible, for example, for a Diasporan in the U.S., with an investment portfolio made up of parcels of land in all the 10 regions of Ghana, who wants to build warehouses and establish a logistics business here, to do so with the assistance of relevant Groupe Nduom subsidiaries.
Dispirited Diasporans who have been ripped-off by people they trusted in Ghana - such as a childhood friend of mine who over the years has virtually seen over U.S.$500,000 of his personal savings siphoned off into the pockets of a long line of dishonest people he relied on to execute his projects in Ghana - can now turn to Groupe Nduom to realise their ambitions of setting up businesses in Ghana and executing sundry projects of theirs through Groupe Nduom subsidiaries.
It is that proposition that makes Groupe Nduom's business model such a winsome one - and purchasing the company's shares such a wise investment decision.
Diasporans constitute a powerful economic force that can be harnessed for accelerated growth of our national economy. Groupe Nduom's various businesses offer Diasporans a multiplicity of services and investment opportunities that they can tap to help them achieve their wealth-creation goals in Ghana.
GN Bank, for example, has the potential to evolve into a pan-African internet banking giant, through which Diasporans could avail themselves of the many products it will put together to empower them, to gradually build up their African investments to a level that transforms their status to that of high net worth investors.
It is a well-run bank that has the potential to outpace and grow bigger than Ecobank within the next five years.
One of the ways the GN Bank could do so would be to create a niche in which it enables Diasporans selling goods to importers in the markets in which it has a presence in the African continent (such as Ghana and Liberia), to do business safely and securely using escrow accounts.
Thus, a Ghanaian-American selling brand new Caterpiller spare parts bought at rock-bottom prices at government auction of ex-military stocks in the U.S., for example, could sell them to an importer in Ghana, who is perhaps a member of the Caterpillar Spare Parts Dealers Association at Kokompe, who would pay for the parts in cedis, into an escrow account at a GN Bank near him or her, set up for that purpose.
The U.S. bank owned by Groupe Nduom would inspect the spare parts, arrange for their shipment to Tema, clear them, and have the parts delivered to the importer, at a designated delivery point. The Diasporan exporter then gets his money released from the escrow account.
The process of getting the spare parts shipped from the U.S. exporter to Tema port, cleared through customs, and delivered to the designated offloading-point for the Kokompe importer, would have been handled by relevant subsidiaries of Groupe Nduom.
Anyone who can visualise that chain of events providing business for Groupe Nduom's subsidiary companies, in the import-export business, in that one instance of the export from the U.S. of Caterpillar spare parts to an importer at Kokompe, can see an example of the manifold opportunities that buying shares in Groupe Nduom represents for investors.
The decision by Paa Kwesi Nduom to float shares in his family's conglomerate, Groupe Nduom, is a practical demonstration of his desire to see his fellow humans prospering through honest endeavour and foresight - and shows his commitment to help create a prosperous society in which all in Ghana enjoy high living standards.
Is that not precisely the kind of honest and far-sighted leader our homeland Ghana needs to be its President after 7th January, 2017: a world-class doer and giver?
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