Sampson Asaki Awingobit is of the opinion that the business sector should consult with the government in order to find answers to its problems, despite the complaints made by the Executive Secretary of the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana on the suspension of GUTA’s strike.
Mr. Awingobit asserts that the reasons why it is difficult for enterprises to survive in the nation are internal, necessitating the need to “go back to our government.”
As things stand, the cedi has declined by more than 30% while Ghana’s inflation rate has soared to 31.7%.
As a result, the economy has been listed as having one of the highest rates of inflation, and the cedi has been ranked as the second-worst performing currency behind the rupee of Sri Lanka.
The change unavoidably has an impact on the economic well-being of the populace, who have long bemoaned the high cost of living in the nation.
When describing some of the root causes of the issues, Mr. Awingobit pointed to taxation as a significant barrier to corporate expansion, adding that “since 2017, importers have suffered; a lot of tariffs, charges, and taxes have been passed on them.”
The businessman disapproved of the nation’s economic problems being attributed to foreign corporations doing business there.
What interest rate are we borrowing at in Ghana? Is it due to the ethnic makeup of Chinese people in this country that lenders lend money to businesses at a 40% or a 35% interest rate?
Do you remember that as a country we have signed international treaties that we cannot take any unilateral decision; we cannot ban any of them for not doing business with you?
“Do you remember that there is a Sinohydro loan that the government of Ghana is accessing from China?” he quizzed.
So you think that tomorrow the Council of State will go to the Ministry of Finance or go to the Presidency to ban South Africa from importing to this country, ban Chinese from importing into the country because GUTA members are complaining? Are they [foreigners] the people who make the cedi depreciation? Are they the ones who make our inflation at 31%?
“We know what the cause is, we have to go back to our government” he added in an interview he granted Angelonline
Mr Awingobit made the observation on the back of the Ghana Union of Traders Associations (GUTA) suspension of the industrial action they intended to embark on which was slated for Monday, August 29, 2022.
The decision by the leadership of the Union follows their engagement with the Council of State last Thursday, August, 25, 2022.
