‘Halt rising cost of production’
The President of the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Dr Seth Adjei-Baah, has urged the government to address the rising cost of production in the country, to encourage the patronage of locally manufactured products.
Advertisement
Speaking in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra, Dr Adjei-Baah also called on the government to invest in indigenous companies to make President John Mahama’s call to Ghanaians to patronise locally produced goods a reality.
Producer price
The GCCI President expressed concern about the rising Producer Price Index (PPI) and its effects on industry in the country and said, for example, data from the Ghana Statistical Service for the month of July 2014, indicated an increase in the PPI by 47.4 per cent, compared to that of July 2013.
He said between June and July 2014, the rate of inflation had increased by 10.2 per cent.
Touching on the difficulties confronting the local industry, Dr Adjei-Baah said conditions were not favourable for local businesses hence the need for the economy to heavily rely on imported products.
He also said issues such as the pricing of raw materials, taxation and the government’s apparent unwillingness to support the industry had contributed to the difficulties the local businesses faced, and added, “if quality, quantity and pricing are not reviewed, the businessman will always import and sell, hence the continuous collapse of our local industries”.
Power supply
The GCCI President stated that unreliable power supply, increase in petroleum products and utility charges were also contributory factors to the current difficulties. He also bemoaned the high interest rates on loans.
“The Bank of Ghana must look at the policy of lending to favour local industries if we want to reduce the increasing production cost,” Dr Adjei-Baah suggested.
Other Trending Stories
In a separate interview on the economy, an economist and legal practitioner, Dr Kofi Orleans Lindsay, said the charges an individual was required to pay before he could commence a business venture were too high.
A number of industry players have asked the government to reinforce the public-private partnership programme to reduce the cost of production.
They have also urged the government to negotiate with stakeholders to help address the high cost of doing business in the country.
Writer’s email: Sebastian.syme@graphic.com.gh