We want clear timelines for resolution of power crisis — AGI
The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has called on the government to come clear on plans to resolve the power crisis in the country to enable industries to plan.
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It said information on the power situation as put out by the government had not been clear.
Consequently, it urged the government to make its plans for resolving the energy crisis clear and precise.
The Chief Executive Officer of the AGI, Mr Seth Twum-Akwaboah, made the call at a press conference to launch the first quarter barometer of the association in Accra yesterday.
He said businesses had been under severe pressure from the power crisis, the depreciation of the cedi, the high cost of credit, the difficulty in getting bank credit, among other challenges.
Power supply
Mr Twum-Akwaboah said the drop in business confidence reflected the worsening power situation, particularly where timelines for improving or solving the current power supply, especially to industry, had not materialised and timelines continued to be extended.
He said the power supply outlook for the rest of the year looked bleak, with a further drop in the water level of the Akosombo Dam.
He said on the average, industries were paying six times the cost of grid electricity to run on generating sets and that was not sustainable.
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Cedi depreciation
Mr Twum-Akwaboah said businesses continued to bear the brunt of exchange losses due to the cedi depreciation against the world’s major trading currencies.
He said it was worrying how the cedi had already depreciated by over 15 per cent against the US dollar this year.
Access and cost of credit
He said access to medium-to-long-term credit remained a major bottleneck to businesses, saying where it was available, businesses were unable to borrow on account of the high cost.
He, therefore, called on the government to ensure macro-economic stability by reducing excessive borrowing from the domestic market.
He said the Bank of Ghana and the Ministry of Finance had the responsibility of putting in place effective regulatory mechanisms to check the various factors contributing to high interest rates in Ghana.
He said Ghana’s peers lent money at a rate below 20 per cent, while lending rates in Ghana exceeded 30 per cent, noting that those challenges had culminated in the high cost of doing business.
He added that Ghana risked losing its competitiveness as a country if those challenges persisted.
Mr Twum-Akwaboah, however, commended the government for the efforts being made to promote made-in-Ghana products and appreciated the work of the made-in-Ghana committee.