Executive Secretary of the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana (IEAG), Samson Asaki Awingobit, has lauded the move by traders of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) to close down shops in protest of rising taxes and duties in the country.

According to him, escalating taxes are crippling businesses and swallowing the capital of most businesses in the capital. He revealed that it is frustrating for the importer to bring in goods and cannot clear them because of high duties, and in most cases the goods end up being auctioned by customs.

Mr Awingobit noted that although he has had issues with GUTA’s leadership and has been very “passionate and very vociferous” on its leadership style, the business community is “suffocating” and its only right for shop to close down.

“When they come to port every week and duty rate is increasing, people run helter-skelter. At the end of the day, people who end up not paying the duties, have their goods being auctioned… If the Ghanaian has any blame, they should blame the government for sitting down aloof and allowing this to happen. There is no way that we will sit aloof, business community must protect their last capital; that’s their lifeline.”
Samson Asaki Awingobit

Frustrations of business community with government

Elaborating on government’s aloofness, Mr Awingobit stated that government spent excessively during the 2020 election. He further noted that the blame game deployed by institutions which must enable a business-friendly environment for traders is disconcerting and doesn’t augur well for transparency on matters pertaining to the current business climate.

“Government knows that we have fiscal policy law in this country [and] government exceeded that fiscal policy. That’s why if you go to the Bank of Ghana and you ask of the exchange rate, interest rate and you ask why they are going high, they will tell you that it has to do with fiscal policy and that if it has to do with fiscal policy, we should not come to Bank of Ghana… You go to the ministry of finance and ask them… The finance minister will tell you that if it has to do with currency management, it doesn’t lie within his purview and that you should go to Bank of Ghana. So, if you have these two major institutions not working together, that is the kind of stress we find ourselves.”
Samson Asaki Awingobit

The Executive Secretary of IEAG lamented the skyrocketing customs duties business persons are confronted with. He explained that in September, duty was at 7.2% and eventually shot up to 9.5%, but currently stands at 9.6%.

“… We cry and ask what necessitated that increment of duty at the port…”
Samson Asaki Awingobit

Commenting on interventions by government to salvage the situation, Mr Awingobit highlighted that government has been dodgy in its quest to help. He recounted how government purportedly stated that the business community had turned down its overtures of help.

“… It is palpable lie. We had a meeting last week where the finance minister participated virtually from USA, the Governor of Bank of Ghana was in that meeting, and the minister of trade was in that meeting [and] agreed they will give a special rate at least for this Christmas clearance of goods at the port… Government is not ready, the government itself is creating the woes on us and so we cannot sit down and say all is well, when all is not well.”
Samson Asaki Awingobit