When a planned policy is perceived to be detrimental to the very survival of the people it’s meant to help, the best thing to always do is to chuck it aside and allow the system to run its course and on its own merits.

Unarguably, not all plans are good and worthy of being implemented and not all ideas are fit for purpose in the context of driving the economy forward.

This was evidently witnessed when the trades minister, K.T Hammond, laid before parliament the import restriction bill which seeks to restrict the importation of 22 selected strategic goods such as rice, Guts, bladders and stomach of animals, Poultry, Animal and Vegetable Oil, Margarine and Fruit Juices.

The rest include soft drink, Mineral Water, Noodles and Pasta, Ceramic Tiles, Corrugated Paper and Paper Board, Mosquito Coil and Insecticides, Soaps and Detergents, Motor Cars, Iron and Steel, Cement, Polymers (Plastics and Plastic Products), Fish, Sugar, Clothing and Apparel, Biscuits and Canned Tomatoes.

For obvious reasons, this was met with strong resistance from the trading community and the minority in parliament who were averse to the idea of the bill simply because they reckoned it unfit for the current economic situation.

Among other reasons, they maintained that such move will be detrimental to the country’s economy especially so because Ghana hasn’t attained a self-sufficient status to restrict the importation of such goods.

Additionally, the mere thought of power being entrusted to the hands of the trades minister to determine who is worthy of being granted permit to import certain categories of products into the country also did not sit well with Ghanaians.

As a result, government has announced the suspension of the Export and Import Regulations 2023 Bill, halting its planned implementation after facing significant opposition.

Trading community welcomes suspension of Import restriction bill

Reacting to the suspension of the bill, President of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Dr Joseph Obeng, has commended parliament for the decision to suspend the bill.

He revealed that although the trading community supports the idea of industrializing the country and ensuring it remains “self-sufficient”, government did not act right in seeking to restrict importation of some goods.

“It is a wise decision that has been taken by government because the L.I did not have any basis. It did not hold any foundation and they were doing it out of emptiness [and] we cannot do things like that…”
Dr Joseph Obeng

Furthermore, Dr Obeng stated that traders are the first persons to propagate the restriction bill, however, in its current form, it will not yield the desired results. He contended that subjecting traders to the issuance of permit is “uncalled for in this modern age of trade liberalization”.

“You said that we have to do import substitution, yes, but when you tell me we have to substitute import then we have to have availability of the goods here so when I stop importing, I can lay hands on the goods here. That’s why they are not implementing the right measures that will make sure that we shore up productivity.”
Dr Joseph Obeng

Indeed, the idea of power being entrusted to one person is bad enough, and also queuing to petition for permit to import restricted products is another ball game.

It is high time government treads on the path of being proactive than reactive. In any case, the relevance of adequate consultation cannot be overemphasized as the people who will be directly impacted by such move need to be engaged on the matter.

Moreso, the other prospect and the potential for increased corruption under the proposed regulations need to be thoroughly assessed before implementation can begin.