The President of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Dr. Joseph Obeng, has indicated that the recent economic recession in the country has adversely affected the businesses of the GUTA members from 2022 through 2023. He therefore urged the government to find ways of sustaining the stability of the economic indicators to ensure good business for traders.
He stated that the GUTA expects the President, H.E Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, to address how the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program will be implemented to help GUTA members in his State of the Nation’s Address (SONA). He stated that the GUTA expects the VAT on electricity tax and some other taxes to be completely abolished.
“Because businesses have suffered in the past and if the indicators are getting better, we do not need any further cost of doing business to come and harm the recovery process that businesses are going to have. So for me, these are the areas I want the President to dwell on to have the stability of the economy intact so businesses can recoup our losses”.
Dr. Joseph Obeng
Accordingly, Dr. Joseph Obeng stated that the GUTA was opposed to the VAT on electricity and emission taxes to ensure that businesses are not overburdened with taxes and other expenditures that may affect their growth negatively.
He also stated that the GUTA expects the President to adopt some fiscal discipline concerning election expenditure. He emphasized that the current monetary and inflation rates are not encouraging enough and a huge election expenditure will only make issues worse for businesses.
Subsequently, the President of GUTA disclosed that the abolishment of the ‘nuisance’ taxes by the incumbent government in its first tenure of office improved the growth of business in 2017-2020. However, he indicated that in 2022, during the second tenure of the government, the high exchange and monetary policy rates led to the loss of 52% of the business capital of GUTA members.
“This is all that we seek as businesses, that government should do everything to sustain it [inflation rate and monetary policy]. They have to do everything possible to make sure that we can access the third tranche of the IMF bailout money and government also not overspending”.
Dr. Joseph Obeng
State Of Ghanaian Businesses
Dr. Joseph Obeng further revealed that the business sector is not competitive because the cost of borrowing from the bank is high. He asserted that high interest rates increase the prices of goods which limits business revenue.
He stated that businesses were going down in 2022, especially because the purchasing power of the consumer was curtailed by the high inflation rates and increase in prices of goods. He emphasized that Ghanaian businesses were unable to compete with other businesses in the region because they had the advantage of a good monetary policy and a stable inflation rate which Ghana did not.
Consequently, the President of GUTA stated that the performance of the government concerning the growth of businesses should be weighed based on its performance from 2017 to the present date. He stressed that many business owners may assess the government’s performance differently based on diverse factors.
Recently, the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) announced its intention to establish a social contract with presidential candidates in the upcoming 2024 elections. This agreement, GUTA indicated, will be attached to the candidates’ economic policies and manifesto pledges.
The aim of this social contract between the GUTA and the presidential candidates is to demand accountability from the presidential candidates and to test their reliability and truthfulness.
Resounding the thoughts of the business community, Dr. Joseph Obeng emphasized the significance of economic policies favorable for the growth of business, the creation of revenue through taxation – albeit reasonable –, and the creation of employment opportunities for the youth. He urged all political parties and candidates to engage at length with the GUTA and consider its suggestions during the drafting of their campaign manifestos.
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