AGI Chief warns of Ghana’s declining competitiveness amid rising business costs
Seth Twum-Akwaboah, the Chief Executive of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), has raised the alarm on Ghana’s diminishing competitiveness within the West African region.
In an interview on PM Express on Thursday, Mr Twum-Akwaboah highlighted the escalating costs of doing business as a primary concern and the major factor for the diminishing competitiveness of Ghanaian businesses.
The AGI boss pointed to an “unfriendly tax regime” and burgeoning operational expenses as significant obstacles facing Ghanaian enterprises. As a consequence, some businesses have resorted to relocating their operations outside the country in a bid to maintain competitiveness.
“Some enterprises in their attempt to cut their cost of operations have had to move some of their operations outside the country so they can remain competitive as a business”, he said.
Mr Twum-Akwaboah underscored Ghana’s unenviable position as the most expensive country for business operations among its regional counterparts. Despite efforts to spur growth, he lamented the lack of substantial improvements in Ghana’s business environment.
Calling for a policy overhaul, he emphasized the necessity for government intervention to alleviate the burden on the private sector. He stressed that businesses are not seeking protectionism but rather policies conducive to the growth of local manufacturing firms.
“Some of these businesses have built a model where they can move their operations elsewhere, in terms of where it is cheap to do business”.
“Industries are not asking for protectionism, but rather policies that will aid in the growth of local manufacturing firms”, he noted.
Speaking further, Mr Twum-Akwaboah noted that another major factor affecting the operations of businesses is the cost of finance in the country.
He said most enterprises are struggling because they cannot afford the high cost of borrowing to sustain their operations going forward.
