The Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana has accused President Akufo-Addo of speaking with facts and figures on the issues of importation and its associated impact5 on the local economy.
Executive Secretary of the Association, Samson Awingobit, stated that the President engaged in rhetoric and ”there was nothing useful” that came out from his address on Sunday, October 30, 2022.
He stated that the President behaved as an opposition leader seeking an election and did not provide credible solutions that could help transform the economic crisis.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has pledged to diversify the Ghanaian economy and move it from an import-based to a value-added exporting one.
In his address on the current state of the economy, the President disclosed that this would strengthen the local economy.
To do this, the President announced that his government would discourage the importation of goods that could be produced in Ghana.
Some of the goods he mentioned were rice, water, pasta, fruit juice, toothpick, and ceramic tiles among others.
To this end, we will review the standards required for imports into the country, prioritise the imports, as well as review the management of our foreign exchange reserves, in relation to imports of products such as rice, poultry, vegetable oil, toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water and ceramic tiles, and others which, with intensified government support and that of the banking sector, can be manufactured and produced in sufficient quantities in Ghana. Government will, in May 2023, that is six (6) months from now, review the situation. We must, as a matter of urgent national security, reduce our dependence on imported goods, and enhance our self-reliance, as demanded by our overarching goal of creating a Ghana Beyond Aid.”
But Mr. Awingobit noted that what was expected from the President was practical solutions and not promises.
He said ”the President speaks without facts, figures and any actions. He behaves like a propagandist. As a president, you do not have to engage in propaganda. We expected him to declare that he would support manufacturers or provide alternatives to the importation he complained about.”.
”Ghanaians expected him to provide practical solutions and not to make empty promises. What specific was he prepared to do for us? We did not hear him say these things,” he added.
He further asserted that the statement delivered by the president was a rehash of the 2022 mid-year budget review and contained nothing new.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
