According to the AGI, GUTA’s lack of support for local manufacturers will not help in Ghana’s industrialization drive. GUTA has warned of intense protests if the government goes ahead to reverse the policy.

Speaking at the 61st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the association, its president Dr. Yaw Adu Gyamfi thanked the government for its decision to reverse the policy and urged members of GUTA to comply with it.

“I would like to take this opportunity to commend the government for taking the bold decision to reverse the discount on the benchmark values on selected products which were introduced in April 2019, in spite of the massive pressures from our colleagues who import finished products into the country”.

He added, “You may all recall that at our Annual General Meeting two years ago, at the Trade Fair Site, I stated that the 50% reduction in the Benchmark value of imports ran counter to Ghana’s industrial development agenda and for that matter, government own effort at industrializing the country through various policy initiatives, such as the IDIF. I cautioned that it posed a great threat to our local industry, today, a lot of manufacturing companies have been hit by this policy which is threatening their growth and competitiveness of the sector. That is why we are particularly appreciative of the government’s bold action to reverse the policy on selected products. It is important to emphasise that the policy has not been totally scrapped, it is only a review on selected products which are produced locally”.

“We urge our colleagues from Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) to cooperate with us and resort to dealing in Ghanaian made products to supply their customers instead of attacking local manufacturers”.