Dr Humphrey Ayim-Darke, President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), has praised local businesses for their unwavering commitment to productivity despite the many challenges.
He said businesses had to deal with global and local uncertainties of supply chain disruptions, foreign exchange fluctuations and rising energy costs.
Speaking at the AGI awards ceremony, he said Businesses across Ghana have had to rethink strategies, adapt processes and reinvent ways of working. “These uncertainties have undoubtedly tested our resilience and determination”, he added.
He said however, AGI is working with stakeholders to promote policies that favour local production and procurement.
On his part, Minister of Finance Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, said the economy had performed well in the first half of 2024, with significant contributions from the industrial and manufacturing sectors. Nonetheless, he said more work needed to be done to sustain the recent significant recovery.
Ghana’s economy grew 5.8% in the first six months of 2024, pointing to a stronger than expected recovery with hopes of even higher growth at full-year (FY) 2024.
The minister also lauded the industry’s contribution to the growth of Ghana’s economy, saying that, the industry recorded growth rates of 6.8% in the first quarter and 9.3% in second quarter-2024.
The manufacturing sector, which experienced negative growth in 2023, also grew by 2% in the first quarter and 2.8% in second quarter-2024. This consistency in growth signifies a return to job creation and wealth generation,” Dr. Amin Adam said.
While acknowledging that sustained efforts are needed to ensure long-term growth and tangible development, he noted that government’s efforts to address key challenges affecting the private sector – including reforms in tax collection and enhanced support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are yielding results.
The finance minister said the government acted swiftly to address harassment complaints by tax collectors from the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“We withdrew all frontline tax collectors and implemented a human-centric approach to tax collection,” he said. Despite the change in approach, he said the country had consistently exceeded its monthly tax revenue targets.
Recognizing that the country cannot achieve real growth without a strong small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector, he said, government launched the SME Growth and Opportunity (SME-GO) programme aimed at enhancing access to capital and capacity-building for small businesses.
SMEs contribute 70% to GDP and 85% of jobs in the country. “No country has achieved growth without the contributions of SMEs,” Amin Adam said.
He therefore stressed a need for empowering SMEs to generate internal economic growth rather than relying on external factors.
He said while the economy has bounced back significantly, the minister admitted there is still more work to be done in sustaining growth and delivering development.
Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority, Prof. Alex Dodoo, on his part called for improved collaboration between the private sector and state agencies to create a conductive business environment. He urged the private sector not to view state agencies as ‘bosses’ but partners in economic development.
