Mark Badu-Aboagye, the CEO of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI), has expressed dissatisfaction with the pace at which firms are failing as a result of the multiple levies levied against them.
Mr. Badu-Aboagye stated that because of the economic difficulties impacting their operations, members of the chamber have no choice but to fire employees.
In an interview with PM Express, he stated that employers are dissatisfied with the status of the economy right now. On the other hand, in order to guarantee sustainability, he advocated for government action to help down operating costs.
“Last year, one of our employees managed to employ over 125 people, but he has now stopped working on some of his projects. Because it is challenging to satisfy some of these employees’ needs, he will eventually close down some of his plants”, he explained.
He continued by saying that the industry sector, in particular, has continuously had negative growth in 2023, exposing the general difficulties that firms confront.
“As of the third quarter of 2023, the growth of GDP was 2%. And when you look at the details you will realise that most of the sectors are not doing well. Consistently from the beginning of the year to now. The industry sector has recorded negative growth. It’s only in the last quarter that the manufacturing sector recorded a 2% growth. So it shows clearly that businesses are not doing well”.
“If they are operating efficiently, they will create a lot, and when you multiply that amount by the market value, your GDP [gross domestic product] will increase. Therefore, it makes sense for the government to look up the GDP to learn about the health of Ghanaian firms,” he stated.
