Dr. Humphrey Ayim-Darke, the president of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), has expressed worries about how an excessively liberalized market would affect Ghana’s economy.
In an interview with JoyNews’ PM Express, Dr. Ayim-Darke voiced concerns regarding the current state of market liberalization, claiming that the openness that permits anyone to import a broad variety of goods has a negative impact on the foreign exchange reserves of the nation.
He maintained that the unchecked flood of imports clogs the channels and starts a domino effect that has a major impact on foreign exchange rates and causes uncertainty in the lending and policy sectors.
“We operate in a liberalized market whereby every Tom, Dick, and Harry can import anything they want into the nation, thus creating confusion.”
“And the cascading effect is that it has a big impact on your forex, and once that happens, it sets off your lending rate and policy, which causes complete confusion,” the speaker said.
He emphasized that Ghana, being a middle- or low-developing country, should not take a stance where rules are flouted. He also outlined the possible fallout from a liberalized economy.
He contrasted Ghana’s current trend with more developed nations such as China and the United States of America, pointing out that even in those countries, regulations are not completely abandoned.
The President of AGI emphasized that the current state of affairs in Ghana permits people to import almost anything without sufficient controls, which adds to the difficulties the manufacturing sector faces.
He claimed that local manufacturing has suffered as a result of the unrestrained free market, which has hampered its expansion and sustainability.
Dr. Ayim-Darke advocated for a more restrained approach to imports and urged reevaluating the present liberalized economic model.
According to him, Ghana’s economy would benefit more from a balanced and regulated system that offers stability and encourages the growth of the manufacturing sector.
