The Executive Secretary of the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana, Sampson Asaki Awingobit says the Mid-year budget review did not meet the expectation of business community..
The Finance Minister Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam in his presentation of the mid-year budget review statement on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, disclosed that public debt as at the end of June 2024 had shot up to GHC742billion up from GHC608.4 billion recorded at the end of last year.
This figure represents 70.6 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The Karaga MP stated, “This indicates an increase of 22.0 percent due to the effect of the cedi depreciation and continuous disbursements from creditors.”
But commenting on the budget review in an interview with Starr News, Sampson Asaki Awingobit said Importers and Exporters were expecting the government to abolish certain levies that will enhance their businesses.
“We were looking forward to see the government abolishing the special import levy. We also were looking forward to hear the government abolishing the upfront 2.5 VAT at the port, because everybody who imports into this country pays a duty plus an upfront tax if your invoice value is over GHC200,000 or so. Again, we were thinking that at least the COVID levy should have gone off the books so that it can give some reduction in prices. The last data shared by the Statistical Service showed a sharp increase in terms of food inflation in the country. So I can tell you quite frankly that we in the business community are not happy with what happened.”
Source: Kasapafmonline.com
