AGI alarmed by high interest rates

James Asare Adjei, President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), says the general business environment in the country is not encouraging, citing high inflation, unaffordable credit and the lack of ready market for locally-manufactured products.

He said the AGI was alarmed over the prevailing high interest rates charged by commercial banks, which he said was suffocating Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs).

Mr Adjei made the statement in a speech read on his behalf at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Association in Kumasi.

Robert Kwakye Nketia, Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo Zonal Manager, said most of the local businesses were under-performing largely because they “simply cannot access bank credit.”

He said that would have to change to enable the private sector to become the main pillar to anchor the growth of the nation’s economy.

Financial institutions must take steps to make credit more affordable, he said.

Mr Nketia noted that interest rates in the country ranked as the highest in the West African sub-region, which makes Ghanaian companies uncompetitive.

He said deliberate efforts must therefore be made to bring down the cost of doing business to give the local companies competitive edge over their counterparts in the sub-region.

The AGI Zonal Manager also complained about frequent power outage and said that was affecting the operations of businesses and productivity.

He said finding solution to the energy crisis should be the top most priority to ensure stability in the nation’s power sector.