Many factories are on survival mode - AGI

The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has said some factories in the country were on the verge of collapse due to sustainability problems. According to the Vice President of AGI in charge of large manufacturing, Ashok Mohinani, the input cost of doing business has witnessed a sharp increase, thereby, having dire consequences on locally manufacturing businesses. He called on government to hold dialogues with the business community on the depreciation of the cedi and come out with pragmatic solutions to salvage the situation. Speaking at a press conference in Accra on October 1, 2022, Mr Mohinani said, “At the moment, there is quite lot of speculations and the biggest issue is the currency and we are nearly hitting ¢15. I think more communication will be very helpful.” “Most inputs cost have gone up and the factories are facing issues of sustainability on whether they can survive. But if the government and others will communicate, I think that will calm nerves,” he stated. Forex bureaus, as of Monday, October 24, 2022, are selling $1 at GH¢15.65 whiles the Bank of Ghana's rate is GH¢12.53. Meanwhile, Ghana is targeting an amount of $3 billion over a three-year period from the IMF once an agreement on a programme is reached. The new amount requested as a loan is double the government’s initial target of $1.5 billion. The IMF programme is aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability and safeguarding debt sustainability among many others. ESA/FNOQ