The Ghana Union Traders’ Association (GUTA), says it is prudent for the government to ban the importation of selected products rather than impose restrictions on them.
The President of GUTA, Dr. Joseph Obeng who made the statement added that it is important for every country to achieve self-sufficiency, however the appropriate course of action has become a challenge.
Speaking to journalists in Parliament on Tuesday, Dr. Obeng stated that the approach government intends to use in building the local industry would be counterproductive.
He observed that the success of other industries is not solely attributed to obtaining permits, saying some locally produced goods are not thriving as expected when similar actions were taken by the government.
According to Dr. Joseph Obeng, the way to go is not restricting importation and GUTA has even made it clear that Ghana will be better off with a ban rather than restriction.
The GUTA president further clarified that they would not accept anything that would impede trade facilitation and hinder business growt in this era of trade liberalization. He also explained that there would be serious challenges if the country does not have the produce or theproduce are excessively priced, which may hinder sales to neighbouring countries.
In light of this, GUTA emphasised the urgent need to address the issue instead of imposing restrictions on the goods.
Dr. Obeng underscored that achieving the country’s goals requires implementing appropriate measures to ensure clear alternatives are available, especially in the context of importation.
