Employers worried over microeconomic environment

The Ghana Employers’ Association (GEA) has expressed its displeasure at the turn of events in Ghana’s economy.

According to the Association, the unpredictable and unstable nature of the microeconomic environment remains a daunting challenge to employers.

“The current rate of inflation of about 19% has significantly affected the cost of borrowing as interest rate hovers around 30% and beyond,” Mr Terence Darko, President of the GEA said, adding: “Access to credit is on the decline since businesses are competing with government for credit from the banks.”

Mr Darko was speaking at a short event held in Accra to make public the association’s outlook for 2016.

The President of the Association also expressed concern about the depreciation of the cedi to other currencies, which he said made business budgeting, planning and forecasting difficult and unpredictable.

He added that counterfeiting and illicit trade in the country has heightened competition as legitimate businesses cannot compete with pirates who take a free-ride on the work of others without contributing to research and development.

“The combined effect of these developments conspires to make the cost of doing business higher in Ghana and, therefore, renders our business entities uncompetitive. Employers need a predictable and stable macroeconomic environment,” Mr Darko said.

Mr Darko, therefore, urged government to equip the regulatory bodies with the needed tools to strengthen their efforts in combating counterfeit and illicit trade in the country.

He said a conducive environment for doing business is critical to the success of any business entity, especially the private sector.

Mr Darko urged government, through the Ministry of Finance, to strengthen dialogue with business and industry to find strategies to improve the situation.

He said the association is working hard to complete its permanent office accommodation and added that the council has approved the architectural designs for the construction of the building due to start in April 2016.

Mr Darko called on employers to ensure transparency in all their affairs as the country prepares for the presidential and parliamentary polls

This, he said, is critical because businesses need a stable and peaceful political environment to operate and partner government in national development.