‘We need Gov’t support’ - IEAG

Executive secretary for the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana (IEAG), Sampson A. Asaki, has openly wept over the devastating effects of the energy crisis and the unstable Ghana currency on the operations of manufacturers.

He has, therefore, made a passionate appeal to the government to quickly work out an effective incentive that would help mitigate the huge losses that manufacturers are incurring in order to help them boost their operations and stay in business.

Mr Asaki made the appeal to government when he embarked on a day’s working tour of Sethi Manufacturing Company Limited in Kumasi.

The tour which saw him visiting other companies was to enable him to ascertain how the companies were faring.

He lamented that manufacturers in the country had incurred huge operational and production losses due to the energy crisis which had rocked the country for some years, hence the need for the government to provide some sort of cushioning to manufacturers.

“I am pleading with government to provide tangible incentives to both exporters and importers, especially manufacturers in the steel sector so as to cushion them from the costs they are incurring due to the debilitating effects of the dumsor,” he said.

Mr Asaki particularly launched a passionate appeal to government “to liaise with these companies as they draw up a strategy to give tax incentives as well as cut down the prices of the electricity costs so as to allow these companies some breathing space.”

Arvinder Singh, Managing Director for Sethi Manufacturing Company Limited, Kumasi, a subsidiary of the Sethi Group of Companies, pleaded with the government to offer them some concessionary packages so as to keep them in business.

According to him, though they have bigger power plants to cater for its power requirements when power supply is cut, the company which employs over 150 Ghanaians spends almost four percent of its capital on its energy needs.