Solomon Owusu is the Director of Communications for United Party (UP)
The Director of Communications of the United Party, Solomon Owusu, has called on the Bank of Ghana to require commercial banks to use at least five percent of their profits to provide loans to businesses without demanding landed property as collateral.
He said the move would help improve access to credit for businesses, particularly local manufacturers and other private sector operators who struggle to secure financing because of strict collateral requirements.
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Speaking on the issues he expects the Finance Minister to address in the 2027 Budget, Owusu said the cost of borrowing in Ghana remains high compared with rates in some neighbouring countries.
He acknowledged that lending rates had declined from previous levels but argued that Ghana was still not competitive within the West African sub-region.
“Ghana cannot be in isolation where we will be doing double-digit interest rates,” he said, citing Togo, Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso, where he claimed borrowing rates were below five per cent.
Owusu urged the Finance Minister to work closely with the Bank of Ghana to continue reducing interest rates and create better conditions for businesses to access affordable credit.
He also identified the use of land and property as collateral as one of the major barriers preventing businesses from obtaining loans to expand their operations.
According to him, the central bank must consider policies that encourage commercial banks to support businesses based on their ability to operate and repay loans rather than relying heavily on landed property as security.
Beyond access to credit, Owusu called for greater investment in local manufacturing to reduce Ghana's dependence on imported goods and create more jobs.
He questioned why Ghana continued to import nearly US$100 million worth of tomatoes from Burkina Faso despite having fertile agricultural land that could support local production.
“How can we be importing close to $100 million worth of tomatoes from Burkina when we have, as a matter of fact, fertile lands?” he asked.
He also called for more support for existing pharmaceutical companies to expand their operations, noting that Ghana imports close to US$600 million worth of pharmaceutical products annually.
Owusu said government should engage companies already operating in the sector to identify their challenges and provide the support needed to increase local production.
He further stressed that expanding manufacturing would require reliable and affordable electricity, adding that energy costs could affect the ability of local businesses to compete.
He said the government's plans to invest in the energy sector must therefore be matched with measures to ensure manufacturers have access to power at affordable rates.
ANAS/EB
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