The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) has expressed concerns over the timing of the implementation of the reversal of the benchmark value policy and asked the Government to engage stakeholders.
The Association predicted that the immediate implementation of the reversal will lead to unbearable economic hardship for Ghanaians, especially during the fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
GUTA President, Dr. Joseph Obeng, in a statement, said the prices of essential commodities such as food, pharmaceuticals and others will be extremely unbearable for the consuming public, which will also affect the turnover and volume of trade in the country, and consequently lead to collapse businesses.
He said prevailing conditions on the world market show that commodity prices, freight charges and exchange rates are high and do not favour such a policy decision to be implemented this month.
Meanwhile, in an interview with GBC News, Dr. Joseph Obeng called on the government to fulfill its promise of prior engagement with shareholders before such major decisions are taken. Government must also outline mitigating measures to be implemented to help Ghanaian consumers.
AGI on Benchmark values;
The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has urged government not to pay heed to calls by some stakeholders for the implementation of the reversal of Benchmark values to be suspended for further consultations.
According to the Association, the government should go ahead with the implementation of the benchmark values while, it holds consultations with interested parties.
