Nana Osei Bonsu, CEO of the Private Enterprise Federation (PEF), has urged the Government to enact an Import Licensing policy that will control import rate in the country.
He claims that, taking such action is essential in order to protect part of the nation’s foreign exchange reserve and stop the flood of imported goods from entering the domestic market.
The PEF CEO made the suggestion at the launching of the Youth Entrepreneurship Summit and Expo on Wednesday November 1, 2022. The Expo is expected to start on December 7 and end on December 11, 2022 in Kumasi.
He also added that, the next step is to present a proposal on the implementation of the import license to government. He further added that this has become prudent because the locals are unable to compete when there are goods that are readily available in large quantities on the Ghanaian market, yet individuals bring them in and undercut the price locally.
He also stated that, this license will compel applicants to explain why they must be allowed to import a particular commodity using the country’s precious resources.
He added that, in as much as the Import License is necessary, since it will enable the country to reduce its exposure to the weakening of the economy, there should be a wider consultation before implementation.
Additionally, the import license can assist in avoiding problems like, for instance, importing more pillows than the country will ever need in 10 years.
People regard import licenses as a barrier; however, they are necessary to support our decision to let importers use our foreign currency to import specific goods,” he stressed.
Background
Since the beginning of this year, there has been high cost of living due to rising inflation and the depreciation of the Ghanaian Cedi among others.
When the cedi depreciates and people import goods, the imported goods become very expensive, and this raises the cost-of-living high making life unbearable for traders and buyers. The other side too is that the high cost of imported goods further contributes to high inflation in the country.
Local importers are worried since the high cost in import would collapse their businesses due to the depreciation of the cedi to major international currencies.
Again, cost of petrol and diesel in Ghana has been increased to GH₵17 and GH₵23 from GHc6 and GHc7 per litter respectively from the beginning of January this year.
One of the major reasons for the high cost of fuel in the country is because greater quantity of refined fuel is imported even though Ghana is an oil producing country.
As a result of these factors, there is the need to implement an Import License in order to permit importers to import an indicated quantity of goods over a specific period of time.
Source: Benedicta Naa Adukwei Lloyd