Ghanaian businesses have been advised to improve their internal structures and risk management practices to compete more effectively, both locally and internationally.

The Deputy Minister of Finance, Stephen Amoah, highlighted the need for Ghanaian business owners to build stronger foundations in addressing their concerns about the influx of foreign businesses operating in the country.

“If most of you are to present how you’re doing your investment, your manufacturing, importation, the things I’ll point out to you, you’ll be shocked. How many of you even set annual budgets, and strictly go by them as a company?How many of you honestly and properly do bookkeeping, and build that up to presenting your financial statement before even going to investment and go for loans? Most of the time, people just cook figures and they get someone just to stamp,” he said.

“Government will do its part, but it is time our investors and businessmen understood how things are changing. They should involve proper staff in terms of models and professionals to develop businesses. Our businessmen should understand how to even build their value chains apart from getting profit,” Dr. Amoah said.

“Government will come, government will go. The interest rate will be 1%, but ask yourself if you don’t also build some resilience as a private entrepreneur, how does your business compete with others?” the Deputy Minister further queried.

He was interacting with policymakers and business leaders at the 2024 Mid-Year Stakeholders Meeting in Accra.

The meeting was to discuss the 2024 budget implementation, and receive input for consideration into the document.

The stakeholders included civil society organisations, think tanks, academia, trade organisations, faith-based organisations and social partners as well as financial and non-financial institutions.

Dr. Stephen Amoah also disclosed efforts by the government to create a viable small and medium-scale enterprise (SME)ecosystem. He announced the upcoming launch of the SME Growth and Opportunity Programme tomorrow, Tuesday, July16.

“The Development Bank Ghana, as part of the program, is looking to channel close to GHC1.4 billion through the financial sector for onward lending to SMEs. Development partners such as the IFC are also looking to structure a $400 million package to complement this financial support and ensure we can close the financing gap for our SMEs over the medium term,” he said.

“Along that vision, we will continue to engage with PFIs to ensure you remain an important anchor of our economic progress,” he added.

Interacting with the media on the sidelines of the event, the President of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Dr. Joseph Obeng, expressed satisfaction at the government’s pledge of no new taxes to be announced in the upcoming Mid-Year Budget Review presentation scheduled for July 23.

“As you may recall, just recently we were talking about the imposition of a 5% tax on plastics and we are very happy to hear that there’s not going to be another layer of cost of doing business in this country,” he said.

On the depreciation of the cedi, Dr. Joseph Obeng attributed it to the excessive importation caused mostly by the foreign businesses operating in the country, saying “the local contribution to this problem is just 20%.”

The GUTA boss highlighted the need for the diversification of trade and proposed a retention policy by the government.

“…the reality on the ground is that the proceeds that we make from export do not return to the country. Whatever exportsfrom oil, from gold, except cocoa, are dominated by foreigners, these leave the shores of the country, and the returns, the proceeds, actual proceeds do not return. And so we should also find a way to have a retention policy where some of these funds can be retained,” he said.

“Government should also make a serious effort to invest in the more lucrative areas rather than leaving it all to these foreigners. As much as we need foreign direct investment, there should be regulations around it so that we do not lose our economy to them entirely,” Dr. Obeng added.