Ghana News Agency (Koforidua) – The president of the Ghana Union of Traders’ Associations (GUTA) has called for the establishment of a special bank to offer loans at a special rate to traders. Joseph Obeng said such a move will help industries in the country and also promote business.
He was speaking at a meeting of the national executive of GUTA and members of the association in Koforidua, Eastern Region.
He said the current interest rate of 25% is exploitative and that businesses and investors in Ghana could not compete on the international market, where their competitors have the benefit of loans at lower rates and other incentives.
Dr Obeng said that without such a bank and special rates, Ghanaians will not be able to take full advantage of the coming African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The AfCFTA, if successful, will become the largest trading block since the creation of the World Trade Organization in 1994, stitching together 1.2 billion people in a $3.4 trillion economic bloc.
International expansion
Dr Obeng explained that such a bank would help force local banks to lower their interest rates to promote business in the country better and enable them to compete with their counterparts in the international market.
Dr Obeng appealed to the leadership of the association in the Eastern Region to exercise restraint and allow the Presidential Special Task Force to operate and ensure that foreigners running retail businesses in Ghana comply with the laws of the country.
The Eastern Regional chairman of GUTA, Harry Oduro Awuku, appealed to the National Board for Small-Scale Industries (NBSSI) to be fair to all in implementing plans for the government’s COVID-19 stimulus fund.
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