• Live Radio
  • Videos
  • About
  • Contact
  • Despite Media
Ghana Election 2020
  • Home
  • Local News
  • Politics
  • Showbiz
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • VIDEOS
  • Media
    • Videos
    • Audio
    • Live Radio
    • Photos
  • Election 2020
Local News
 
 
 
Home Business Business News 201502

Ghana Risks Losing Out On EPAs

25-Feb-2015
/ Business News, Business
Email
Print
Comments 0
(0)
Comments
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter
 

Prof John Asafu-Adjaye, a visiting fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), has stated that a reciprocal trade agreement with the European Union (EU) is likely to have an adverse effect on ECOWAS countries, including Ghana.

Prof Asafu-Adjaye, who was making a presentation at a roundtable conference yesterday in Accra on implications of Government�s endorsement of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) on Ghana�s economic growth, said while households would experience welfare gains from the reduced import prices, most industries would suffer severe contractions.

Questioning how the trade with the EU was going to be done, he stressed: �Should we go into the EPAs without improving our competitiveness, the Europeans would win. How can the Europeans come and put up their factories here while there is no power and water and the cost of doing business is high?�

According to him, part of the EPAs include assistance from the EU to improve Ghana�s infrastructure, adding that though the Europeans promised to help in that regard since 2007, they have not fulfilled their promise.

The visiting fellow added that Ghana�s trade standards were low and therefore needed an upgrade.

Seth Adjei Baah, president of the Ghana National of Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GNCCI), said �They want to try and create employment for their people. Other than that all the raw materials are here. Why don�t they come here with their technology to do production here and export? For me, it�s a big challenge for Ghana signing the EPAs and I have always been saying it. The structures are just not there. What are we producing zero?

�Now we have problems and huge interests that we are paying, and there is no electricity and water while the cost of doing business and everything is high. If we allow them to export here, we are going to break the foundation of our production. All the businesses here are going to collapse.

�Secondly, if we look at the tax exemption, we are not just going to lose the taxes from Europe, we are going to lose all other taxes from other parts of the world. We will end up invoicing everything from Europe and Government will lose every revenue. So we should look at it realistically.�

Touching on the assertion that the cedi�s devaluation to some extent worked to Ghana�s advantage, he said that would have been the case if we were seriously exporting? If we are not exporting anything and about 85 percent of everything we use is imported, then what are we talking about?

Eva Lokko, a former Director General of Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), opined that the local industry was definitely going to die with the type of EPA that Ghana was looking to.

�What will happen to the young farmers, where are they going to sell their produce? We have to be in a situation where we have some sort of control. We currently have no control. We have to do the terms so the EU can come and do the negotiation. The EU has something to gain and so it has to come and negotiate.

�When we talk about products going outside, they set the parameters, we don�t. We don�t have control of the parameters and yet we have signed up. Now how are we going to beat the competition.

According to her, Ghana is not competitive, there are no plans to become competitive. We are not encouraging local industry. We are not encouraging innovation from our youth and then we walk into the EPAs and think that once we are there things would work to our advantage.

�If you talk about competitiveness, we need to achieve that before we talk about EPAs? But now we have walked into it already and we are going to ask our competitors to come and help us compete with them. It doesn�t work that way.�

Source: Daily Guide

 

 
 

 

Comments ( 0 ): Post Your Comments >>

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.
Featured Video
Previous Post

NPA Pays Arrears to BDCs

Next Post

World Trade Centre Accra Office Opens For Business

 
 

More Stories

WAMI Partners EMTECH SOLUTIONS To Modernize Fintech Regulatory Frameworks Across WAMZ
Bayport MD, Akwasi Aboagye Wins Top Award At Seventh Ghana CEO Summit & Expo
Mastercard Partners Ghana Cyber Security Authority To Fight Fraud
Ghana Remains Competitive But Losing Ground To Senegal And Ivory-Coast
Standard Chartered Outdoors 20 Female Owned Businesses In SC Women In Technology Incubator, Cohort 3
Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) Cracks Whip On Tax Defaulters in Accra - VIDEO
CSOs Kick Against Attempt To Sell 50% Interest Of JOHL
Alex Apau Dadey, KGL Sweep Group CEO For Conglomerate Business & Diaspora Business Of The Year 2023
High Commissioner Owusu-Ankomah Confer With Business Leaders In London
Next Post

World Trade Centre Accra Office Opens For Business

  Ghana Business News

  • General News
  • Economy
  • Banking & Finance
  • Stock Market
  • Industry/Manufacturing


 
 

Other Business News Stories

  • WAMI Partners EMTECH SOLUTIONS To Modernize Fintech Regulatory Frameworks Across WAMZ

  • Bayport MD, Akwasi Aboagye Wins Top Award At Seventh Ghana CEO Summit & Expo

  • Mastercard Partners Ghana Cyber Security Authority To Fight Fraud

  • Ghana Remains Competitive But Losing Ground To Senegal And Ivory-Coast

  • Standard Chartered Outdoors 20 Female Owned Businesses In SC Women In Technology Incubator, Cohort 3

  • Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) Cracks Whip On Tax Defaulters in Accra - VIDEO

  • CSOs Kick Against Attempt To Sell 50% Interest Of JOHL

  • Alex Apau Dadey, KGL Sweep Group CEO For Conglomerate Business & Diaspora Business Of The Year 2023

  • High Commissioner Owusu-Ankomah Confer With Business Leaders In London

  • Betika Launches USSD-Based Betting Experience For Customers

 

 
 

Popular Videos

Ade Akye Abia With Kwame Nkrumah Tikese On Okay 101.7 Fm (24/05/2023)

MIDDAY NEWS 26/05/23

LATE NEWS DISCUSSION 26/05/23

DISCUSSION SEGMENT ON ADEKYE NSROMA 25/05/23

DAWURO 25/05/23

LATE NEWS DISCUSSION 25/05/23

Peace FM Online and Despite Media

peacefmonline.com offers its reading audience with a comprehensive online source for up-to-the-minute news about politics, business, entertainment and other issues in Ghana

Follow us on social media:

Category

  • Home
  • Local News
  • Politics
  • Showbiz
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Trivia
  • Foreign
  • Audio
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Elections
Decision Time
Ghana Election 2020 2016 Elections
Services
Live Radio Audio on Demand Ghana Elections Advertise with Us
Useful Links
Despite Media About Us Contact Us Feedback Form Terms and Conditions Privacy
Our Brands
Despite Media UTV Peace FM Okay FM Hello FM Neat FM Peacefmonline
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Contact
  • Privacy

© 2020 Peacefmonline.com - An online portal owned and managed by Despite Media

  • Home
  • Local News
  • Politics
  • Showbiz
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Articles
  • Trivia
  • Foreign
  • Live Radio
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Audio
  • Election 2020

© 2020 Peacefmonline.com - An online portal owned and managed by Despite Media