Nana Sekyere Boateng, a final year law student at KNUST and an aspiring NPP Brong Ahafo Regional Youth Organiser, has called on the Mills� government to either reconsider or withdraw its 2010 Budget Statement and Economic Policy.
Speaking to Daily Guide, Mr. Boateng said the government�s aim of encouraging local production, creating jobs and conserving foreign exchange by restoring duties on imported rice, is going to have a negative effect on the average Ghanaian.
Mr. Boateng noted that foreign rice importers would continue to import rice at a higher price with Ghanaians having to pay more for it.
He disclosed that those who cannot afford to pay would have to look elsewhere for a substitution. And with maize being the number one alternative, its prices would also rise in proportion with that of rice.
In view of this, Mr. Boateng is concerned about the effect the rising cost of maize would have on poultry farmers, who rely on the commodity to feed their animals. With this year already being a mad season for maize production because of worm diseases and reduced rainfall, Mr. Boateng is worried that any move by government to restore duties on imported rice would worsen the plight of maize consumers in the nation.
He is therefore, calling on the state to reconsider its Budget for 2010 since it could lose revenue as a result of smuggling in addition to the hardships the restoration of duties on the said commodity would inflict on the ordinary Ghanaian.
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