Strengthen export sector to save cedi from depreciation - Former Prez Kufuor tells govt

Former President John Kufuor has called for a strong national policy that will support increased investments in the export sector to help migrate the economy from being import-dependent to one that thrives on exports.

That, he said, was needed to help increase export earnings and insulate the cedi against perennial depreciation.

The cedi has, since January this year, lost about 20 per cent of its value to the United States dollar and is currently trading at four cedis to a dollar on the interbank market.

Given that a weak currency increased the cost of business operations and threw the economy off guard, the former President said in Accra yesterday that the country needed to find a permanent solution to the depreciation of the cedi, otherwise the situation would continue to ruin the gains chalked up by businesses and the country in general.

He was speaking at the fifth anniversary symposium of Ideal Finance, a private company in Accra.

Cedi depreciation

The cedi depreciation has long become an issue of national concern and contributed to the growth of the national debt, the cost of doing business and the general well-being of the economy.

The development also creates an atmosphere of uncertainty in the economy, making it difficult for businesses and the government to plan.

President Kufuor said that uncertainty could be avoided if the country strengthened its export sector.

“To be able to predict on our currency, we need to earn the hard currencies, and with growing population and increasing needs, there is no way we can depend on our traditional raw material exports of gold, cocoa and other things,” he stressed.

He further advised that investments in the export sector should take the form of public/private partnerships (PPPs), where the government would create an enabling environment for private businesses to thrive.

Tax evasion

For his part, the CEO and Founder of Ideal Finance, Dr Nii kotei Dzani, called for clear policy directions from the government to stimulate growth in the private sector and help solve the country’s yawning unemployment gap.

While asking the government to find permanent solutions to the current power challenges, he said businesses also needed to kill the growing trend of tax evasion, which he said denied the government of the needed revenue to solve key economic challenges.

“While we blame the government for the challenges, let us also know that we the entrepreneurs are sometimes part of the challenge.

How many times have we, as business people, not evaded taxes? When we refuse to honour our tax obligations, where do we expect the government to get the resources to operate?” he asked.

The Chief of Staff, Mr Julius Debrah, who chaired the symposium, advised the youth to go into private business, instead of waiting to be employed.

“If five years ago someone could use GH¢27,000 to start a business and today it has grown to GH¢200 million, then you too can do same and, God willing, grow it even beyond that,” he said.