Dr. Priscilla Tumasi Baffour, Senior Lecturer at the Economics Department of the University of Ghana, has stated that stable macroeconomic conditions are essential for manufacturing firms to thrive in Ghana.
She believes that if this environment is created, it will allow the country to attract foreign investment to the business sector.
Stable macroeconomic conditions are the cost of capital. A stable currency is required for industrialisation. Inflation must be controlled. She listed the components of the mentioned macroeconomic environments.
Dr TwumasiBaffour, speaking on Joynews Newsfile on Saturday, stated that current manufacturing is not business-friendly.
She said that the unfriendly manufacturing sector has forced manufacturers to export goods and products.
Manufacturing is not appealing, and that is evident when you speak to our business people. It is more appealing to buy and sell in Ghana rather than to manufacture. Many of the challenges facing the sector are daunting. She spoke of infrastructure, access to credit and cost of energy. The entire business environment is hostile to manufacturing activities. That is why no one would rather go outside to produce goods with local names, and then bring them to the market.
She pointed out that goods produced abroad can lead to the loss of jobs in Ghana because these avenues are not available in the country.
Dr Twumasi Banfour, a doctor in Zambia, called for the repositioning and restructuring of manufacturing companies to address the problems arising from the country’s manufacturing sector.
She stated that the country will lose if we don’t position our manufacturing companies to take advantage of the Free trade agreement’s opportunities.
According to her, in order to allow manufacturing companies to grow, we must limit our borrowing so that government does not have to borrow from the private sector.
She also recommended that government keeps “its budget in check in terms of revenue and expenditure.
Dr Twumasi Banfour also spoke out about the country’s unemployment rate.
She stated that the country’s unemployment rate is alarming and that it is a national security risk.
She pointed out that in order to solve the problem, the government must critically examine our strategies for employment generation.
“As a country, we need to take a serious look at the structure of the economy and the sources. Why is the economy able to grow on average but not generate jobs? She suggested that it might be time to take a look at our industrialization strategy over time.