President Akufo-Addo has indicated that there is an ongoing debate within government to pass a decision on whether or not Ghana should abolish the system of duties payment on imported goods at the ports.
Mr. Akufo-Addo said this whilst addressing journalists at his final media encounter for 2018 on Wednesday, December 19 at the Jubilee House.
He used the encounter to update the media and the general public on happenings within several sectors of the country’s economy, including agriculture, railway, aviation, roads, banking and the judicial system.
According to him, “On high import duties, there is a major debate going on inside our government right now about what action we are going to take on the duties.”
President Akufo-Addo added that “there is a strong lobby that is saying that we should go, for instance, the level of Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai – almost no import duties, everything comes in and it will generate a lot of business.
According to the president, the outcomes of the ongoing debate on the way forward for the maintenance or abolishment of duties payment system would be made public within due course.
“That argument is being made. The traditional argument is also being made that we maintain the duty system. I am hoping that very soon the final result of that debate inside the government will be known to the Ghanaian people,” he pointed out.
By Melvin Tarlue, DGN
