The Food and Beverages Association of Ghana (FABAG) has pushed the government to include measures in the 2024 budget that would address the issues faced by private sector companies.
On Wednesday, November 15, 2023, the government’s 2024 Annual Budget Statement and Economic Policy are expected to be presented to Parliament by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.
There have been demands for the government to drastically cut back on spending before the presentation in order to save the failing economy.
John Awuni, President of FABAG, emphasised that although the private sector was crucial to the nation’s development, high tax and tariff rates were now causing it to function poorly.
Speaking in an interview on The Point of View on Citi TV on Monday, he stated, “Our expectation is that they will come out with policies that will address the private sector’s needs. We have said that the private sector is the engine of growth, but it appears that the private sector is not performing well due to high levels of taxation, due to high levels of tariff reviews.”
“So we are expecting that there will be major policies that will address the manufacturing and agricultural sectors in the country. We are expecting that the COVID-19 levy will be removed. We expect that the growth and sustainability levy will be removed. We expect that taxes that were also imposed on fruit juices, alcoholic beverages, and others will be removed.”
Mr. Awuni further said the government must strategically address the issue of unemployment in the country.
