Ghana is not the best investment destination – TUC

 

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has disputed government’s claim that the nation remains the best possible investment destination.

This was in response to the Minister of Finance, Seth Tekper’s appearance in Parliament on 1st April 2014where he made a major policy statement to MPs.

However, a statement signed by the Secretary General of the TUC, Kofi Asamoah stated that “with high interest rate of about 25 percent, reflecting the high cost of doing business in Ghana, the increasing cost of living, the unstable exchange rate, the poor sanitation in our cities, and the incessant traffic jams on our roads in the major cities we wonder why the Minister still thinks Ghana remains a favourable investment destination.”

The TUC subsequently advised the Minister to stop the “self-gratification, change the defensive posture he has adopted and get to serious business of managing the economy of Ghana. If, indeed, Ghana is a middle-income country, our policies must reflect that status.”

Speaking on Eyewitness News, the Deputy Secretary General of the TUC, Dr. Yaw Baah insisted that “this is not the time for the Minister to come and convince Ghanaians that we are doing well.”

According to him, Ghanaians have experienced both good times and bad times and “when we are in bad times, we know. We don’t really need the Minister to come and tell us that we are in good times when we know that our pockets are showing that we are in bad times.”

Mr. Baah acknowledged that some of the country’s economic challenges are linked to the global economy but was quick to add that many of the nation’s economic problems are self inflicted.

“…Our currency is falling like a stone from heaven but I will agree with you that part of our problem is linked to the external economy but a huge part of it is because we are not doing well economically,” he said.

He however did not agree with the Minority in Parliament that the economic challenges is due to the incompetence of government saying, “I am not going to say our government has been incompetent; they may be doing the best they could but we think that there is a lot more we can do.”

Source: citifmonline