Business News of Wednesday, 11 February 2015
Source: citifmonline.com
First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Ebo Barton Oduro has rejected claims by some business operators that they are folding up because of the power crisis in the country.
According to him, there is the need for these companies to assess themselves to ensure they are doing the right things so that they do not fold-up prematurely.
This sharply contrasts claims by the Association of Ghana industries (AGI) and recently the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) that the power crisis is largely to blame for the current challenges where industries are collapsing and workers being laid off.
He made these remarks in an interview with Citi News after the launch of a book on Strategic Management authored by Wenchi Member of Parliament (MP), Professor George Gyan Baffour.
Barton Oduro advised that businesses must strategize and formulate plans, as well as conduct regular assessment of their businesses.
“If business owners are unable to implement, then we are not getting anywhere and that is why I talked about the assessment,” he opined.
He stressed that after every substantial period, businesses must assess themselves to find out “why did you fail in this regard and what can you do to better your lot the next around?”
First Deputy Speaker added that if all these factors are duly considered, businesses will survive despite the current challenges.
He said: “We need to measure all these things and that is why quite a number of businesses, and I am not saying all businesses tend to end up collapsing prematurely. I don’t think they go through this kind of processes.”
The power crisis which has existed for three years has adversely affected businesses, households and industries.
The AGI and other industry players have been appealing to the government to urgently address the matter to prevent businesses from relocating to other neighbouring countries where power supply is reliable.
According to them, the biggest challenge industry is facing is erratic power supply captured in the AGI Afrobarometer report.
Their second and third biggest challenges are access to credit and cedi depreciation.
Throughout 2014, the socio-economic challenges which the country experienced have also been attributed to the many failing businesses.
The depreciation of the cedi which led to the implementation of some strict forex rules by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) is also said to have affected businesses, especially in 2014.
Ghana is currently in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout programme to help the economy back on its feet.
In relation to power, the government and agencies within the energy sector have indicated they are working to find a lasting solution to the energy crisis.