The Chief Executive Officer of McDAN Group of Companies, Dr. Daniel McKorle, has asserted that if drastic measures are not put in place, multinational businesses will continue to leave Ghana’s economy.
The businessman indicated that domestic businesses will suffer from collapse while foreign-owned companies exit Ghana’s market, due largely to the harsh business environment.
Mr. McKorle, however, underscored the importance of having the presence of multinational companies operating in the country.
“It is not going to get any better if we don’t take drastic and dramatic intents. I am an entrepreneur and to scan the environment, we are more concerned today because the foreigners are leaving, it is an alarm but how many local businesses are collapsing every day,” he noted in an interview on Accra-based Joy FM on Thursday.
According to the businessman, despite Ghana’s “small economy”, the country’s overreliance on imports poses a significant challenge to expanding the economy. This, he said, has reduced Ghana to “a dumping ground” for big companies.
He also lamented over the tax regime system, which suffocates local businesses. Mr. McKorle urged the government to implement proper tax policies that are business-friendly to allow businesses to thrive.
“We have a very small economy and we are being turned gradually over the years as dumping ground and we are becoming more of a consuming nation. We are not producing anything and we are not exporting anything.
“Foreign direct investments are not coming and leaving, something is fundamentally wrong,” he emphasised.
He continued, “We don’t have indigenous big businesses that will rake in foreign exchange. Everything we consume here is imported.”
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI), Mark Badu-Aboagye, has observed that Ghana is gradually losing its position as a favourable destination for doing business in the West African Sub-region.
He said that generally, the purchasing power of the ordinary Ghanaian has dwindled over the years, leading to low patronage of goods and services.
This, he noted, has resulted in some small-margin businesses folding up or exiting the Ghanaian market.
“If you take for instance, Jumia and also Glovo, in a situation as we find ourselves with a high operational cost, high interest rates and the rest, you realized that the companies that will fall quickly and earlier are those with the smallest margin, because their business model depends on the ability of the Ghanaian to purchase a product.”
“If Ghanaians are not buying it means Glovo and Jumia will not be there to distribute. And of course Ghanaians are not buying because sales have gone down, purchasing power has gone down and the businesses that are supposed to make profit to take care of employees are also closing down.
“So generally sending a signal…it looks as if we are if we have not lost it, gradually losing our position as a favourable investment destination in West Africa,” he stated.
