The President of the Ghana Union Traders Association, Dr. Joseph Obeng has knocked down on the Association Of Ghana Industries’s continuous peddling of falsehood to the government against the GUTA and the implementation of the Benchmark value.
The GUTA President’s assertions comes barely 24 hours after the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority issued a presser, indicating the reversal of the Benchmark value on some selected items.
The GUTA, has argued that, the reversal of the Benchmark value will not be favourable in the operations of their business, hence, goods and services will rise up in the coming weeks if reversed.
Meanwhile, the Association Of Ghana Industries has therefore shot down GUTA’s arguments, claiming the Benchmark value has contributed to the rising cost of their products.
Speaking in an interview with Kwame Koranteng on Anɔpa Dawuro on Republic FM, Dr Joseph Obeng said, the AGI has been feeding the government with falsehoods, stating that, the AGI in a series of engagements with the government, has informed the government that, the introduction of the Benchmark value has drastically reduced the prices of goods of traders, hence, making it difficult for the local manufacturers to also make sales.
“When they (AGI) go to the government, they tell the government that, the introduction of the Benchmark value has contributed to the reduction of prices of the goods of traders, hence, they (the local manufacturers) cannot make sales because the prices of their products has gone up”
According to Dr Joseph Obeng, had it not been the introduction of the Benchmark value, prices of goods and services would have gone up, making it difficult for Ghanaians to purchase.
He noted that the AGI has no prefix to justify their argument because they are just contradicting their initial claims that, the importation of goods has made goods cheap and hence, cannot guarantee the growth of the industrial market.
The President maintained that, the Benchmark value has really helped the Ghana Revenue Authority in tax acquisition, the consuming public, the importers and traders hence, it cannot be reversed.
Responding to questions if the AGI has the capacity to meet the demands and supply of the GUTA after the production, Dr Obeng said, most industries are likely to doing well at a competitive price, hence the rational being made by these companies, will have to be supported by the government, hence, making Ghana a production hub in West Africa.
“Most of the companies are doing well, we cannot dismissed that fact. They need support from the government to help produce more, and whiles the Benchmark value in force, they can produce at low cost of production”. He said.
