Senior Minister, Mr. Yaw Osafo Marfo, has announced that sooner than later, the Bank of Ghana, will come out with an interest rate that will mandatorily be used by all banks in the country in order to cushion the financial cost of most businessmen and women.
Mr. Osafo Marfo, who is also the Vice Chairman of the Government Economic Management team, submitted that the arbitrariness of banks setting up their own interest rate will be a thing of the past.
He bemoaned Ghana’s interest rate which is hovering between 20% and 30% and having a toll on the business environment is a situation that must not be encouraged at all.
And that whiles Ghanaian businessmen and women are borrowing around this rate to produce, their Counterparts in Togo and Cote d’Ivoire borrow at 4.5% interest rate.
The Government, upon assuming office mentioned that industrial transformation and agricultural transformation are the cardinal areas the economy would strive on, thus its initiatives of One District One Factory, One Village One Dam, Planting for Food and Jobs, Constructions warehouses amongst others.
Speaking at the Graphic Business/Stanbic Bank Breakfast Meeting under the theme “Unlocking Economic Growth through Manufacturing – Cost, Quality and Competitiveness”, he noted that the entrepreneurs in Ghana as well compete with the others from the neighbouring countries on in the local market and the ECOWAS, market.
And that the Central Bank is working tirelessly to put in measures that lower the interest rate. Mr Maafo said the current rate is quite encouraging and should continue to drop.
Therefore, Bank of Ghana, he mentioned will calculate a new interest rate for all banks by adding some percentage to their prime rate as done in other developed countries.
Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer of Tropical Cables and Conductors Ltd, Dr. Oteng-Gyasi who was also a member of the panel, called on the Government to give subsidy to the produce that our farmers harvest and not put subsidy on the farming inputs like tractors, fertilizers amongst others.
Ghana |Atinkaonline.com |Patrick Ofoe Nudzi