The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) says accessing credit to run their business has become a challenge.
According to GUTA, all financial assistance from their partners abroad has halted following the impact of the coronavirus pandemic worldwide.
Dr. Joseph Obeng, the President of GUTA, says they are hopeful that their needs will be addressed in the mid-year budget review scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday.
“We are having difficulty at this time to even have credit from our foreign suppliers because they are also handicapped. They are not able to meet the financial requirement with their banks. Hitherto, one can even access 120 days of suppliers credit. It means that we have to look from within and find this credit. And if we have to find it here, then it should be affordable. And this is what we seek that the budget will satisfy our needs,” he noted.
The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta will present the government’s mid-year budget review to Parliament on Thursday, July 22, 2020.
The budget review will focus on strategies to generate more revenue for the state after the coronavirus pandemic threw the government’s plans out of gear.
Mr. Ofori-Atta says the budget will also consider extending some support to businesses and industries hit by the pandemic.
Tomorrow’s presentation aims at recovery for the economy, which has been affected by the disease.
Other calls for support
Meanwhile, various groups have already made cases for specific areas they want the government to prioritize in the budget review.
The Chamber of Independent Power Producers and Bulk Consumers (CIPDiB) is asking the government to capture the payment of the about USD$1.4 billion debt owed them in the budget.
According to the Chamber, which is made up of the Sunon-Asogli Power (Ghana) Limited, BXC Solar Ghana, Cenit Energy Limited, Cenpower Generation Company Limited and Karpowership Ghana Company Limited, the continuous accumulation of the debt is forcing them to contract costly loans to sustain their generations.
The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana (COPEC) is also asking government to immediately review all petroleum agreements and possibly consider the subsequent annulment of non-performing contracts in the interest of the country.