The President of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Dr. Joseph Obeng has said the association has not endorsed any political party’s manifesto going into the December 7 general elections.
The two leading political parties, the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), have launched their manifestos with which the winning party will govern the country for the next four years.
The parties, among others, have put together policies and programmes to help boost businesses should they win power.
Speaking to Daakyehene Ofosu Agyemang, host of the New York-based Adinkra Radio morning show, GUTA President, Dr. Joseph Obeng commended both parties for factoring the concerns of traders into their manifestos.
“This election year, I can say we are having our way with them. Initially, they put together their manifesto without our involvement and later presented the document to us. But this time around, they sought our input, and we took out time to put down our concerns to ensure that the cost of doing business is low, which will make Ghana develop further. The political parties have incorporated our concerns into their manifestos.
“The NPP has promised to grant tax amnesty, and it is very good for us. The flat tax system to be introduced is also a step in the right direction, and it will help importers. All traders want is parity in prices. The NDC, on the other hand, has indicated it will introduce a fixed rate at the port. This goes for the spare parts dealers when they import stuff. But we’ve asked that the fixed rate go for all other businesses so that we all benefit. So far, both the NPP and NDC manifestos go in our favour and we hope that when any of the parties wins the elections, what they have stated in the manifesto will be implemented to make businesses thrive.” Dr. Obeng stated.
He further stated that GUTA will in the coming days demand that the political parties sign a pledge to ensure that they go by their manifesto for the business sector when they win power.
“This is a social contract the political parties are having with us, and we will demand of them to sign a pledge to demonstrate their commitment to it or sign a memorandum of understanding in that regard. We will soon be calling on them to come and sign a pledge to commit themselves, but that will not be compulsory. However, the party that comes to sign will demonstrate that it is committed to its manifesto, and that will cause some traders to build trust and vote for that party,” Mr Obeng added.
Source: Adinkraradio.com
