The Head of Business and Economic Bureau of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Charles Kusi Appiah Kubi, has emphasized that Ghana must reconsider its Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policies to help ensure fair competition and also protect local businesses.
Speaking in an interview with Joy News on Monday, March 3, Mr. Kusi emphasized that despite Ghana’s reliance on foreign investments, the country lacks essential regulatory measures to support and protect its businesses.
“We depend excessively on foreign investments, but we don’t have adequate regulatory measures that will put Ghanaian businesses at an advantage.”
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Mr. Kusi pointed out that Ghana’s FDI policies have enabled foreign businesses to dominate the market, which is putting the country’s local enterprises at a disadvantage.
He further explained that the current policies permit foreign investors to enter the market with minimal financial investment. However, they tend to overvalue their imported equipment, which enables them to bypass investment thresholds, putting a strain on Ghana’s foreign exchange reserves.
He believes this happens because many of these foreign firms transfer their profits out of the country rather than reinvesting in the local economy.
“When you are a country and you focus so much on FDI, relaxing your policies to ensure more foreign companies enter, they enjoy all the benefits at the expense of local businesses,” Mr. Kusi stated.
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Mr. Kusi stressed that the structure of Ghana’s economy has placed too much power in the hands of foreign companies, citing the resource extraction sector as an example.
“The structure of the economy must change because we have given the most lucrative sectors to foreign companies,” he stated.
He highlighted the need for foreign investment and called for stronger regulations, noting that there should be a change in the policies that govern foreign investments so the country’s local businesses can grow.
“You can understand that Ghana has been a hub for most of foreign companies because we have a stable political environment, so therefore we cannot still be holding unto the past policies that we decided to enact to attract foreigners and FDIs.”
“We must ensure there is fairness in the market. There must be a fair game, fair play,” he urged.