Minister of Trade and Industry Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah has bemoaned the inability of many crop growers to get prompt payment after delivery, blaming the situation on the country’s current economic condition.
He said the inability of government to meet statutory payments and constantly recording budget deficits, among other challenges, are as a result of shortage of needed capital.
“Ghana for all kinds of reason is a capital-short country,” Dr Spio-Garbrah mentioned on TV3’s New Day on Thursday, March 24.
“That is why we are in an IMF programme and we have budget deficits and constraints in our budget and all ministries, departments and agencies are enduring a 50 per cent budget cuts.”
He was hosted by Martin Asiedu-Dartey on the recent tango between his ministry and cashew growers after his imposition of a two-month ban on exports.
The move, according to him, was to get 11 of the 12 cashew processing plants back in operation.
But farmers as well as lawmakers asked him to lift the ban, a situation he expressed unhappiness about especially given his position as a cashew farmer himself.
“It is only up to them. If they want to export the cashew and deprive their own families in the same Brong Ahafo Region…then that’s fine.”
He promised going back to the drawing board and involving cabinet and parliament in a broad consultation to see to the re-introduction of the directive as he blamed the backlash on inadequate education and sensitisation.
By Emmanuel Kwame Amoh|tv3network.com|Ghana
Twitter: @kwame_amoh