Ghana’s Minority Caucus has sounded the alarm over what it describes as “avoidable policy failures” undermining the country’s industrial sector, following a high-level engagement with the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI).
Led by Minority Leader Hon. Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the delegation met AGI executives and members in Accra to hear firsthand accounts of the challenges confronting manufacturers. The discussions painted a picture of an industrial environment beset by rising energy costs, burdensome tax regimes, and inadequate financing structures.
Industrialists told the Caucus that electricity tariffs remain inflated due to legacy levies, forcing many companies to scale down production or invest in solar power as a survival measure. Concerns were also raised about the Ghana Revenue Authority’s deployment of AI-driven duty assessments, which businesses say often produce inflated charges without a functioning redress mechanism.
On taxation, AGI members criticized the removal of the flat rate VAT, arguing that the new system is harder to comply with and unfair to operators in the informal economy. They also highlighted the absence of patient capital, noting that most commercial loans available to manufacturers have a maximum tenure of just two years — far shorter than the investment cycles required for industrial growth.
The meeting further revisited the abandoned One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative, with AGI lamenting that nearly 70 factories remain incomplete. Industrialists expressed frustration that government commitments made under the programme have been left unfulfilled, while a new “24-hour economy” policy has yet to demonstrate practical benefits.
In a statement, Afenyo-Markin pledged that the Minority Caucus would carry the concerns into Parliament, pressing government through committee work, parliamentary questions, and sustained engagement. He emphasized that Ghana’s industrialists “have shown remarkable resilience in the face of a policy environment that has too often worked against them” and deserve better support from government.
The Minority delegation included Deputy Minority Leader Hon. Patricia Appiagyei, Hon. Jerry Ahmed Shaib, Hon. Kwaku Agyeman Kwarteng, and other MPs across committees on trade, energy, and local government. The Caucus expressed gratitude to AGI leadership, including President Pharm Kofi Nsiah-Poku and CEO Seth Twum-Akwaboah, for their candour during the engagement.
With industrialists warning that it is now “easier to shut down a factory and import than to keep it running,” the Caucus insists that Ghana’s future prosperity depends on building a productive economy anchored in manufacturing rather than slogans.
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