By Naa Shormei Odonkor
Kumasi, Jan 08, GNA – Government has been urged to take pragmatic steps to regulate the free market economy as part of efforts to protect consumers from the highly profiteering private sector.
Mr Benaiah Nii Addo, the Executive Director of the Green Tax Youth Africa (GTYA), a civil society organisation, who made the call, said although the country in recent times had experienced economic stability as a result of the cedi appreciation against the dollar and continuous decrease in inflation rate, consumers were not benefiting from the improvement in the system.
This is because the private sector, which had private motive under the free market economy, had refused to reduce prices in-spite of the gains in the economy.
In a statement made available to the Ghana News Agency, Nii Addo, applauded the government for its efforts in improving the macroeconomic reforms last year.
However, “the absence of effective competitive oversight, price transparency mechanisms and seasonal market regulation undermined consumer welfare and weakened public trust in economic policy,” he stated.
Nii Addo indicated that, the various appeals to businesses in the free-market space to voluntarily reduce prices of goods and services had so far fallen on deaf ears.
“If government wants businesses to pass gains to consumers, it must change how the economy is structured and regulated.
Moral persuasion without policy will not work,” he stated.
Nii Addo, therefore, recommended five strategies the government could adopt in its resetting agenda to benefit everyone in the country.
The recommendations included the adoption of seasonal price stabilisation measures, strengthening competitive enforcement, and aligning fiscal, trade and industrial policies to reduce structural cost of transacting business.
Again, the government should reduce the tax burden on local manufacturers and invest in industrial zones to lower production costs and reduce import dependency.
He suggested that the government should freeze the quarterly utility tariff adjustments and adopt a more predictable annual tariff framework aligned with income levels, industrial needs and inflation trends.
The monitoring and enforcement powers of the National Cooperative Commission, Mr Addo said must be strengthened to prevent price fixing, cartel behaviour, and monopolistic practices across the essential commodity market.
Lastly, he suggested that reviewing and rationalising the multiple taxes and levies contributing to high fuel prices would help reduce fuel prices and bring reliefs to vehicle operators.
“A cap on levies at GHS 2 per litre, will significantly reduce fuel costs and ease pressures on transport and commodity prices,” Nii Addo said.
According to him, Ghana needed a people-centred economic model where macroeconomic gains produced real welfare improvements.
GNA
Edited by Kwabia Owusu-Mensah/Benjamin Mensah