The President and Chairman of the CAGL Group, Isaac Amoako-Mensah, has indicated that government’s efforts at revamping the economy needs realignment.
He said, today, they all appear to be geared toward corporate and small-scale enterprises forgetting their survival is hinged on the survival of the medium scale enterprises (MSE).
“One can even dare say that the whole economy is hinged on the medium scale enterprises since they employ the majority of the working class of Ghanaians and they form the majority breadwinners of our extended family system in Ghana,” he said.
According to him, government’s claim to support SME’s through NBSSI and other state institutions has largely been geared towards the small-scale enterprises with some 1000 Cedi’s which they end up spending for food since such amounts cannot be used to support the survival of any realistic business with employees.
He averred that, government needs to focus on MSE’s because they are the heartbeat of the economy and their survival signals the health of the Ghanaian economy, saying that “There must be deliberate systems put in place to ensure the MSE’s are given tax waivers, grants and other government loans and incentives to enable them keep their working force during this pandemic.
Due to the lack of business caused by the pandemic, most MSE’s have run out of funds to keep their employees and service their financial obligations and operating expenses hence the government will have to look at employing the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to help the medium scale businesses keep their workers employed or be saddled with increased unemployment dovetailing into increased social vices occasioned by the need to survive.”
Mr. Isaac Amoako-Mensah also said government needs a whole new approach to supporting businesses during this pandemic with microscopic view on the awkward middle child of the industry “medium scale enterprise” which are too large to get discounts and services accorded the small-scale enterprises and too small to have the weight and recognition of the large businesses yet at the heart of Ghana’s economic survival.
