Import restrictions will create an avenue for corruption in Ghana – Expert

A financial analyst, Joe Jackson, has called for parliament to approve the import restriction Legislative Instrument (L.I.).

According to him, the bill, which is looking into restricting the importation of some 22 selected items on the Ghanaian market, such as sugar, rice, poultry, and tripe, comes at a time when there are no practical measures in place to boost local production of the aforementioned items.

Mr. Jackson, in a tweet, said, “Join me in opposing the Import Restriction Bill. It opens a vast avenue for ‘chop-chop’ without a plan to mitigate the resulting increased prices. Worse still, there is no roadmap to increase local production. Poor men suffer, while politicians enjoy it.

The Minister of Trade and Industry, K.T. Hammond, is expected to put before parliament the Export and Import Regulations 2023 today, Thursday, November 30, after the House on Tuesday deferred the laying of the legislative instrument.

There have been concerns raised that L.I., if approved by parliament, is likely to have negative economic consequences for the country.

For example, the Director of Research at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Dr. John Kwakye, has said that, if passed, the L.I. will contravene the conditionality in the program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Dr. Kwakye said that per the IMF conditions, all members are to refrain from imposing restrictions on trade or payments for current transactions, hence passing such an L. I will likely have negative repercussions.

“Import restrictions may contravene the conditions of Ghana’s ECF program—and indeed, Ghana’s membership in the IMF. All members are to refrain from imposing restrictions on trade or payments for current transactions,” he inscribed on X (formerly Twitter).