Alex Frimpong
THE GHANA Employers’ Association (GEA) wants government to support its members to pay salaries, improve their working capital and defer VAT and income tax payments for some time.
According to GEA, a similar support to Nigerian banks by their central bank has compelled the employers not to lay off workers.
Even though government is yet to respond to such a request, Alex Frimpong, President of GEA, said that decision would have to be determined by respective organizations.
“Businesses exist at the benevolence of society, so employers have the responsibility to ensure that even though they will be looking at the economic and financial aspect, the social impact of whatever decisions they take becomes quite paramount. But at the end of the day they need to do the balancing to make sure that while the business survives, employees must also survive and therefore the society must also be stable.
“…So, these are matters that entrepreneurs and businesses face every day, and I am sure a lot of them have also done their analysis. So, if we have attractive stimulus packages, I am sure the businesses will be able to take that in their strides, but I think the discussions concerning the modalities and the terms are still ongoing. So at the end of the day, businesses will have to make a determination as to how they will take advantage of the packages that will be put in place,” he stated.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is already lamenting the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the country’s economy as a lockdown of some parts of the country has led to some job losses.
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), globally, 25 million jobs have been threatened by the pandemic.
Last month, President Akufo-Addo announced that the disbursement of a GH¢600 million stimulus package for micro, small and medium-scale businesses was expected to start in May.
This is intended to mitigate the adverse impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on businesses, individuals and households.
The GH¢600m soft loan scheme will have a one-year moratorium and two years repayment period for micro, small and medium scale businesses.
– Citi Business