Sharing his thoughts on the maiden state of the nation address by President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in Kumasi, he said it was important to ensure that there was space for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to access credit to expand their operations.

He expressed discomfort with the high interest rate charged on loans by the banks and the slew of taxes on businesses and said these were “a huge disincentive and killing businesses”. Mr. Manu indicated that many of them “are unable to break even and are being forced to fold up”.

It was on the basis of this that the Board found it refreshing the pledge by the President to create a more-friendly environment for business to thrive.  He said the expectation was that the government would go to every length to make this “a dream come true”.

Mr. Manu pointed out that a vibrant private sector was vital to the building of a strong, robust and resilient economy.  He underlined the need to also focus priority attention on assisting to restore to good health collapsing industries. Meanwhile, the Board has upped its support for SMEs through training and capacity-building programmes for their efficient running.

This is being done in partnership with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and already 24 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies in Ashanti and Northern Region had benefitted. Mr. Manu said they “are introduced to best business management practices including record keeping and products packaging”.