Mr Bernard Mornah, General Secretary for the People's National Convention (PNC) has disagreed with government’s decision not to protect local businesses from foreign competition.

According to him, government has a responsibility in ensuring that the private sector businesses do not collapse at the expense of foreign entities.

The Minister of State at the Presidency in charge of Public Private Partnership, Rashid Pelpuo told the media last week that allowing competition between the private sector and foreign companies will promote an efficient, robust and vibrant local industry and that the local companies must rather step up their game.

Bernard Mornah said he was surprised at how government will expose its private businesses to such competition instead of protecting them.

Contributing to panel discussions on Radio Gold’s Alhaji and Alhaji, Bernard Mornah said: “If you have a minister who will say that we will not support the private sector then the question is what are you going to support?… Then it means the government will take the necessary steps to ensure that its own participation in the development of industry, commerce is high. I am totally disgusted at this statement. The state must play a critical role…”

He has advised the government to state its position on how it wants the private sector to grow because ‘in other sectors, the private sectors are supported’.

“…how come we have reduced ourselves to this level? It is an economy where industry is in near collapse…everything we are now importing. Our economy is not doing well. Then we have a minister who says we will not support the private sector…Government has a necessary part to play in ensuring that the economy of a nation can rise. There is no country in the world that started on a purely private sector led growth…” he added.