The Ghana National Chamber of Trade and Industry (GNCCI) has lamented the impact of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) and recent hikes in electricity and water tariffs on business and investor confidence.

It said uncertainties surrounding the DDEP that seeks to address the country’s debt and restore economic stability, as well as the 30 percent and 8.3 percent increases in electricity and water tariffs effective the beginning of this month, have dampened the mood of businesses and investors alike.

These developments, along with high inflation, currency depreciation and rising cost of borrowing, GNCCI’s President, Clement Osei-Amoako fumes, are impacting negatively on businesses and could result in dire consequences for the wider economy, particularly government revenue and employment, if immediate and deliberate steps are not taken to address them.

More worryingly, the Chamber said the aforementioned factors have eroded business capital and many of its member companies are currently unable to honour loan commitments to lenders.

“The ongoing Domestic Debt Exchange Programme and hair-cuts have affected business and investor confidence. Per the debt sustainability analysis, Ghana is exposed to rising and unsustainable debt levels and this calls for prompt responsive policy adjustments,” GNNCI president Clement Osei-Amoako said in Accra.

Given the exigency of the DDEP to restore macroeconomic stability and protect the most vulnerable in society, he said a successful implementation must take cognisance of the specific and overall impact on the Ghanaian economy – especially the private sector.

This, he expounds, is even more crucial in maintaining business and investor confidence as well as building a ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’.

He spoke to B&FT on the sidelines of a swearing-in ceremony of newly appointed GNCCI National Council members and urged businesses to be innovative so as to mitigate negative impacts of the current economic crisis.

The newly constituted council of 40 members, selected from seven regions of the country, have the mandate to steer the Chamber’s affairs for the next two years.

As the representative organ of the business community in Ghana, the GNCCI assured of its commitment to continue providing government with the needed support in ensuring growth and development of the private sector and wider economy.