Ghana’s private sector cannot promote employment creation and slow the rate of unemployment if businesses do not have the capacity to borrow, expand and retool, says Terence Darko, President of the Ghana Employers Association (GEA).

According to him, employer-employee relation is no longer the most serious issue in improving Ghana’s business environment, but access to and cost of credit for businesses to achieve their objectives.

“Many businesses are suffering because the cost of borrowing is such that they are unable to go for the loans and facilities that will help them expand and retool their businesses”, Mr. Darko told a business forum in Kumasi.

He said the Association is working with the banks and the Finance Ministry to “make sure that interest rates are reduced to the barest minimum so that businesses can borrow and expand”.

The GEA also expects the government to be committed to addressing challenges stifling business growth, including unstable utility services, influx of counterfeit goods on the market and poor physical infrastructural development, which he noted adds to the cost of production.

The Association has provided a platform for business interest groups in the Ashanti region to brainstorm on removing bottlenecks that impede business success and enterprise sustainability.

Mr. Darko said the GEA is liaising with other trade associations for a proposal to have representation at the various local assemblies, in order to engage the assemblies on laws and regulations that impede business growth.

Regional Chairman of the Association, Dr. Kwaku Adu Aninkora, stated that professional training for employees is being promoted to curtail poor work attitude and unhealthy cultural practices that hinder productivity at the workplace.