The Sekondi-Takoradi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (STCCI) has appreciated the government for easing the restrictions imposed on individuals and businesses to enable them to bounce back and resuscitate the economic life of the business community.

The Chamber in their first-quarter survey on the performance of businesses in the Western Region established that local demand for goods and services drastically halted due to social distancing protocol and the lockdown in these abnormal times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr Benjamin Nii Kpani Addy, an Executive Member of the Chamber and lead in the Survey said, "We realized how businesses have been affected and in fact, reduction in local demand of commodities this time topped the usual hew and cry about availability and sources of financing."

The first quarter business survey was this time conducted digitally-not forgetting some associated challenges as many of the businesses were not digitally inclined.

The Chamber with support from the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce and Sequa continued to organise such quarterly research on businesses to know their challenges, provide relevant data for planning and policy as well as ensure informed decision making.

Nii Kpani Addy said the survey also allowed the chamber to better advocate on businesses and their need as well as serve as a reservoir of economic information on businesses in the Region.

Of the businesses assessed, 32 percent were satisfied, while 58 percent described trading as bad in the quarter under review, meanwhile, 10 percent said business was good due to prudent management practices.

There was a 20 percent decrease in employment levels accounting for some layoffs in the business sector.

The survey discovered that 40 percent of businesses failed to plough back into their businesses while 13 percent dared to make that giant step of reinvesting in capacity extension, customer requirement, and product innovation.

Nii Kpani Addy, while lauding the government for the stimulus package to resuscitate businesses called for measures to strictly enforce all the Protocols on the virus to ensure that life returned to normal.

He also encouraged all types of businesses to be digitally active to take advantage of online trading and transaction.