Former President John Dramani Mahama has told the businesses community in Ghana to have confidence in his promises ahead of the elections on December 7.

He said the NDC has the track record of growing local businesses and strengthening the entire business community therefore, the main opposition party should be trusted.

Speaking during a presentation at an evening with young business leaders and entrepreneurs on Thursday November 5, Mr Mahama said several cold stores and a factory at Elmina for the storage and processing of fish were established along the coast of Ghana.

“And talking about Elmina, my Running Mate Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyeman will not forgive me if I leave out the abandoned Komenda Sugar Factory. We have done it before, without pomp and pageantry and we will do it even better! Under our programme to create 250,000 jobs every year – one million jobs in four years – Ghanaians will be given advantage in the financial sector, construction, energy, agriculture and agribusiness, ICT and other sectors. “We shall strengthen the regulatory framework, restore and work actively to increase the indigenous Ghanaian stake in the financial sector, especially in the banking, microfinance and savings and loans enterprises. This will also restore lost jobs,” he said.

He further stated that “given that it is indigenous Ghanaian banks and not the traditional foreign banks that typically lend to our Small and Medium Scale Enterprises to stimulate our economy, this will be a major priority for us.

“We will introduce a tiered banking sector that allows indigenous Ghanaian businesses to invest in the financial sector and offer credit products targeted at different segments of the market.

In order not to suffocate businesses, especially following the shocks from COVID-19 and the general mismanagement of this debt burdened economy, we shall offer tax reliefs to small businesses including start-ups.

“Beginning from next year, all small businesses will be exempted entirely from corporate and personal income tax as promised in the Peoples’ Manifesto- Tax holiday. We will also reduce corporate income tax from 25% to 15% for medium size companies and newly established medium-sized companies that employ up to twenty (20) staff will be exempted entirely from paying corporate income tax for one year and same will be enjoyed for two years if you employ more than twenty (20) Ghanaians.

“We know you import to do business. We will exempt commercial vehicles and other equipment imported into the country for commercial, industrial and agricultural purposes from import duty To save our struggling local automotive industry in Suame Magazine, Kokompe and Abossey Okai from collapse, we will review the Customs (Amendment) Act, 2020 (Act 1014) and scrap the law, which bans the importation of salvaged vehicles. Vehicle assembling companies will operate as a complement to local industry but not to cancel out the daily bread of Ghanaians.

“My dear entrepreneurs, we want you to locate some of your businesses in rural areas where the raw materials are produced. You will create jobs and help address rural urban migration. Therefore, we will introduce a Rural Investor Incentive (RII) to motivate you to do just that.

“Under the RII we will exempt you from dividend and capital gain tax and provide additional special tax incentives for indigenous value chain entrepreneurs in mineral processing, petroleum-based, agro-based, and pulp and paper-based industries.

“We shall introduce a special tax incentive to Ghanaian businesses in the Export-Oriented Industries (EOI) to stimulate exports, propel the Shipping Industry to make Ghana a world-class cargo hub on the West African coast (similar to Singapore). Processing of cashew, cocoa, shea, palm, cassava, pepper, ginger, fruits and rubber will also be emphasized to put money in the pockets of farmers and entrepreneurs.”