It is intriguing how some words, expressions and phrases gain popularity in our public discourse only to vanish in no time.
Unprecedent, Gargantuan, Incompetent, All die be die, Dead goat syndrome and Showdown are English examples. On the local front, ‘Yentie Obiaa’- We will not listen to anybody, ‘Di wufie asem- Mind your own business and lately, ‘Yemuadiɛ’- Intestines.
The trending phrase currently is, Legislative Instrument (L.I). This is so, because of an attempt by Hon. K.T. Hammond’s Ministry of Trade and Industry to restrict the importation of ‘Yemuadiɛ’ and 21 other items into the country.
The items, as specified under the L.I on Export and Import (Restrictions on Selected Strategic Product) Regulations, 2023, are; Rice, Guts, bladders and stomach of animals (‘Yemuadiɛ’), Poultry, Animal and Vegetable Oil, Margarine, Fruit Juices, Soft Drink, Soaps and Detergents, Motor Cars, Mineral Water, Noodles and Pasta, Ceramic Tiles, Corrugated Paper and Paper Board, Mosquito Coil and Insecticides.
The rest are; Iron and Steel, Cement, Polymers (Plastics and Plastic Products), Fish, Sugar, Clothing and Apparel, Biscuits and Canned Tomatoes
The main reason why we import these items is that we do not, as a country, have the capacity to produce them, in some cases not enough, locally.
Anyway, why am I surprised? Strangely, toothpick is missing from the list. Could it be that we have enough local production now?
The Ministry of Trade and Industry’s concern
One would have thought that if the demand for the above listed items exists, and local capacity is inadequate, the logical thing to do is to import, place taxes on them and obtain revenue to help build local capacity.
However, the technocrats at the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI) have managed to convince their Minister, or so it seems, that the most reasonable thing to do under the circumstances, is to restrict the importation of these items.
Consequently, during a press briefing in Parliament the other day, Hon. K.T. Hammond said, “Stomach of animals, bladder and the chunk of intestines (Yemuadiɛ), the country has had to put in an amount of about $164 million towards the importation of these items. We are taking steps to ensure that in terms of rice, there’s no poverty of rice in the country.
“By these restrictions, we are not going to ensure that there’s no food in the country at all; that is not the point at all. There have to be some efforts by the government to ensure that we go back to Acheampong’s Operation Feed Yourself. There are about 22 items on the list, one of them, I think, is diapers,” he said mockingly.
Indeed, Economists refer to the relationship between a country’s import and export levels as the Balance of Trade. When a country’s exports exceed its imports, the country is said have a Balance of Trade Surplus. On the other hand, the country is said to have a Balance of Trade Deficit when the reverse is true.
Clearly, Ghana’s imports far exceed our exports, hence the sleepless nights being had by officials of the MoTI. A closer look at the country’s balance of trade statistics reveals the true state as far as local production is concerned.
Available statistics indicate that Ghana’s trade deficit in 2021 was $1.10 billion. The immediate effect of this situation is a valueless cedi compared to the dollar, thus contributing to the poor state of our economy. It therefore seems a very legitimate concern, if you ask me. That a Minister of State is worried that we spend scarce foreign exchange, specifically United States dollars to the tune of $164 million, annually, to import items that we should be able to produce locally.
However, it is the decision to restrict the importation of these goods at a time when the evidence is clear that we do not have adequate local capacity to produce them, that brings to my mind another phrase that became popular but vanished soon- ‘I can’t think far.’
Stated differently, I can see in this instance, a situation where critical thinking has gone south. No. I am not writing in parables. The English say when something goes south, it has failed. They also explain that critical thinking is a kind of thinking in which you question, analyse, interpret, evaluate and make a judgement about what you read, hear, SAY, or WRITE.
Concerns of those who oppose the L.I
As a student of Public Policy, I am aware that a key element in the policy formulation process is stakeholder consultation. In fact, it is so critical because the success or failure of the policy hinges on the disposition of the stakeholders towards it.
The strong opposition to this L.I faced by the MoTI is therefore, testament to the Ministry having gone south in relation to stakeholder consultation.
If a key stakeholder like the government in waiting. Let me clarify before someone says I have predicted a win for them in the 2024 elections- I mean if the largest opposition party, the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) Members of Parliament oppose your L.I with arguments that every right-thinking Ghanaian can attest to, it only means one thing- Failure.
Read how the Minority Leader, Casiel Ato Forson described the Legislative instrument when he addressed journalists on the issue in Parliament.
“… with Ghana being a member of the World Trade Organisation, the practice is not only dangerous, but also violates international trade practices. This is not a policy that we should encourage and I am worried that a time will come when if you are not a New Patriotic Party member, you will not get a licence to import something into this economy and that is unacceptable.
Banning these items will create an artificial shortage and prices of these goods will go up. We know they want to restrict importation of sugar, but there is no sugar processing plant. Mr Speaker, our position on this L.I is simple. If they want to go ahead and lay this L.I in spite of the objections we have raised, we will not be part of it. I urge the Minister to stand this L.I down and continue to engage stakeholders. There is a lot wrong with this L.I,” he concluded.
His deputy, Hon. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, had this to say, “This L.I, if passed, will breed corruption. We are not able to say that as a result of the One-District-One-Factory (1D1F), we are not importing into Ghana, all of these products.
We are not able to say that because of Planting for Food and Jobs, after we spent all these billions, we have solved all these problems. If we want to solve the problem of our import bill, the reasons why this is being done, we must address it honestly. But to go back to a very discredited and outmoded licensing regime that has created corruption? You don’t put politicians in charge of issuing licenses; you know what the outcome will be. We have gone past that,” he reminded all.
Another key stakeholder group, the Food and Beverages Association, expressed its disappointment in the L.I. The Executive Chairman of the Association, Mr John Awuni said, restricting the importation of the above listed items would lead to a ‘monopoly’ and price hikes in the country.
“Already the demand for local goods is low. For instance, electrical cables produced in this country – Tema- have a price three times as compared to some of the cables that come from Europe…You haven’t given monopoly yet to such a person, yet their prices are high, how much more when they are given monopoly? For me, professionally, it is very disappointing because we are going back to the 1960s. These restrictions were imposed in the Nkrumah regime and many ministers fell victim to corruption and rent-seeking,” he stated.
The President of the Ghana Union of Traders Associations (GUTA), Dr Joseph Obeng had this to say when he met Parliament’s Subsidiary Legislation Committee.
“We are traders, if you say we should stop buying from outside, then you are telling us that we should have access to the produce from within, but if you haven’t had any measures that would give us the comfort and the assurance that we have the goods from within, then we are doing the whole exercise in emptiness. We have to move slowly while we are trying to achieve self-sufficiency and do the right things,” he stated.
It is as simple as that. Or?
The Director of Research at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) a public policy think tank, Dr John Kwakye, also waded into the fray. He posited that, if passed, the L.I will contravene the conditionalities in the programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Dr Kwakye said, per the IMF conditions, all members are to refrain from imposing restrictions on trade or payments for current transactions, hence passing such an L.I will likely lead to negative consequences.
“Import restrictions may contravene the conditions of Ghana‘s Extended Credit Facility (ECF) program–and indeed Ghana’s membership of the IMF. All members are to refrain from imposing restrictions on trade or payments for current transactions,” he tweeted.
It is now the turn of a renowned Financial Analyst who works with Dalex Finance, Mr Joe Jackson.
“Join me in opposing the Import Restriction Bill. It opens a vast avenue for ‘chop-chop’ without a plan to mitigate the resulting increased prices. Worse still, there is no roadmap to increase local production. Poor man suffers while Politicians enjoy,” he tweeted.
It’s time to go
Come to think of it, why is it that we as a country, both government and the private sector, cannot put our acts together and produce these things? It is so embarrassing to imagine that we are unable to produce some/enough of these items to meet local demand, 66years after independence- Poultry, fruit juice, biscuits, noodles and ‘‘Yemuadiɛ’.’ How?
Hon. K.T in his statement quoted above, mentioned late Col. Acheampong’s ‘Operation Feed Yourself’ policy. I was very young when it was implemented. So, I googled it. My checks reveal that, ‘Operation Feed Yourself was an agricultural programme administered in the country under the military leadership of Ignatius Kutu Acheampong. This policy was initiated in February, 1972 to inspire and motivate the citizenry to grow what they eat- Wikipedia.
Clearly, the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme introduced by this government has failed to make any impact. What stops the Ministry of Agriculture to go back to ‘Operation Feed Yourself’? Why have we decided to put the cart before the horse?
As in, restrict imports before undertaking an ‘Operation Feed Yourself’ campaign the way ‘Friday Wear’ concept was advertised for all to buy into. To the extent that now, some people wear locally made clothes all week. Could it be the fact that not much budget allocation will be made for its implementation?
Well, the MoTI officials thought the short to medium term solution to this challenge is to restrict importation of the selected items. They justified it, albeit unconvincingly.
That’s because, as pointed out by Mr. Joe Jackson, it may have made a significant difference if a roadmap of when and how we can develop local capacity to produce these items, was added to the communication around this L.I.
Also, a question that is begging for an answer is whether the MoTi’s technocrats averted their minds to the suggestion that passage of the L.I by Parliament will contravene the conditions of Ghana‘s Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programme with the IMF. Another one is, whether they did not know that it will go against international trade practices per our subscription to the World Trade Organisation. What about the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement?
It is this critical thinking of mine, remember the definition- ‘a kind of thinking in which you question, analyse, interpret, evaluate and make a judgement about what you READ, HEAR, say, or write,’ that has led me to observe a worrying thread in the comments of the stakeholders aforementioned.
Dr Casiel Ato Forson– “I am worried that a time will come when if you are not a New Patriotic Party member, you will not get a licence to import something into this economy.”
Mr Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah– “This L.I, if passed, will breed corruption…But to go back to a very discredited and outmoded licensing regime that has created corruption?”
Mr. John Awuni– “These restrictions were imposed in the Nkrumah regime and many ministers fell victim to corruption and rent-seeking.”
Mr Joe Jackson– “It opens a vast avenue for ‘chop-chop.‘” For those of you who may not know, ‘çhop-chop’ means ‘Abaayenii’ in Ga, it means ‘Ádididza’ in Twi. In English, it means something akin to corruption.
From the foregoing, will you begrudge me if I surmise that when you see critical thinking going south, it means ‘chop-chop’ is there somewhere? In my view, the L.I should not have been presented to Parliament without addressing all the concerns of stakeholders and reaching a consensus.
That is why I received news of its suspension with elation. Hear the Minister of Information, Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah who broke the good news to journalists in Parliament on December 7, 2023.
“There is the need to get everyone rallying around it because it will ensure that the local production of these items are boosted. The idea is to ensure that the outstanding stakeholders get an opportunity to have their views expressed and considered,” the Ofoase-Ayirebi MP explained.
Wherefore I say that, when critical thinking goes south, L.I on import restriction will be suspended.
Yasou- That’s goodbye in Greek.
Let God lead! Follow Him directly, not through any human.
The writer is the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Columnist of the Year- 2022. He is the author of two books whose contents share knowledge on how anyone desirous of writing like him can do so. Eric can be reached via email [email protected].