Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, has reiterated his resolve to improve ports’ business-friendliness by enacting fixed exchange rates in order to reduce the pressure that traders face from foreign exchange.

He stressed that this initiative would lessen the possibility of port traffic being lost to nearby nations.

The Vice President stressed in his speech at the town hall meeting with the Pharmaceutical Society and other Pharma Groups how important it is for companies, especially those in the pharmacy sector, to develop a competitive edge in order to promote economic growth.

“We’re going to change the duty structure and go into more of a flat specific duty. If you have a 40-footer container, you know how much you are paying in cedis. So, you take the exchange rate out of the matter and deal with it.

“We are also going to make sure that our duties in ports by policy cannot be higher than in Lome, which is our competitor. And right now, there’s a lot of diversion of containers to Lome because ours are higher.”

The Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana’s president, Dr. Kow Donkor, voiced hope during a discussion held outside of the meeting that the issues brought up by the organization’s members would be taken care of, offering solace to them.

“We know the oil industry; the Bank of Ghana makes available the US dollars for their imports, pharmaceutical industry and medicines are also special items. When you have a shortage of medicines, that becomes a national security issue.

“If the central bank is going to make funding available at a special rate for the pharmaceutical importers and manufacturers, it will also go a long way to stabilize the prices.”