Aspiring flagbearer for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, has shed light on the dire financial challenges faced by Ghanaian entrepreneurs due to exorbitant interest rates.
Ken Agyapong, the MP for Assin Central and prominent businessman himself, spoke candidly about how high interest rates have dashed the hopes and dreams of many aspiring entrepreneurs in Ghana.
In an exclusive interview with Happy 98.9 FM’s Sefah Danquah, he recounted a recent conversation with a Ghanaian expatriate who had returned home with dreams of investing in the housing sector. The expatriate, eager to contribute to Ghana’s economic development, was shocked when Ken Agyapong called a local bank to inquire about loan interest rates. The bank revealed an astonishing 35% interest rate for loans in cedis, leaving the investor dumbfounded.
“What he didn’t realize,” Ken Agyapong explained, “was how the high interest rates in Ghana would impact his housing venture. In other countries where I conduct business, I can easily secure loans with interest rates ranging from 3% to 5%. However, here in Ghana, a 35% interest rate is crippling for businesses. It’s virtually impossible to repay such loans in a lifetime, let alone pass them on to future generations.”
Ken Agyapong emphasized that these exorbitant interest rates have become a significant obstacle to the growth and expansion of Ghanaian businesses. He noted that while interest rates for loans in dollars were relatively lower, ranging from 8 to 12%, the rates in cedis were prohibitive. As a result, many promising entrepreneurial dreams and aspirations in Ghana have been left unrealized, causing stagnation in the country’s economic landscape.
The Assin Central MP highlighted that his major reform should he become Ghana’s President is to address these high-interest rates, making it more feasible for Ghanaian entrepreneurs to access capital and drive economic growth. He believes that reducing interest rates on loans could be a crucial step towards unlocking the full potential of Ghana’s business sector and foster economic development.
Meanwhile, the NPP is set to host its Super delegates Congress on Saturday, August 26, 2023, across the 16 regions in the country.
The party will seek to slash the 10 candidates, who passed the vetting stage, down to five in a preliminary vote before the main contest is held in November 2023 to elect a successor to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as leader of the party. Ken Agyapong is hopeful of securing victory and leading the party in the 2024 general elections.
