'Suspend it now' - FABAG appeals directly to Mahama to halt new import verification programme
The Food and Beverages Association of Ghana (FABAG) made a direct appeal to President John Dramani Mahama on Monday, July 6, to suspend implementation of the Ghana Easy Pass Programme. FABAG described the Ghana Standards Authority's decision to introduce the mandatory pre-export conformity verification programme as an unnecessary burden on businesses already struggling with rising operating costs. The association "expresses its strongest condemnation of the decision by the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) to introduce the Ghana Easy Pass Programme, a mandatory pre-export conformity verification regime for imported products destined for Ghana."
FABAG warned that the new import verification regime will increase business costs and ultimately drive up consumer prices. According to FABAG, the policy comes at a difficult time for the private sector and duplicates the work of existing state institutions responsible for product safety and quality assurance. FABAG argued that agencies, including the Food and Drugs Authority, Ghana Standards Authority, Ghana Revenue Authority, and Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, already inspect and test imported goods. The association warned that the new regime would significantly increase the cost of importing goods, stating, "This policy is simply adding another tax by another name."
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The Food and Beverages Association of Ghana (FABAG) has directly appealed to President John Dramani Mahama regarding the new Ghana Easy Pass
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