The traders argue that the situation has made it very difficult for members to clear their goods which has led to huge volumes of electrical cables and others, stuck at the ports.

The traders, some of whom have been speaking to Citi Business News say they are currently paying import duties which have gone up from 10 to 20 percent.

A Patron of the Ghana Electrical Dealers Association, Dr. James Ansah, who described the increase as alarming, said government should review the charges.

“Duty taxes for electrical items was 10%. Government has now increased it to 20%. If you add the other taxes including VAT and Shippers plus the 20%, you are heading towards 50%. We are calling on government to review it because we are having a huge deficit” he said.

He further attributed the increase in taxes to the constant increase in the cost of housing, and advised government to ensure something is done about it.

“It is part of the reasons why houses are not affordable because the Electrical and things to build are very expensive so at the end of the day if the developers cannot sell it at an affordable rate, then we can forget the dream of having an affordable housing sector” he noted.

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By: Jessica Ayorkor Aryee/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana.

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