{"id":351606,"date":"2017-09-07T19:20:17","date_gmt":"2017-09-07T19:20:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=351606"},"modified":"2017-11-10T12:03:28","modified_gmt":"2017-11-10T12:03:28","slug":"stimulus-package-for-businesses-in-limbo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/09\/stimulus-package-for-businesses-in-limbo\/","title":{"rendered":"Stimulus package for businesses in limbo?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Local business associations have begun agitating following Government’s delay in releasing the stimulus package earmarked for local companies in distress.<\/p>\n

Government announced early this year – 2017, that it will offer stimulus packages to local companies that have been in distress for a number of years now.<\/p>\n

Businesses in distress<\/strong><\/p>\n

A number of challenges including unstable power supply, high tariffs, forex exchange fluctuations and high cost of credit pushed many companies into distress leading to massive job losses.<\/p>\n

[contextly_sidebar id=”M9UnPGwsvAsZjsmrjm9q96WMyCoFAUrm”]According to the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI)\u2019s 2016 fourth quarter business barometer report for example, \u00a0high cost of credit, multiplicity of taxes, cedi depreciation and high cost of utility\u00a0were the top challenges confronting businesses in Ghana.<\/p>\n

Stimulus package<\/strong><\/p>\n

The package is expected to put the companies back on track following the challenges.<\/p>\n

50 million dollars have been allocated as seed money to support the beneficiary businesses, while an additional 150 million dollars is expected to be allocated to support businesses that will be selected based on a rigorous vetting process.<\/p>\n

President Akuffo-Addo stated in July, 2017 that 80 companies had been approved by government to benefit from the stimulus package, after 285 applications were received.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe asempa budget also provided the fifty million dollar stimulus package for the revival of distressed industries and companies. At the end of June 2017, 285 applications had been received. So far one hundred and eighteen have been screened in which eighty have been adjourned eligible for various stimulus packages.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn addition to government\u2019s contribution an amount of twenty million dollars is being ear marked by local financial institutions as part of the stimulus package this will definitely help in the revival of our industrial sector under minister for trade and industry Alan Kyeremanteng.\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Delay in disbursement <\/strong><\/p>\n

But nine months after its announcement the businesses are yet to receive the package.<\/p>\n

One of the business operators who spoke to Citi Business News on condition of anonymity said ‘my company was approved to receive the stimulus package it’s been six months …..nothing, it is worrying we have to have this money to revive our business or its will go down totally.’<\/p>\n

Chief Executive\u00a0Officer of\u00a0AGI,\u00a0Seth Twum-Akwaboah, speaking during a staholder engagement with Government on the 2018 budget said the delay is further worsening the plight of distressed companies.<\/p>\n

‘The stimulus package, is yet to really have an effect on the ground. I know the process is going on but industry is yet to have it. I know there was some provision in this year\u2019s budget but we are not too sure if the release has been finalized so industries can actually take the funds to stimulate their operations so that is something we need to look at and we are already in the ninth month of the year so it means that we are actually delayed as far as targets are concerned’. He stressed.<\/p>\n

Government had in June announced that the disbursements will commence in the middle of the year.<\/p>\n

It’s unclear what is causing the delay in disbusment but industry has warned there will be more job losses if companies in distress are not attended to anytime soon.<\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

By:\u00a0 Vivian Kai Lokko\/citibusinessnews.com\/Ghana<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Local business associations have begun agitating following Government’s delay in releasing the stimulus package earmarked for local companies in distress. Government announced early this year – 2017, that it will offer stimulus packages to local companies that have been in distress for a number of years now. Businesses in distress A number of challenges including […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[32,171],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nStimulus package for businesses in limbo? - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/09\/stimulus-package-for-businesses-in-limbo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Stimulus package for businesses in limbo? - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Local business associations have begun agitating following Government’s delay in releasing the stimulus package earmarked for local companies in distress. Government announced early this year – 2017, that it will offer stimulus packages to local companies that have been in distress for a number of years now. Businesses in distress A number of challenges including […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/09\/stimulus-package-for-businesses-in-limbo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/citi97.3\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-09-07T19:20:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-11-10T12:03:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kojo Akoto Boateng\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@citi973\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@citi973\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kojo Akoto Boateng\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/09\/stimulus-package-for-businesses-in-limbo\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/09\/stimulus-package-for-businesses-in-limbo\/\",\"name\":\"Stimulus package for businesses in limbo? - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-09-07T19:20:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-11-10T12:03:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1642ef473fe39bf0c4e2f2f252678eb1\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/09\/stimulus-package-for-businesses-in-limbo\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/09\/stimulus-package-for-businesses-in-limbo\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/09\/stimulus-package-for-businesses-in-limbo\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Stimulus package for businesses in limbo?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/\",\"name\":\"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\",\"description\":\"Ghana News | Ghana Politics | Ghana Soccer | Ghana Showbiz\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1642ef473fe39bf0c4e2f2f252678eb1\",\"name\":\"Kojo Akoto Boateng\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ba51f5385119e83762c67ecd6aa410ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ba51f5385119e83762c67ecd6aa410ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kojo Akoto Boateng\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/author\/kojo\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Stimulus package for businesses in limbo? - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/09\/stimulus-package-for-businesses-in-limbo\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Stimulus package for businesses in limbo? - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","og_description":"Local business associations have begun agitating following Government’s delay in releasing the stimulus package earmarked for local companies in distress. Government announced early this year – 2017, that it will offer stimulus packages to local companies that have been in distress for a number of years now. Businesses in distress A number of challenges including […]","og_url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/09\/stimulus-package-for-businesses-in-limbo\/","og_site_name":"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/citi97.3","article_published_time":"2017-09-07T19:20:17+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-11-10T12:03:28+00:00","author":"Kojo Akoto Boateng","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@citi973","twitter_site":"@citi973","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kojo Akoto Boateng","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/09\/stimulus-package-for-businesses-in-limbo\/","url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/09\/stimulus-package-for-businesses-in-limbo\/","name":"Stimulus package for businesses in limbo? - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-09-07T19:20:17+00:00","dateModified":"2017-11-10T12:03:28+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1642ef473fe39bf0c4e2f2f252678eb1"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/09\/stimulus-package-for-businesses-in-limbo\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/09\/stimulus-package-for-businesses-in-limbo\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/09\/stimulus-package-for-businesses-in-limbo\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Stimulus package for businesses in limbo?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/","name":"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","description":"Ghana News | Ghana Politics | Ghana Soccer | Ghana Showbiz","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1642ef473fe39bf0c4e2f2f252678eb1","name":"Kojo Akoto Boateng","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ba51f5385119e83762c67ecd6aa410ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ba51f5385119e83762c67ecd6aa410ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kojo Akoto Boateng"},"url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/author\/kojo\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351606"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=351606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351606\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=351606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=351606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=351606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}