The president of the Association of Ghana Industries is challenging President Mills to fulfill his campaign promise of allowing local manufacturers to postpone payment of import duties on their raw materials till after production. The AGI has argued the facility, which is presently enjoyed by businesses within the free-zone enclave, is discriminatory against local manufacturers because they have to compete in the same market where their free-zone counterparts sell 30 percent of their output. Nana Owusu-Afari believes postponing all such pre-production taxes until after production will level the playing field. He was speaking at his induction by the AGI in Accra on Thursday. “Import duties on raw materials should be deferred until after production; call it post-production taxes. When you get post-production taxes, you are freed, for at least, a month or two so that you can use your money to expand your business,” Mr Owusu-Afari said. Immediate past president of the AGI Tony Oteng-Gyasi asked government to make it mandatory for businesses to join associations to enhance data collection. On her part, Trade Minister Hannah Tetteh said government intends using revenue from the oil exploration to boost infrastructure for businesses to thrive. Source: Joy Business/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana