Joseph C. Garbrah, the Chairman of the Western and Central Regional Branch, of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), has urged employers to treat their employees as key assets to help foster productivity and growth of their businesses.

He said employees were key to improving productivity in any business organisation, hence, it was vital for owners to treat them as partners, with dignity and respect to help motivate them to give their best to push the business to higher heights.

He was speaking at the opening of the 21st Annual General Meeting (AGM), and Exhibition and Job Fair of the Western and Central Regional Chapter of the AGI, held in Takoradi.

Held on the theme: “Empowering growth: Building a stronger workforce for tomorrow”, the event was attended by some members of the AGI and other stakeholders to share ideas on how to ensure the growth of the business community.

It also provided a platform for businesses to showcase their products and services to their prospective customers, with some young people also networking with prospective employers.

Mr Garbrah said: “Employees are key to improving productivity in organisations. Capital alone cannot push businesses forward, so it is necessary to treat them as key assets in your business organisation.”

Touching on the theme, he noted that one important tool needed for employers to adopt to build a strong workforce for tomorrow was to constantly train their employees to adapt to the changing world of doing business.

“Employers must shape employees’ character to cope with vicissitudes of business. We must adapt to change and transfer that reality of change to our employees so they will be able to achieve extraordinary results,” he stated.

Seth Twum Akwaboah, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the AGI, asked the members of the Association to actively participate in the AGI’s activities to build a stronger connection to share ideas and knowledge to help grow the business community.

He acknowledged some of the challenges of doing business in the country and said the leadership of the Association had been at the forefront of policy advocacy to influence decisions that affected the survival of business.

He lauded the Regional AGI for organising the job fair with support from the Ghana Enterprises Agency, saying businesses needed to survive to create employment opportunities for the teeming youth.

Abraham Akpaglo, a Chief Revenue Officer at the Takoradi Area office of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), took participants through the withholding tax regime, its regulatory framework, and why it was necessary for businesses to comply and regularly file their tax returns.