The President of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Wilson A. Krofah, has called on the government to tighten the protection of the local business industry and safeguard it against collapse. He said the over liberalisation of the local market to foreign imports was having a negative impact on local manufacturing and businesses, which he said, lacked the necessary technology and funding to compete with international products. “We have opened our markets too wide to other foreign nations and it is affecting local producers. We need to protect them to increase the growth of the economy,” Mr Krofah stated. He was speaking at the 512th monthly meeting of the Accra Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Accra. Mr Krofah said the private sector was the engine of economic growth and therefore, needed the necessary support from the government. "Unless small businesses receive support they cannot contribute to the development of the economy," he stressed, adding that to become globally competitive the country had to be internally competitive. Mr Krofah cited Mali and Nigeria among other countries that had protected their private sectors through the ban on importation of foreign products into their countries. On the energy crisis, Mr Krofah noted that it was adversely affecting local businesses, especially in production, but stated that efforts of the government to rectify the problem were encouraging. Excellence Consultancy Services, providers of software training, and African Management Services Company (AMSCO), a private sector development organisation, presented delegates representing several local businesses, with business improvement ideas. Excellence Consultancy Services introduced methods of enhancing managerial skills through Microsoft Excel. The Project Officer of AMSCO, Mr Paul Ayisi, stressed the importance of helping African companies to become globally competitive. He cited some of the major challenges confronting the small• medium enterprises (SMEs) across the West African sub-region as political instability, globalisation and trade, and poor governance. Credit: Daily Graphic