No More High Tariffs: How Bawumia Plans to Shield Barbers and Tailors via Green Energy Transitions.

The flag-bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, is vowing to rescue the informal sector using a four-point model. The NPP presidential candidate convened a stakeholders’ meeting on Thursday, October 15, 2026, in Accra with selected guilds and executives of the Ghana Artisans Association.

They gathered to deliberate on ways to revive the fortunes of Ghanaian artisans and informal sectors who find it difficult to operate businesses in the sub-region smoothly. The meeting saw the convergence of trade unions, including those of hairdressers, beauticians, tailors, dressmakers, barbers, and many others.

Administrators from the construction and building material sector were also in attendance to air their views and concerns on the state of the local construction material market. The stakeholders used the forum to give the executive a sense of the challenges local artisans, traders, beauticians, and dressmakers face.

The forum also heard complains from the stakeholders about the unavailability of credit facilities from commercial banks, hindering their ability to buy modern machines. In his response, the presidential candidate said the artisanal sector was the primary employment pillar for the country’s youth.

Dr. Bawumia said Ghana’s informal sector could provide jobs for thousands of Ghanaian youths if the right policies were implemented. He said the sector could serve as a significant net for school leavers in Ghana, adding that deliberate state support policies had to be put in place to cushion them against the high cost of operating existing businesses.

Mahamudu Bawumia advised that the informal sector operators should adopt solar as a permanent solution to high electricity tariffs. Dr. Bawumia called for the abolition of duties on solar panels and solar equipment as a way of making solar energy affordable for credit-linked small-scale businesses.

The proposed measure would enable beauticians, barbers, and dressmakers to save money that would have been spent on huge electricity bills while putting some money aside to purchase new machines. The presidential candidate pledged to create more accessibility to credit for informal sector operators.

The NPP Flagbearer said they would design credit products that would enable them acquire new machines and tools without going through the usual security requirements. He promised a more relaxed tax regime to ease the burden on the local artisans, shop owners, and ordinary informal sector workers, calling for a complete revamp of the current taxing system.

Dr. Bawumia said a simplified flat tax system would be suitable for the local informal sector workers after he learned their plight with the current system of taxing.

The NPP leader also proposed a formalized training program that would standardize certification for the local artisans, beauticians, tailors, and barbers. The initiative would make it easier for local workers to compete for jobs against their foreign counterparts and help them meet international standards.

The proposed training would also enable them to bid for contracts locally and internationally. The meeting with the Ghana Artisans Association was part of the NPP leader’s nationwide consultations with market stakeholders. His team has engaged other market unions, including the Ghana Union of Traders Associations (GUTA) and various national export councils, in consecutive meetings.

Dr. Bawumia thanked the trade union executives for their inputs and promised to consider their recommendations while developing his policies on national industrialization and informal sectors.