General Secretary of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) Nana Yaa Akyempim Jantuah has asked the government to come out with measures to address the concerns of members of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) including the fall of the Cedi.
She said it is not dialogue that will resolve the issues but the right policy measures.
Speaking on the closure of shops by GUTA on TV3’s New Day with Roland Walker, Thursday October 20, she said “We are suffering, things are bad, we need some action.”
Nana Yaa Akyempim Jantuah further said “the government should sit up and stop being abysmal.
“The main issue of GUTA is Cedi depreciation, what they need is an appreciation of the Cedi, not dialogue.”
Shops in Accra closed from Wednesday, October 19 as traders started a three-day action to register displeasure at the current economic conditions.
GUTA directed all its members to close down shops in Accra.
They are protesting the high cost of doing business in Ghana as a result of the economic meltdown.
They claim the depreciation of the domestic currency, Cedi, to the US Dollar is making it difficult for most traders to stay in business.
Not even a last-minute move by the Council of State would stop GUTA from embarking on the action.
“It is obvious that we cannot contain these challenges any longer as it is becoming increasingly challenging,” GUTA National President Dr Joseph Obeng told journalists on Tuesday, October 18 after the meeting.
“We want to send a hint to the government to recognize that there is a sense of urgency in this situation. On this note, by the power vested in me by the trading community, I declare that all shops in the Greater Accra be closed [Wednesday] till Monday.”
This follows last week’s closure of shops in the central business district of the Ashanti Region.
There, the traders were protesting the e-VAT system introduced by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
It took the intervention of the Queen mother of the Ashanti Kingdom, Asantehemaa Nana Konadu Yiadom II for the tensions to ease.
