Traders Shut Shops In Protest Of Economic Hardship

Shops in Accra are closing from Wednesday, October 19 as traders start a three-day action to register displeasure at the current economic conditions.

The Ghana Union of Traders Association (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.