Cedi fall: GUTA suspends planned shop shutdowns

The Ghana Union of Traders’ Association (GUTA) will no longer be closing shops in the country as it had earlier intended.

This follows a meeting between the group and other members of the trading community, the Ministries of Finance and Trade; and the National Security apparatus.

A statement issued by GUTA on Friday, 26 August 2022, said: “We agreed to suspend the intended closure of shops on Monday, 29 August 2022.”

It added: “A joint committee made up of ten members of the trading community and eight members from the Council of State has been set up,” to look into the issues raised by GUTA.

The association, however, urged its members to continue to “fly red flags in front of their shops until solutions are found.”

GUTA had announced that its members would close their shops on Monday, 29 August 2022, in protest to the free fall of the cedi and prevailing economic hardship.

Speaking at a press conference in Accra, the President of GUTA, Dr Joseph Obeng said the rapid and continuous depreciation of the cedi, coupled with the continuous rise in the interest rate and high inflation rate was affecting their businesses.

He called on the government to, as a matter of urgency, wake up and see the depth to which businesses in the country are crumbling as a result of the exchange rate.

Dr Obeng also stressed that the effects of inflation have drastically reduced consumers' purchasing power and resulted in their inability to buy or purchase more.

As the bulk of imports come from China, the president of GUTA proposed the use of the Chinese Yen as an alternative to ease the pressure on the United State dollar.