Traders at Tudu, a commercial heartland of the capital Accra have lamented the economic headwinds they are facing.
They have bitterly lamented the continued depreciation of the Ghana cedi, particularly against the United States dollar and the West African Franc (CFA) which is used by all three neighbours of Ghana.
In an interview with Kofi TV, a YouTube TV
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The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) on Wednesday (October 19) started a six-day shutdown of their shops across the capital to protest the high cost of doing business.
One of the traders who spoke to Kofi TV said: “If our sin was voting for you, forgive us, we won’t offend you again; because we are unable to buy the CFA nor the dollar. What sin have we committed to have voted for Akufo-Addo?
“We are sorry for voting the NPP party into office, whatever sin we have committed by so doing, we are pleading for forgiveness. We beg the NPP with our knees on the ground, we beg them.”
Another harped on the increasing instability of prices on the market. “We are very concerned. Just as we did politics in the past…. What pains me is that there was a time when we had power issues, we were able to stabilize it, why can’t we stabilize the dollar?
If you sell, you run at a loss… I have run at a loss, I did not open my shop today, I just came to take some money I left here. We beg the president, we are on our knees. President, president we beg you. Intervene for us, come and intervene for us, why?
“Our funds are evaporating, we can no longer import, we beg you, do something for us, we want you to do something for us. The CFA is galloping, the dollar is on the move, why?”
The Cedi has recently been classified by Bloomberg as the worst-performing currency against the US Dollar.
Currently, the Cedi is trading at around GH¢13 to a dollar at some forex bureaus. The depreciation rate is a contributory factor for the ongoing shop closures ordered by the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA).
According to the group, the fast depreciation of the Cedi is eroding their profits and also increasing the cost of doing business.
