Traders in Ghana’s capital Accra shut down their stores and businesses for three days in a three-day protest against the country’s soaring cost of living, as the West African country grapples with the economic fallout from the Ukraine war.
Ghana has a high debt burden, with inflation reaching a historic high of 37 percent in September, and the local cedi currency plummeting against the US dollar.
“Prices and import duties have risen as a result of the cedi’s depreciation and the dollar’s appreciation. As a result of the duty increases, importers are finding it difficult to import items, and customers are no longer coming in “a merchant named Kwaku Anokye said
The daily gridlock in Accra’s Central Business District and the country’s largest vehicle spare parts district was mostly absent, with only street food vendors in front of the shuttered shops.
The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) union said the move sent a signal to the government that they were frustrated over poor economic management.
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“The government should listen to the plea of these businesses, though the private sector is also one of the backbones of the economy. We employ most of the young people in the system, okay? If I am able to employ one or two guys in my shop at the end of the day I have taken some people off the street, you understand?”
“… so government should implement policies that will also cushion us for our businesses to grow while looking at other alternatives to also grow the economy. If government grows the economy and our businesses grow there will not be all of these” added Edward Larbie, chairman of the Ghana Electrical Dealers Association.
President Nana Akufo-Addo is under pressure over his economic management after reversing his position and entering talks with the IMF over a $3-billion loan to shore up public finances.
Ghana’s central bank has increased its benchmark lending rate by 10 percentage points this year to 24.5 percent in a bid to tame price growth. But that increased borrowing costs for traders.
The International Monetary Fund has started talks with Ghana over a deal and last month IMF officials said they expected to reach an agreement before the end of the year.
