Dr. Joseph Obeng

President of Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Dr Joseph Obeng, has justified the proposed closure of their shops in Accra on August 29 over rapid cedi depreciation.

According to him, there is panic among its members and therefore urges the Bank of Ghana to, as a matter of urgency, suppress the trading of forex in the black market.

“The Cedi depreciation and inflation are hampering our businesses. Black Market forex trading really booming. We’re doing goods for the forex economy as a country. GIPC can help halt that,” he told Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen Tuesday.

Dr Obeng indicated his members have been taken for granted for far too long and been called all manner of names anytime they decide to close shops.

“We hear people attack us and insult us anytime prices of our goods are increased. When these politicians fail the economy, we are the ones who suffer because they call us all sorts of names, some call us thieves, profiteering people, they call us recalcitrant and mischievous elements, they call us hoarders, these are the names they call us to incite hatred amongst consumers.

“You sometimes hear a statistician tell us we are greedy and increase prices of goods without any recourse to the consumers, all these are not true and its very painful dealing with human beings. We’ve realised we have no future as traders. We are employing alternatives to survive. We’re going through lots of frustrations and pains. We need help,” he fumed.

Members of GUTA say they will close down all their shops on Monday, August 29, to demonstrate against the persistent depreciation of the Ghana Cedi.

Dr Obeng has explained that the worsening state of the Cedi has eroded the gains of businesses after the COVID-19 pandemic and the shocks from the Russia-Ukraine war.

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