Traders defy leaders and open shops

Scores of traders at Kantamanto, Rawlings Park, Tudu and Makola abandoned the industrial action called by the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) and opened their shops on Wednesday.

GUTA called the strike on Tuesday to protest against what it called the government’s inability to deal with foreigners who are deeply involved in retail trade in contravention of the laws of the country and high taxes.

When the GNA got to Rawlings Park, Tudu, Kantamanto and Makola, most of the shops open, just one day after the four-day strike was declared.

Kofi Adomako, owner of a shoe shop at Kantamanto alleged that GUTA leaders were using traders to satisfy personal interests, adding “They are using us to get money.”

“They organize these boycotts to cause panic among foreign national traders as a ploy to solicit money from them. They came to us to close our shops in protest against these traders but they met them secretly to demand money,” Mr Adomako said.

“Why should I close my shop if I will gain nothing from it?”

Mr. Adomako said the high dollar rate was the fault of the government and not the influx of foreign nationals into the markets, and that the government was only interested in getting taxes instead of working hard to fix the problem of the cedi.

Mr. Joshua Akolgo, a shoe shop owner, also accused GUTA leaders of being dishonest with traders.

“We Ghanaians are not united. Our leaders meet those foreign nationals in the dark to collect money,” he alleged.

Mr. Akolgo accused the foreign traders of being the cause of price hikes in the market and said “We use to buy a pair of shoes at a wholesale price of Ghc13.00 but they now sell it to us at Ghc30.00. We make as little as Ghc2.00 profit on a pair of shoes”.

Ni Chy, a Chinese shoe importer at Kantamanto, told the GNA that claims that they were responsible for price hikes were false.

“Why is it our fault? We also want the dollar to come down. If the dollar is reduced, we will also reduce our prices,” he said

“We sold a pair of slippers for Ghc7.50 when a dollar was Ghc2.20 but now we sell it for Ghc8.0 because a dollar is now over Ghc3.00. Our customers are complaining. We are losing money,” said Ni.

Madam Esi Ketiwaa, a lace seller who opened her shop in defiance of the strike, told the GNA that “it seems the government has made up its mind already so am not going to waste my time and if I close my shop who is going to cater for my family”.

Ms. Ama Sarfo, a rice dealer explained that she had opened her shop because her capital was a loan from a financial institution which must be repaid within months. “If I close my shop for four days, how am I going to service the loan”.

GUTA Tuesday declared a four-day industrial action in Accra and Kumasi in protest against the increase in taxes and invasion of markets by foreign traders.