GUTA lauds Akufo-Addo for reopening Kotoka International Airport

The Ghana Union of Traders Association of Ghana (GUTA) has patted the back of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for reopening the Kotoka International Airport.

According to the President of the Association, Dr Joseph Obeng, traders can now travel for business to recoup the loses they incurred while the air boarders were closed.

He added that most of his members do not directly purchase from manufacturers so they travel to various countries to buy goods from different places, consolidate them, and ship them to Ghana.

In an exclusive interview with GhanaWeb, Dr Obeng noted that “The greater majority of my members who import do so by physically travellimg to these destinations. By virtue of the size of their capital…they cannot buy directly from the manufacturers. When you buy from the manufacturers, it’s easier. You can be here and just communicate and your goods will come but when they have to go and buy from the shops, and then consolidate these goods into a container and bring it, then of course, they have to go there and these people have not been working all these while and their capital is almost gone”.

He added that “Especially if their capital is a borrowed one, they have to be paying for interests to service their loans whiles the money is not being turned over because they can’t travel. So once this border is opened, most of them will go to recoup their lost”.

Government re-opened the Kotoka International Airport to international passenger traffic, after five months of closure as part of restrictions to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

President Akufo-Addo made this announcement while updating Ghanaians on measures taken to fight coronavirus in his 16th address to the nation.