Open your shops, make sacrifices – PNC begs GUTA

The People’s National Convention (PNC) has “humbly” appealed to all traders, the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), and others, to open their shops for the consuming public. The traders recently shut down their shops in the central business district as a protest against the government in relation to the rising cost of living and the never-ending depreciation of the Ghana cedi against major currencies of international trade, especially the US dollar, with which most of them transact business. Visits to the CBD revealed a slowdown of activities as most shops belonging to GUTA members had not been opened. Currently, one needs more than 13 cedis to buy a dollar at various forex bureaux. Inflation has also skyrocketed, almost hitting the 40-per cent-mark. The fuel prices also went up recently in the never-ending streak that has been the norm since the beginning of 2022. The cost of food items on the market also keeps rising. Ghana is currently in talks with the IMF for a $3-billion programme to save the faltering economy from collapsing. The programme may necessitate a debt-restructuring deal, which experts have warned could affect returns on government securities, bonds, and even pension funds. However, the ministry of finance has allayed such fears. GUTA says its members have been devastated by the economic downturn and have, thus, resorted to a voluntary shutdown of their shops as a sign of protest against the government. However, in a statement signed by General Secretary Janet Nabla, the PNC said the concerns and worries of GUTA are “obvious” but noted that “closing their shops would only exacerbate the prevailing difficulties in the country”. The party said the “worsening” cedi depreciation against the major currencies that has led to rising inflation and loss of capital by traders, “is very worrying, but this is not the time to throw our hands in despair”, especially “when we all know that the country is facing revenue inflow challenges”, thus, the government’s ongoing negotiations with the IMF for a deal to restore revenue flows. The opposition party said it is “not holding brief for the government”, adding: “We believe that it is in difficulties such as this that sacrifices are required to be made by all the citizenry”. “It is our fear that if sacrifices are not made now, more challenges would come our way if we continue to point accusing fingers at one another, without doing anything as the years go by”, the party warned. The PNC also appealed to the media “to dedicate more space” for the discussion of “solutions to the problems and avoid the lamentations”. It also appealed to the “government to organise a national forum to help come out with an all-inclusive and acceptable blueprint to tackle this economic problem”. “The national forum should bring together all stakeholders such as the academia, business owners, political parties and development partners”, the PNC suggested. Further, it said the “government must hasten to get a deal with the IMF, as a short-term measure” while “focusing on intensifying the industrialisation agenda to win us off too much import dependency”. “This must be done religiously to avoid these cyclical problems”, the party noted.

The People’s National Convention (PNC) has “humbly” appealed to all traders, the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), and others, to open their shops for the consuming public. The traders recently shut down their shops in the central business district as a protest against the government in relation to the rising cost of living and the never-ending depreciation of the Ghana cedi against major currencies of international trade, especially the US dollar, with which most of them transact business. Visits to the CBD revealed a slowdown of activities as most shops belonging to GUTA members had not been opened. Currently, one needs more than 13 cedis to buy a dollar at various forex bureaux. Inflation has also skyrocketed, almost hitting the 40-per cent-mark. The fuel prices also went up recently in the never-ending streak that has been the norm since the beginning of 2022. The cost of food items on the market also keeps rising. Ghana is currently in talks with the IMF for a $3-billion programme to save the faltering economy from collapsing. The programme may necessitate a debt-restructuring deal, which experts have warned could affect returns on government securities, bonds, and even pension funds. However, the ministry of finance has allayed such fears. GUTA says its members have been devastated by the economic downturn and have, thus, resorted to a voluntary shutdown of their shops as a sign of protest against the government. However, in a statement signed by General Secretary Janet Nabla, the PNC said the concerns and worries of GUTA are “obvious” but noted that “closing their shops would only exacerbate the prevailing difficulties in the country”. The party said the “worsening” cedi depreciation against the major currencies that has led to rising inflation and loss of capital by traders, “is very worrying, but this is not the time to throw our hands in despair”, especially “when we all know that the country is facing revenue inflow challenges”, thus, the government’s ongoing negotiations with the IMF for a deal to restore revenue flows. The opposition party said it is “not holding brief for the government”, adding: “We believe that it is in difficulties such as this that sacrifices are required to be made by all the citizenry”. “It is our fear that if sacrifices are not made now, more challenges would come our way if we continue to point accusing fingers at one another, without doing anything as the years go by”, the party warned. The PNC also appealed to the media “to dedicate more space” for the discussion of “solutions to the problems and avoid the lamentations”. It also appealed to the “government to organise a national forum to help come out with an all-inclusive and acceptable blueprint to tackle this economic problem”. “The national forum should bring together all stakeholders such as the academia, business owners, political parties and development partners”, the PNC suggested. Further, it said the “government must hasten to get a deal with the IMF, as a short-term measure” while “focusing on intensifying the industrialisation agenda to win us off too much import dependency”. “This must be done religiously to avoid these cyclical problems”, the party noted.