The decision of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) to close all shops from October 19 to October 24 has been described by the Food and Beverages Association of Ghana (FABAG) as very appropriate since the government has failed to stabilise the cedi.
According to the Secretary of FABAG, Sam Aggrey, the cedi’s depreciation to other major currencies has badly affected their businesses.
FABAG recalled that the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, in 2012, promised Ghanaians that when the National Patriotic Party (NPP) comes to power, he will help to stabilise the cedi and also help to bring down interest rates.
— Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia (@MBawumia) August 25, 2012
Consequently, they have criticised Dr Bawumia for failing to deliver.
The secretary of FABAG threw more light on the fact that local investors are troubled as the depreciation of the cedi erodes their gains.
“If you look at the way things are happening, our business capital is dwindling if you take the cedi investment and the rate at which it keeps depreciating. Therefore, one cannot say that we must be silent and sit down without doing anything for the government to know we are serious.
“We were expecting that the government would announce certain remedies that will revert this depreciation trend. Unfortunately, we’ve not heard anything, so once the government understands the closure of shops or strike, that is the way we’ll communicate to him for him to know that there is a real problem on the ground,” Mr. Aggrey stated in a discussion monitored by The Ghana Report on Starr FM.
He continued: “If they are not doing anything about this situation, then they need not be in power. The Vice President assured that the cedi had been arrested and the key given to the IGP, and therefore there is nothing like the cedi depreciation.
“At least if it should depreciate, it should be slow, but it is skyrocketing. He (Bawumia) is the same person who said if the fundamentals are weak, the cedi will expose you. This is what we have been experiencing for the past year. What is he doing about it,” the secretary to FABAG questioned.
He further added: “So we are asking them to wake up. If they are sleeping, then they should wake up and solve the problem. Because we are suffering, and our investment cannot dwindle just like that. We need investors to come into this country and invest, and if this is the way things are going to be, then they have no business to be in power.”