Dr Joseph Obeng
LEADERSHIP of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) has directed its members not to close their shops today, following an earlier call for them to do so.
At a press conference on Monday, August 22, 2022, the GUTA leadership ordered its members who owned shops – both wholesale and retail – to close their shops on Monday, August 29, 2022, as a protest against the depreciation of the cedi, high inflation and interest rates among others.
However, in a statement sighted by DAILY GUIDE, the GUTA leadership has rescinded its decision and asked members to leave their shops open following meetings between the association and key stakeholders, including the Council of State.
“As a result of the meeting between the leadership of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) and other members of the trading community on the one hand, and the National Security, Ministries of Finance and Trade on the other hand, as well as the subsequent exhaustive meeting with the Honourable Members of the Council of State on the above subject matter; and based on their intervention, plea and firm assurance to the leadership of the trading community of swift and decisive action on our genuine grievances, we agreed to suspend the intended closure of shops in Accra on Monday, 29th
August, 2022,” the statement said.
A joint committee made up of ten members of the trading community and eight members from the Council of State, the statement added, has been set up under the chairmanship of Paa Kofi Ansong, Council of State Member, to look into all the issues raised by GUTA in the meeting.
The committee would also meet with all relevant state institutions in the course of its work, and report to the Council of State within one month for the necessary action to be taken.
Leadership, however, directed members to “continue to fly red flags in front of their shops until solutions are found” while appealing to all traders to “co-operate in this direction and make the work of the committee a success”.
By Nii Adjei Mensahfio