Ghana Union of Traders Association Intensifies Strike

The strike embarked upon by traders has intensified as more shops in Accra were closed yesterday, leaving customers stranded. The strike, which began on Monday, February 29, 2016 and expected to end today, is to protest against high government taxes, which they claim are collapsing their businesses.At Abossey Okai where vehicle spare parts are sold, all the shops were closed, unlike Monday when the strike began.

The traders were seen engaging in conversations in front of their locked shops while others were playing some local games. Some stranded customers who were not aware of the traders’ strike until they got to the market, complained bitterly about the high taxes which had resulted in the strike action. Some spare parts dealers said, “We want to tell government that we are not happy with the taxes. We are not happy to close our shops but it has become necessary because we can’t bear the high taxes again.”

According to them, business has gone bad because the customers find it difficult to buy spare parts because of the high prices. “Most of the time we have to reduce the prices so we can sell some parts to get money to take care of our family. Reducing the prices too affects our business badly,” one of them explained. Nana Yaw, a spare parts dealer said, “Most of our goods have been left at the port because we don’t have money to clear them,” stating that the taxes are too much and that the government must do something about them.

At the Accra Central Business District – Kantamanto and Makola –  the story was not different as many shops were locked, resulting in free flow of traffic. . The daily hassle that one has to go through when going to the Central Business District either to buy or sell was not there. People were seen moving freely, uninterrupted by vehicles, pedestrians and hawkers. The strike also affected the business of head porters (kayayei) and truck pushers as there were no goods for them to carry.

 An angry and hungry truck pusher could not hide his frustration. He said the strike had affected him and his colleagues badly because there were no goods to carry to get money. “We are unable to feed our family because there is no money. The shops have been closed so there are no goods to carry. “We want government to listen to the traders’ concerns and address them so that business can go on well for all of us. If the traders are not there we the truck pushers too will not get goods to carry,” the aggrieved man indicated.

George Ofori, President of the Ghana Union of Traders (GUTA), has said that the strike was necessary due to government’s failure to address their concerns. “After almost a month that we lamented the various taxes, fees and other policies that are collapsing our businesses, it is regrettable to say that the government has failed to heed our call,” he bemoaned.

Mr George Ofori said the leadership of the joint Private Business Consultative Forum would meet again tomorrow, Thursday, March 3, 2016, to evaluate the situation and decide on the next line of action. The directive to traders to embark on the three-day strike was from the joint Private Business Consultative Forum, comprising GUTA, Food and Beverages Importers’ Association of Ghana (FBIAG), Ghana Auto Mobile Dealers’ Association (GADA), Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF) Customs Brokers’ Association of Ghana (CUBAG) and Importers and Exporters’ Association of Ghana.