Shops closed in Accra, October 19, 2022. FRANCIS KOKOROKO/ Portal
Traders in Accra closed Wednesday (19 October) as part of a three-day demonstration to protest the rising cost of living, which has worsened since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the business and automotive parts district, which is otherwise paralyzed by traffic jams, only itinerant food vendors could be seen in front of closed shops. Burdened with debt, Ghana posted historic inflation of 37% in September while the local currency, the cedi, plummeted against the US dollar.
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President Nana Akufo-Addo has been criticized for his economic management of the country and in particular for opening talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which once promised a “Ghana without aid” to secure a $3 billion loan . This decision raised fears that the government would impose austerity measures that would further weigh on a populace already faced with skyrocketing prices.
“Mr. Akufo-Addo disappoints us”
Kwesi Amoah, a parts salesman in Abossey Okai on the outskirts of Accra, told AFP dealers are no longer issuing invoices because prices are rising too quickly, sometimes within hours. “We understand that times are tough for everyone, but our neighbors in Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso are not suffering as we are,” he laments. “Mr. Akufo-Addo disappoints us. We voted for a change and a better way of life, breathes Doris Andoh, a 37-year-old trader. I have four children and as we speak two are at home because I cannot pay their school fees. »
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The Ghana Trades Union (GUTA) said the closures of businesses were a call for help from the government and a way to vent its frustration. “It is evident that we cannot bear this situation any longer,” said its President Joseph Obeng. The State Council, a constitutionally mandated advisory body to the head of state, tried in vain to persuade traders to call off the strike. The government did not comment.
The central bank of Ghana raised its key interest rate by 10 percentage points to 24.5% this year in a bid to curb price growth. But it has increased borrowing costs for merchants.
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