The president of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Dr Joseph Obeng, has said that the government has not Exhibited any sense of urgency towards the economic downturn in the country as well as the collection of excessive taxes by the government in their line of business.
This follows the decision of members of the Union in Accra today to close down their shops in a nationwide protest based on the exorbitant tax rates and the continuous depreciation of the local currency against the dollar.
“This is in line with what is going on in Kumasi. We have been called upon by council of state and we did not go there with only problems but to make suggestions which could make this better.
They were able to engage us, but we haven’t yet reached a conclusion. It clearly shows that the government has not exhibited any sense of urgency”
Dr Joseph Obeng
Mr Obeng indicated that there is something fundamental in the country which needs to be attended to with urgency apart from the possible intervention of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and that is the demand of limited forex.
“Our cedi should have gained strength because we have more supply than demand. The demand of the limited supply of the dollar is so high and that is one thing the government should take note and address”
Dr Joseph Obeng
He further mentioned that the juiciest part of the economy has been given out to foreigners. He added that as a country, we have given most of the profitable part of the economy to foreigners and that is a problem, making emphasize on the selling of Vodafone.
Mr obeng suggested that the VAT rate must be reduced as it was previously 3% but has been increased to 19.25% now. He added that the monetary policy rate that the Bank of Ghana keeps increasing is not a solution to the problem.
Nationwide Strike
Members of the Union are expected to embark on a nationwide Strike starting from the Wednesday, 19th of October 2022.
They are embarking on the strike until the issue of increase in VAT and the collection of exorbitant taxes from traders by the government is addressed and resolved.
This follows a recent closed down of Shops in Kumasi by the Adum Traders Association due to what they termed as “killer VAT” and archaic tax system which affected a lot of consumers in the region’s capital.
Currently the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) as well as Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) among others are also on strike due to the rejection of a suggestion by government as regards to their demands, made at a meeting hosted by the National Labor Commission on the 14th of October 2022.
