Ekeomah Atuonwu
Accra, the capital of Ghana, saw a three-day strike by traders against rising living expenses as the West African nation struggles with the economic effects of the conflict in Ukraine.
Only street food vendors were standing in front of the closed stores in Accra’s Central Business District and the largest automotive spare parts district, where daily traffic is typically present.
President Nana Akufo-Addo is facing criticism for his handling of the economy after changing his mind and opening negotiations with the IMF for a $3 billion loan to strengthen the government’s finances.
Ghana has a heavy debt load, a record high inflation rate of 37% in September, and the cedi currency has depreciated against the US dollar.
According to the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) union, the action indicated to the government that they were dissatisfied with its handling of the economy.
The demonstration, according to GUTA president Joseph Obeng, was merely a “pinch” for the government to immediately address the economy in order to save Ghanaian companies.
The president’s constitutionally required advisory council, the Council of State, was unable to convince traders to end their walkout on Tuesday.
The demonstration has received no response from the government to date.
On his trip to examine several government projects on Monday, Akufo-Addo was booed by a large number of business people in the Ashanti Region, the base of his ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The dealers claimed they were protesting the state of the economy.
In an effort to restrain price rise, Ghana’s central bank raised its benchmark lending rate by 10 percentage points this year to 24.5 percent. However, this made borrowing more expensive for dealers.
Ghana and the International Monetary Fund have begun negotiations over a settlement, and IMF officials announced last month that they anticipated reaching an agreement before the end of the year.
