Traders demand apology from Deputy Speaker of Parliament over 'exploitation' remarks
The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) has demanded an apology from the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu, after he accused them of exploiting Ghanaians and claimed they had no moral right to complain about taxes.
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The Ghana Union of Traders Association issued a strongly-worded statement in response, labelling the Bekwai Member of Parliament (MP) as "arrogant, ignorant and disrespectful".
GUTA argued that traders are forced to sell products at high prices due to the multiple taxes imposed by the government.
“We have listened to and read the unguarded statements made by no mean a person than the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament of the Republic of Ghana and demand an immediate retraction and unqualified apology to GUTA and all members of the business community,” the statement said.
“We condemn in no uncertain term the statement, and the sheer arrogance and complete ignorance exhibited on the genuine inputs GUTA made on those three taxes he mentioned.”
What the MP said
Mr Osei-Owusu's remarks were made during an interview with Kumasi based Oyerepa TV and GUTA has called for the MP to retract his comment and issue an "unqualified apology" to all members of the business community.
Accusing the traders of dishonesty, Mr Osei-Owusu said the traders were inflating prices to make huge profits.
"They (the traders) are under-declaring, they are inflating the charges and making huge profits on any product," he said.
