Traders begin three-day protest against taxes
A section of the business community in Accra, mainly shop owners, Monday closed their shops to the public in protest against what they called high import duties and a hike in taxes.
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The protest is in compliance with a directive issued at a joint consultative assembly meeting of 19 business groups on February 25, 2016 as part of measures to compel the government to review the current tax regime.
The business groups, including the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Ghana Automobile Dealers Association, the Food and Beverages Association, at that meeting, resolved to close their shops for three days, with effect from yesterday, in protest against the high taxes.
Graphic visits
When the Daily Graphic visited some commercial centres in the city, including the Central Business District, Kantamanto and Abossey Okai, the usual hustle and bustle was absent, as most of the major shops were locked.
The usual human traffic was also missing, as a few shop owners sat by their locked shops.
Some traders who had travelled from outside Accra to purchase items for sale were left disappointed and frustrated by the turn of events.
One of them, Mr Isaac Nlamborm, 35, who had travelled from Dambai in the Volta Region to buy roofing sheets and other building materials, could not hide his frustration when he said: “I went round and round to buy building materials but all the shops are closed. I arrived in Accra this dawn with the hope of buying the materials and return. Now I do not know when they will open the shops so that I can buy the materials and go back.”
At Abossey Okai, most of the shop owners had red pieces of cloth hung at the entrance of their closed shops.
Action is a necessary evil
The Deputy National Co-ordinator of GUTA, Mr Kofi Boateng, told the Daily Graphic that although the shop owners would lose some money as a result of the closure of their shops, they were ready to sacrifice until the government responded positively to their call.
“We are not bothered by the losses that we will incur. Nelson Mandela once said that ‘freedom is not won on a silver platter’; so if you want to achieve something, you have to tighten your belt,” he said.
He said the other regions were on standby for directives from the leadership of the business operators to follow suit if that should become necessary.
The owner of Kwessapp Ventures, dealers in air conditions, Mr Kwesi Appiah, said apart from the high import duties, other taxes by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly were seriously affecting business.
Background
The protesting business people had held an initial news conference on February 2, 2016 to make public the effects of high import duties and taxes on their activities, claiming that some of their members were out of business as a result.
The government was given a two-week ultimatum to react to their concerns. On February 16, 2016, a meeting was convened by the groups, at which they decided to close their shops to the public following the failure of the government to respond to their plight.