The Traders Advocacy Group Ghana (TAGG) has warned all shop owners who have closed their doors that, while their actions may appear to be the proper way to protest the unfathomable economic crisis, they will only exacerbate their problems as traders in the long run.
Despite the hardship, traders, according to the group, must feed their children and shoulder all responsibilities.
Some traders locked up their shops to test the high taxes they are paying as well as the Cedi’s woes against the Dollar.
However, the group stated in a statement released on Monday, October 17 that “even with our shops open, we are unable to do so effectively, so what happens when we close our shops?”
“The interest on our loans will continue to mount, our children’s fees will go unpaid, and we will lose the few customers we have managed to keep.”
“Fellow traders, we are strongly urging you to keep your shops open in the meantime to keep body and soul together while we fight for your welfare.” Let us salvage what we can from our dying businesses so that the flames of our enterprises can once again burn brightly.
“However, we believe the protest must continue, so we are urging our members to continue the protests by wearing Red Arm Bands, Black or Red Attire, and putting Red Banners in front of their shops beginning Tuesday, October 18th, 2022, rather than closing our shops and hitting on the street.”
“TAGG believes that closing our shops will not affect the exchange rate, but will rather spell doom for our already struggling businesses, as our foreign competitors are already suffocating the local industry,” the statement continued.
Also read: GUTA warns of more protests over high taxes
“We would like to emphasize once more that members of TAGG and the general trading public of Ghana should not close their shops but should continue with their daily business activities so that multinational malls in Ghana do not gain an unfair advantage as a result of our protest.”
“Finally, in the face of growing agitation, we, the TAGG leadership, call on the IGP and the Ghana Police Service to protect traders who want to open their shops from unruly groups that may want to use force to prevent them from doing so.”
“In these trying times, fellow Ghanaians, let us band together to put pressure on the government to respond to our cries in a reasonable and sustainable manner so that our businesses and sources of income are not lost in the process.”
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