President Akufo-Addo has appealed to traders to be measured in the margins they seek on their goods.
According to Akufo-Addo, we are in crisis together, therefore the traders should “not try to make the utmost profits out of the current difficulties.”
Rather than looking for excess profit, he urged traders to “all keep an eye out for the greater good.”
”I hear from the market queens also that another factor fueling the high prices is the high margins that some traders are slapping on goods, for fear of future higher costs. I say to our traders, we are all in this together. Please let us be measured in the margins we seek,” he said.
He made this appeal while addressing the nation on the economic downturn on Sunday.
For sometime now, traders have been charging exorbitant prices for goods as a result of the cedi’s continuous depreciation as well as an increase in inflation.
Presently, data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has revealed that inflation shot up to 33.9% in August 2022, the highest in 21 years.
This is expected to increase the cost of borrowing by raising interest rates further.
Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo has hinted at possibly securing a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by the end of the year.
According to him, the country is likely to arrive at an agreement by December to get the crucial bailout it seeks.
He believes this will help “repair the short term of public finances and restore our balance of payment while we continue to work on the medium to long term structural changes that are at the heart of our goal of constructing a resilient robust Ghanaian economy and building a Ghana Beyond Aid.”
