FDG expresses concern about Strike by GUTA

The Friends for Democracy of Ghana (FDG), a non-governmental organization, has expressed concern about the recent industrial action by members of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA).

A statement issued in Accra and signed by Mr. Opoku Agyeman, FDG's Greater Accra Regional Chairman, called on traders to examine "their own house and see how best they can help sustain the economy rather than undermining it to collapse and later turn round to blame the government". It reminded GUTA that, in a democratic dispensation, it is politically naive for an association that operates in a free market environment to gag the government "for the sins mostly committed by members of the association itself". The statement said the activities of some members of GUTA, which include black marketeering and money laundering, has rather contributed to the general economic downtrend in the country. "Some members of GUTA deal in goods that have absolutely nothing to do with the general good of the nation apart from the parochial interests."