Today, October 13, 2022, the Ashanti Regional Minister Simon Osei Mensah is scheduled to meet with businesspeople from the Adum Business Community.
The traders' ongoing protest against what they see as excessive taxes on their companies has forced them to hold this meeting.
Since Monday, the merchants in Adum have shut their doors, and others in neighborhoods like Bantama have followed suit.
According to sources, the minister met with representatives of the Ghana Revenue Authority on Wednesday to discuss issues raised by the businesses.
Due to the inconsistent application of the value-added tax, certain businesses in Kumasi have not been open for the previous three days.
Businesses that are protesting have claimed that the tax system and how it is administered do not support the characteristics of the fast-moving goods market.
They added that because of the absence of VAT compliance, complying businesses must compete with others who are giving lower pricing.
The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), which serves as the traders' national representative, has backed the company owners' initiatives.
The strength of the cedi has also been a problem for the dealers.
According to the Bank of Ghana, the Ghana cedi has lost 37.5% of its value against the US dollar as of the end of September 2022.
The exchange rate for the dollar right now is slightly over GH11 to $1.
If the concerns of the traders are not addressed, the GUTA has threatened further unrest across the nation.
"At first, we were controlling our annoyance, but now that annoyance has given way to anger, the business community is displaying that. Others will follow, so this is just the beginning. According to Dr. Joseph Obeng, president of GUTA, "If I listen to the agitations of our members, it means that a lot more will follow, and it is going to be massive."