Shops temporarily reopen after Asantehemaa’s intervention

A crucial meeting with an emissary of the Asantehemaa on Thursday night convinced traders at Adum to temporarily reopen their shops.

The meeting comes ahead of another meeting with the head of the Ashanti Regional Security Council (REGSEC).

Members of the Ashanti Business Owners Association in the Kumasi Central Business District have been on strike since Monday, October 10.

On a visit Friday morning by 3news.com, shops have been opened.

Executive Secretary of the Ashanti Business Owners Association Charles Kusi Appiah-Kubi earlier told Kumasi-based Akoma FM that “we held a crunch meeting with emissary from Asantehemaa and we accorded our mother the respect to open our shops”.

Another member of the group also told reporter Issah Zakaria, “Yesterday, we visited the Regional Coordinating Council to have an engagement with the regional minister but unfortunately our meeting has to be rescheduled today at 10am. We also met with a delegation from the Asantehemaa’s palace and upon the plea from the delegation from the royal palace, we decided to open our shops today.”

However, he noted that if the Association’s meeting ends inconclusively with the regional minister, they shall resume their strike action until their demands are met by government and relevant stakeholders.

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The Ashanti Business Owners Association, whose members trade in fast moving consumer goods, has been on an industrial action for four days over “high and unrealistic” tax system of the economy, high rate of borrowing, low gross margin, high inflation rate and forex hikes which members say have been factors bedeviling their businesses.

Source: 3news.com