[ 2012-07-08 ]

Re-regulating the Ghanaian Market
Globally, there has been a recession and back home
in Ghana, all are bearing the consequences. The
end thereof has been the blame on the government!
Come on people, let us wake up! The “Western
Giants” are all suffering and complaining! In
the Americas and Europe, companies are shutting
down! People are losing their jobs! Consumers are
complaining! Everything seems to be chaotic!
Ironically, our country is dependent on these
economies; whether we like it or not! Through our
importations and exportations, we are dependent!
That is the reality and so, our economy also
suffers!

This has never been the first and neither would it
be the last. In Ghana, there has been inflation in
prices for every monetary transaction. At home,
parents keep complaining! On the streets, the
ordinary Ghanaian grumbles on! In our various
commercial vehicles, passengers are usually left
in a state of overwhelming grief! Children are
even complaining to each other since their chop
monies have suffered a considerable decrease! Jobs
are hard to come by! For some people, it is
devaluation. The money that was used to purchase
more only yesterday, is inadequate for a single
purchase of the very item today. In our markets,
sellers are now complaining to buyers. Even in our
churches, the collections have reduced
considerable. Subsequently on our airwaves, it is
the government who suffers! The first word that is
uttered by the average Ghanaian is always and
usually addressed to the government, preferably,
the presidency. Our poor president is once again
standing trial for the increased pricing we are
facing. A lot of people need laudable reasons for
this but the truth is, the answers lay with us. We
know the reasons for this! This secret is with
us!

Quite recently, I made a single purchase for a
certain item and was surprised when later on, a
bulk purchase of the same item left me
dumbfounded! I was being robbed each day! I sat
down and calculated how much I had spent on this
item on a daily basis and the finding was pretty
disturbing. It was a revelation! I had found an
answer to the questions most of us raise each day!
Our various store owners and market men and women
alike are partly to blame. They keep inflating
prices of goods. From the manufacturer to the
retailer, the prices of these items are quite
reasonable but when it gets to the final place of
purchase to the ordinary citizen, which is where
the atrocities are committed. We are paying up to
a 100% increment of the original price as interest
to our various store owners. Forget about their
usual complaints. It is only a ploy that helps
them make their sales. Some greedy and unpatriotic
Ghanaians are conveniently overpricing their
goods! They complain to you but in the end, still
record their huge sales and profits. They complain
on the streets and rejoice secretly! Others would
perhaps advice that we purchase in bulk them in
order to curtail the additional cost but what
about the ordinary man or woman who cannot afford?
Of course in all business ventures, people look
out to make profit in the end but over profiting
is a sin! A crime that should be punishable by
law! We talk about patronizing locally
manufactured goods when in truth, we cannot
afford! Is it then surprising that other countries
are penetrating our markets? Is it then surprising
that people travel far and wide beyond our shores
to make purchases? Is it then surprising that the
local preference is for foreign goods? In truth,
they are more affordable in terms of cost and
quality!

As Ghanaians, we are our own enemies! The
difficulties we are facing are a consequence of
our own actions and inactions! Until we put an end
to our individual greed, we will still face this
same recession. The cedi is being devalued because
people are hoarding items! The cedi is being
devalued because people are hoarding dollars! And
yet, we complain!

Of course, action and reaction is equal and
opposite. There is always a price to be paid for
everything we do. The monies being hoarded today
would be used to purchase at a higher price
another day! We shall surely pay the price!

This is a passionate appeal to all stakeholders!
Let us stop blaming the government and for once,
take blame for our own actions! We need strict
rules and regulations that would ensure that there
is a consistency in pricing of goods. As expected,
we could say that there are already functional
regulations but that is a sad fallacy! The chaos
in our market and on the streets tells us so!
People are pricing items just as they well please!
People are pricing items just as they feel!
Without any consultation! Without any
considerations!

There is the need to re-regulate the Ghanaian
market! Each year, a budget is read and after
that, prices of good change. In pricing these
items, certain key factors are taken into account.
Ultimately, these are mostly dependent on the cost
of production and perhaps transportation. In the
end, a price is agreed upon for the average
consumer. Affordability is always a priority in
the final pricing but some of our local business
owners are forgetting this. There should be a
special taskforce that would be charged with
ensuring that there is uniformity in pricing. Why
should one store sell a particular item within the
same vicinity at a lower price whiles another
store conveniently overprices that same item?
People keep taking the law into their own hands
and yet, nothing seems to be done about it. People
are going scot-free for various crimes. It seems
the only crimes we consider are armed robberies,
murder among other. There are all sorts of
robberies being committed around us each day and
yet, we pretend not to see.

The Ghanaian economy is suffering and so, the
ordinary Ghanaian suffers. People go to bed on
empty stomachs each day. People are homeless since
they cannot afford the cost of accommodation. The
prices of our utilities keep soaring. The cost of
a decent meal is to some people, a dream. Why must
we inflict harm on others? Why must we inflict
suffering on our own selves? Why must we destroy
our own economy and in the end, blame it on the
presidency? God is watching us all!

Anna Esi Hanson (nnhanson2@yahoo.com), Takoradi

Source - Anna Esi Hanson

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