While the burning of charcoal is resulting in land degradation and deforestation, some charcoal sellers at Wulugu in the West Mamprusi Municipality of the North East Region who are into this charcoal production for commercial goals are calling on the government of Ghana to reduce the fuel prices as it is affecting their business.
The charcoal traders bemoan that their customers who come from Accra and Kumasi and other parts of the country to buy from them are not willing to buy a full sack of charcoal at Gh¢50 but prefer to buy it at Gh¢40 because of the increment of the fuel prices.
They say a bag of charcoal was initially sold at Gh¢50 but it has been reduced to Gh¢40 because of the inflation of fuel prices.
Therefore, traders in the charcoal business are calling on the government not to make gas cylinders compulsory for Ghanaians as they are selling the charcoal to look after their wards in schools, pay their hospital bills as well as feed their families.
Speaking to GhanaWeb in an interview, Mankuyi Sandra said the government should not make the gas cylinder compulsory because she has been selling charcoal since her primary school days to date and it is through the charcoal business that she is getting sales to cater for her education.
"Selling charcoal is the only thing we have to support ourselves. so for the cylinders, I just appeal that the government shouldn't bring them, because if everybody buys a cylinder, no one will buy the charcoal.
"Yes, because, everybody will prefer the cylinder to charcoal and that will cause a lot of harm. So please, the government of Ghana, don't make it compulsory for everybody to buy cylinders because if that is so, we are going to suffer. How will we get money to go to school?" she quizzed.
Many women in the North East Region are engaged in the charcoal business for commercial purposes to look after their family and wards in school.
Tia Margaret also added that the charcoal business is helping them a lot but the inflation rate has recently brought their business down.
"People are willing to buy the charcoal but there is no money in the system. And because of the increment in petrol, our suppliers who bring it from other villages to us increase the price of our charcoal, and when we increase our prices too, they buy," she bemoaned.
Therefore, traders at the charcoal factory in Wulugu are appealing to the government to reduce the fuel prices for it has affected their daily bread forcing them to run to the southern part of the country for kayayei.
