A leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko has pleaded with Ghanaian traders not to overcharge diasporans who have returned home to celebrate the Year of Return initiative launched by President Akufo-Addo.
According to him, the pricing attitude of both traders and service providers will determine whether or not diasporans would come back to Ghana in subsequent years to enjoy the yearly programme which will be held in December.
But for Ghana to get flooded again with an array of celebrities across such as Steve Harvey, Nicole Ari Parker, Diggy Simmons, Micheal Jai White, Ludacris, Cardi B, Rick Ross, Mona Scott, Tina Knowles among others, together with other foreign nationals, traders need to keep the prices of both products and services at a subsidized cost.
In a tweet sighted by GhanaWeb, the cousin to President Akufo-Addo said “Message to traders and all service providers in Ghana: If you want those who have returned to return please don’t overcharge them. We beg!”.
This comes on the back of posts by some diasporans making complaints on social media that some hotels, traders and ride-hailing service, Uber were charging exorbitant fees for their products and services during this period.
The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) has, however, promised to take action against the aforementioned if found culpable.
Despite these hitches, President Akufo-Addo on Monday deemed this Year of Return initiative a success following the pumping in of about 1.9 billion dollars into the economy.
According to him, “It’s more than I expected. We had hoped that it will have a big resonance but it has had a much bigger resonance than anticipated. It’s a shock alright, but it is a welcomed shock”.
Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko