Some traders in Kumasi have expressed worry over the financial losses they will incur following the announcement by traditional rulers of the Asante kingdom for all activities to cease on Thursday, January 19, 2017.
This follows orders from the Manhyia Palace for trading activities to be ceased on Thursday due to the ongoing funeral of the late Asantehemaa which commenced on Monday. The news has however been met with agitations from traders who lament they will be affected greatly by the development.
“It’s going to affect my business negatively because even on a Monday like this, town is really quite and I can imagine on Thursday there will be no body around. Since our shops are going to be closed it will really affect us but I think we have to let custom have its way,” one trader lamented.
Another also said, “Seriously on the closure of shops on Thursday businesses are really going to suffer, people who come to buy goods do business basically from Mondays to Thursday most especially and with the type of business we do our busy days are Mondays to Thursdays so closing our shops for the whole of Thursday will really affect us seriously.”
As part of the burial rites for the late Queenmother of Asante, the traditional authorities have sanctioned that no shop should be seen open on Thursday. In addition all movements on the streets of Bantama to Breman have been restricted from 6 pm.
In a related development, other businesses are cashing in significantly on items on display at the funeral grounds. The traders in funeral cloths, beads, head scarves, ohenema slippers and the like recorded huge sales as their goods were in high demand.
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