Stampede at rally on new Ghana cedi

There was near stampede at the Aflao main lorry park on Tuesday,May 22 2007, as traders, drivers and black market money dealers abandoned their businesses and rushed in for the education materials on the cedi redenomination at a public education rally.

A large crowd scrambled for the materials that were being distributed by officials of the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE), and in the process destroyed some of them.

A number of the traders had their wares destroyed in the confusion, which disrupted the programme, as the traders fought over the leaflets and posters that had quotations of the new and old cedi. Some ended up with posters that had been torn apart.

Some of the traders said that they were determined to have the materials at all cost because they want to have the right quotations.

According to them they have only been learning of the re-denomination exercise from the media but did not have the leaflets to enable them to refer to the quotations.

Traders at the Akatsi market also scrambled for the re-denomination materials during distribution. Baskets of vegetables and other food items were pushed to the ground by people in an attempt to reach the distribution point.

The NCCE undertook the re-denomination education following reports that local traders were changing the cedi monies into CFA for fear that the local currency would lose its value in the change over

Albert Sam, Public Affairs Officer of the NCCE said that enough materials had been made available to various agencies and associations in the region such as the regional branch of the Ghana Private Roads Transport Union for distribution to the public.

Mama Ashigbe Adokua, Queenmother of Tefle and a member of the Commission , addressing the gathering at Aflao, refuted speculations that the cedi would lose value during the re-denomination, saying the value would remain the same.

She also advised them not to rush to change their old currencies since there was enough time for the transition.

She cautioned the traders not to deal with people who present themselves as Bank of Ghana agents for the changing of currency, explaining that they can change the money themselves at any bank.

Francis Gotah, Ketu District Civic Education officer, appealed to traders to handle the new currencies well when they come into circulation.

Source: The Ghanaian Times