University students, residents in Sunyani complain about high cost of living

University students and some residents in the Sunyani Municipality say they are worried about the sharp increase in the prices of basic food items, thereby making the cost of living so high.Describing the cost of living now as overburdened, they told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in a random interview in Sunyani that it was now difficult for them to cook or prepare meals in the home due to the increase in prices of food items.'Cooking in the house is a problem neither can you afford to always buy food from outside', Mrs Jenifer Osei-Agyemang, a married woman told the GNA.Joyce Eshun, a university student, expressed concern about the increase in the price of rice, and other staple food, saying due to that she and most of her colleagues at the university's hostel could no longer afford to cook food.She said the increment in the price of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) had further discouraged cooking too and called for government's intervention for the reduction of basic food items.'Cooking in the home is very stressful and I always prefer eating outside despite the high cost of food,' Ruth Abrefa, a Midwife at the Sunyani Teaching Hospital stated.Comparatively, she said food prepared in the home contained high nutritional value, however, the high cost of living now had pushed many people to buy cooked food.'Fante kenkey with hot pepper and fish is my favourite diet, but even now you can't afford to buy and eat well', James Adu, another university student stated.Meanwhile, food vendors engaged in the sale of Ga Kenkey in the Municipality had expressed concern about the increasing price of maize, vegetables and fish, which had slowed down their businesses.During a visit to some kenkey joints at the Sunyani Night Market enclave, the operators said they sold the food between GHC4 and GHC5, depending on the sizes, while the price of a single fried fish was also selling between GHC7 and GHC10.A small ladle of okro and beans stews were also pegged from GHC1 and above. One of the kenkey vendors only known a s Madam Mabel, told the GNA that the market price of a bag of maize ranged between GHC600 and GHC800, which was having a huge toll on their businesses.'We no longer sell a ball of kenkey for GHC3 because that will affect your profit. My customers often complain about the small nature of the GHC5 Ga kenkey, but we don't have any option because if you are not careful your business would collapse,' she stated.'If you want to enjoy the Ga kenkey and fish well, then you must spend between GHC15 and GHC20 upwards,' Madam Mabel added.