The irate importers demonstrating against the government at Mankessim
The Ghana-Gambia Chapter of dealers in salted fish, known in the local parlance as ‘Kako’ at Mankessim in the Mfantseman Municipality of the Central Region, recently staged a massive demonstration against the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquiculture for imposing duty on the importation of the product into the country.
According to them, the imposition of duty on imported ‘kako’ was a major challenge.
They said they never had any problem with the payment of Value-Added Tax (VAT).
As a result, they have called on the government to, as a matter of urgency, remove the import duty on ‘Kako.’
Secretary to the association, Alhaji Antobam Joseph, speaking in an interview with BUSINESS GUIDE after the demonstration, appealed to the Fisheries Ministry to allow the status quo to remain without further burdening them.
They expressed concern about the way in which they have been registered to pay VAT on the import of ‘Kako’ from African countries such as Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea and Sierra Leone by the Custom Service Division of the GRA but were being asked to pay import duty currently.
“The upward adjustment has the possibility of crippling our enterprise, hence driving us into indebtedness. In fact, this additional demand would not augur well for us, and it is a disincentive to efforts at promoting mutually-beneficial inter-African trade,” they noted.
They further appealed to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the Minister for Fisheries & Aquaculture to intervene in the matter and help to address the problem.
From Sarah Afful, Mankessim