Ms Ayorkor Botchwey and executives of GUTA
EXECUTIVES OF the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) have met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey to discuss some pertinent issues on retail trade by foreigners in Ghana.
The meeting, held Wednesday at the Foreign Ministry in Accra, was also intended to provide the platform to discuss the issue of the closure of border by Nigeria.
The closure of the Igolor and Seme-Krake (Nigeria-Benin) border by Nigeria is said to be affecting Ghana’s export along that corridor.
During the meeting, the Minister told GUTA that the matter was being handled at the highest level.
It would be recalled that following complaints by GUTA that foreigners were engaging in retail trade, the Ministry of Trade and Industry constituted a task force of relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to check the involvement of foreigners engaged in retail and petty trading, contrary to Section 27 (1a) of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) Act 856, 2013.
The work of the taskforce sparked agitation among foreigners engaged in commercial activities in Ghana, especially Nigerians and Chinese.
In an effort to address the situation, the Ministry of Trade and Industry deferred the exercise, to make room for further consultations.
GUTA reacted and registered its opposition to the deferment.
The Association went on to call for the enforcement of the GIPC law 21(1a), Act 856 of 2013 or its abolition, if it could not be implemented.
According to GUTA at the time, Nigerians and other foreigners were taking over the trading activities of its members under unfair competition because they (foreigners) had access to cheap forms of loans in their respective countries, they conducted trading activities from their homes instead of shops, among others.
With pressure from GUTA, the Ministry of Trade and Industry issued a public notice banning non-Ghanaian citizens from engaging in retail trade.
In the heat of the agitations, Ghana Mission in Abuja also reported that, following the alleged eviction of Nigerian retailers from the Ghanaian market, some Civil Society groups in Nigeria were putting pressure on their government to retaliate by evicting Ghanaians from Nigeria.
It was further indicated that the Nigerian media blew up the issue to the extent that it was linked to the Aliens Compliance Order of 1969, which forced about half a million Nigerians out of Ghana in 1971, and the repatriation of Ghanaians from Nigeria in 1983.
Consequently, Nigeria had to close its border in apparent retaliation.
She, however, acknowledged that there are problems associated with the implementation of the protocol which are being addressed through various community instruments and high level engagements.
BY Melvin Tarlue