GUTA urges strict of the enforcement law

The invasion of foreigners in the retail business in the country continues to anger the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA). Charles Benoni Okine reports of the concerns of the association.

GUTA is urging the strict enforcement of the law to stop the invasion of foreigners in the retail business in the country.

It is also asking the authorities to arrest and prosecute Ghanaians who deliberately front for the foreigners to outwit the system.

The President of the association, Mr George Ofori, made the call in an interview with the Graphic Business in Accra.

According to him, the laxity in the enforcement of the law has created the opportunity for the foreigners to do what “they know is against the laws of the country but are doing it because there seems to be no one interested in enforcing the law”.

Quoting the Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GIPC) Act 472 Section 18, Mr Ofori said, foreigners are not supposed to be allowed to engage in retail business in any part of the country.

“Specifically, the retail business within the metropolitan, municipal and districts has been reserved for us as Ghanaian traders and that must be followed”, he added.

Last year the government set up a new task force comprising officials from the National Security, GIPC and the trade union among others to  stop the activities of the foreigners most of who are Chinese and Nigerians.

After being dormant for a while, GUTA members decided to take the law into their own hands to ward off the foreigners engaged in the illegal trade in the country.

The threat forced an action which led to the raid of the markets to shut down the businesses of those indulged in the practice.

In the process, it was observed that many Ghanaians had fronted for some of the traders for an undisclosed fee.

On the issue of the ECOWAS protocol, he said each and every country has its own rules regarding what foreigners in their country can do or not do at any particular time.

ETLS

In line with its objective of promoting cooperation and integration and as one step towards the creation of a common market which, according to the ECOWAS Revised Treaty, should be established, among others, through “the liberalisation of trade by the abolition, among Member States, of customs duties levied on imports and exports, and the abolition among Member States, of non-tariff barriers in order to establish a free trade area at the Community Level“1 ECOWAS adopted the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme.

But Mr Ofori noted that even under this scheme, Nigeria does not allow members states to export certain products into that country, a move intended to protect local industries which produce similar products in that country.

“But they are the ones who are here are misbehaving and hiding behind the ECOWAS treaty they do not respect”, he added.

Mr Ofori noted that for this to give true meaning to the ETLS, all countries must abide fully.

Mr Offori said there is the need for common policy that cuts across every member state that retail trading can be done by anybody from anywhere part of the ECOWAS region.

He argued that until such is done, each country must be able to work with what they have and foreigners must abide by it.

Mr Ofori said every country has its rules and the citizens and foreigners must abide by at all cost.

GUTA meeting

Meanwhile, GUTA will meet next week to consider a number of ways to revive their quest to rid the country of foreigners engaged in retail business.

According to the association, the quest to find amicable means to stop the foreigners from engaging in the practice seem not be yielding any results, hence the meeting to strategise on the next line of action.

Mr Ofori said “we will meet in a crucial meeting next week because we are not happy with the reluctance of the authorities to rid the country of foreigners engaged in retail business”.