‘Reconsider implementation of trade prohibition law’
Nigerians in the retail business have appealed to President John Mahama to reconsider the decision to implement the Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GIPC) Law that prohibits foreigners in the country from engaging in retail business.
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They have also petitioned the President, who is also the Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), for a dialogue to ensure a mutually healthy competition that encouraged a reduction in the prices of commodities in the open market.
Appeal to Parliament
“We are also calling the attention of members of the ebullient Ghanaian Parliament to the effects of the Ghana Trade Law that prohibits foreigners from retailing in Ghana and to inform you that this law is about to have serious consequences on Nigerian traders in Ghana,” they said.
At a news conference organised by the All Nigerian Community in Ghana (ANC-GH) in Accra last Thursday, its Executive President, Mr Moses O.T. Owharo, said, “It is delicate for us to even contemplate leaving Ghana in droves following the adverse effects the said law will have on our businesses if implemented.”
He said since they did not have options of livelihood apart from trading, it was a matter of grave concern, against the backdrop of “the upkeep of our Ghanaian wives and husbands, given the intermarriages between Ghanaians and Nigerians, and particularly the future of our children, who are also Ghanaians”.
A plea for leniency
Mr Owharo said as law-abiding citizens of ECOWAS, the group’s intention was not to question the rationale for the trade prohibition law or challenge the authority of the government.
“Rather, we came to appeal for leniency and for the authorities to reconsider their resolve to implement the said law,” he explained.
Nigerian retailers in Ghana, he said, had made immense contributions to the Ghanaian economy in terms of employment creation, taxation, infrastructure and manpower.
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Among others, he contended that Ghanaians had benefitted from the presence of Nigerian traders in the country in terms of trade collaborations and said such co-operation should be allowed to continue in the spirit of the ECOWAS.
He urged indigenous traders not to feel intimidated in the prevailing competitive business environment, since the world had become a global village.
Writer’s email: victor.kwawukume@graphic.com.gh