Mr Carlos Ahenkorah, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry has called on the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) to remain calm while government tries to resolve the issue of foreigners engaging in retail business.
“We share in your pain, position and worries, which is of big concern to government”
Mr Ahenkorah made the call when he spoke to the media after appearing before the Public Account Committee (PAC) to answer questions on the 2016 Auditor General’s Report.
The GUTA recently protested about the influx of foreigners in the retail business, demanding action against these non-nationals involved in the retail trade.
Mr Ahenkorah said despite government’s concern for local retailers, it cannot act arbitrarily by driving out foreigners from the retail business.
He therefore asked GUTA members to exercise restraint while government tries to use administrative and political means to solve the problem.
Mr Ahenkorah also stated that government has managed to bring down the tension between some Ghanaian traders and some foreign retailers.
He said Ghana was a member of ECOWAS and as such must go by the tenets of the treaty, which does not allow countries to discriminate against each other’s nationals.
He hinted that the President of the ECOWAS Commission has sent emissaries to confer with the Ghanaian authorities on the situation.
Mr Ahenkorah also charged the foreign retailers to observe all the laws and regulations that controls the retail business in the country, and urged them to be law abiding by respecting the laws of Ghana.
Source: GNA
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First of all, who allowed them space to operate or they carried those spaces where they are selling from their respective countries? was the GUTA operational or was formed after these people have taking over and if the GUTA was there, what did they do about that? did they resist those who were giving those spaces out to these people? or did they get those spaces from government? Some of you GUTA members were leading some of these people to get space for money! Ghanaians in nature are greedy, they love money more than themselves and when they fall into trouble they created themselves, they call the government to come in with threats. Cowards, you never asked these people how they got those spaces to operate when they started displaying their wares, but you have the guts to issue threats to governments when you created your own troubles. You had the opportunity to stop them when they first started selling but you ignored them until you found their wares are cheaper than yours and Ghanaians are not buying your exorbitant prices with triple profits. a Nigerian wouldn't mind to sell his/her wares cheaper to go and buy other wares to sell,but a Ghanaian will triple the price,calculate how many houses and cars he will get from that, and tell you it doesn't eat his/her food so doesn't care how long those wares will take to finish. You are crying when foreigners are selling their goods cheaper than yours and the competition is keen, Ghanaians are enjoying the cheaper cost of commodities from foreign nationals. Every government want the people to enjoy life, not where some people monopolize and manipulate prices to cause hardship. The foreigners are ever ready to pay taxes like Ghanaian traders do, so let them pay taxes and ease the high cost of commodities. Our GUTA, wouldn't have any problem if goods of foreigners are expensive like there's and nobody is buying, but they are talking because their goods are expensive and that of the foreigners are cheaper and who doesn't want to buy it cheap irrespective of where the trader is coming. Learn to sell like the foreigners since those goods they sell are not made in Ghana.