Foreigners need to be allowed in the retail business in Ghana?
Adnan
Adams Mohammed
Recent impasse between the
Ghanaian retailers in the automobile and mobile phone industry and Nigerians
have generated a resounding discussions and suggestions as to how Ghana could
better regulate its trade and business laws to accommodate foreigners while
protecting local businesses.
Among some of the
discussions are around the GIPC Act which bans foreign entities and nationals
not to go into retail businesses in the country.
The Ghana
Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) Act, 2013 (Act 865) stipulates that ‘A
person who is not a citizen or an enterprise which is not wholly owned by a
citizen shall not invest or participate in (a) the sale of goods or provision
of services in a market, petty trading or hawking or selling of goods in a
stall at any place.’
The Ministry of Trade and
Industry last year issued a statement warning the non-Ghanaians in the retail
sector to leave the markets or face the wrath of the government.
In a statement, the
Ministry threatened to take legal action against non-Ghanaians who do not
adhere to the directive.
“Notice is hereby given to
all non-Ghanaians who are engaged in retail trading activities contrary to the
provision of the Act [GIPC Law 2013] to desist from doing so. All persons
engaged in such practices are therefore advised to stop to avoid legal actions
being taken against them,” the Ministry’s statement directed.
“Offenders are entreated to
move out of the markets by Friday, July 27, 2018,” the statement added.
However, as at June, 2019,
Ghanaian retail business operators in part of the country were still struggling
with foreigners (especially, Nigerians) for the retail spaces and customers in
markets, mostly around Kumasi-Suame Magazine and Accra-Circle Tiptoe lane.
The Ghanaians complained
that, the Nigerians have taken over the retail business with cheap-inferior
goods thereby creating unfriendly market competition. Yet, the government’s
inability to enforce the GIPC law pushed the Suame Magazine spare parts dealers
to force the Nigerians out of retail business.
Several Ghanaians and
foreign nationals did not welcome the force used by the Suame Spare parts
dealers to push the foreigners out of the retail market. They described the
situation as a possible igniter for xenophobic attacks on nationals of the two
sister nations in the individual countries since there are also huge number of
Ghanaians in Nigerian trading and doing all kind of businesses.
But, the President of the
Republic, Nana AddoDankwaAkufo-Addo holds a contrary view to that assertion. He
has said, Ghana is not a xenophobic State, and has no problems with fellow
Africans living and working in the country.
“There is no xenophobia in
Ghana; we are not a xenophobic State. We are the pan-African nation that has
opened its doors to all Africans, and they are not going to be the object of
any hate campaign in Ghana”, the President said,last week, at a farewell event
to the outgoing Ambassador of Cote d’Ivoire to Ghana, Bernard Ehui-Koutua, who
also doubles as the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Ghana.
Experts say,
the government must allow the foreigners to remain in the retail business which
would bring competitiveness and also make the economy grow.
This is the
right time for the government to lead the agenda for the unification of trade
for West Africa and for that matter Africa as a whole as Africa pursue a common
trade area. It would help to expand our economy, create more jobs for our
youths as well as increase the country’s domestic tax revenue.
They of the view that some
provisions in the current GIPC Act are outmoded, and if it continues to remain
in the GIPC Act, the country’s economy would not grow, it would be stagnant.
In USA for instance,
foreigners are allowed to remain in the retail sector which is making their
economy to rise, if we don’t change things in Africa, we would be going
backwardness. It is high time that law is scrapped since it has outlived its
usefulness.
There is the need for the
government to give an equal playing field for each and every one, be it local
trader or foreign to deepen the competitiveness in the country, they said.
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