Ghana – Nigeria trade impasse close to ending
Adnan Adams Mohammed
The over a decade trade impasse between the
two economic giants in the ECOWAS zone (Ghana and Nigeria) is gradually coming
to an end as government officials of the two countries met to proffer pragmatic
solutions.
Among the solutions is a proposal by President
of Ghana, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the establishment of a
Ghana-Nigeria Business Council to superintend over trade and investment
relations. Addressing Nigeria’s Speaker House of Representatives in Accra, last
week, the Ghanaian president indicated that the timing was right for such a
council to be established.
The delegations from both countries were led
by the Speaker of Parliament of Ghana, Prof Aaron Mike Oquaye and his Nigerian
counterpart, Olufemi Gbajabiamila deliberated to find solutions to the
challenges brought about as a result of Ghana’s implementation of the Ghana
Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) Act 2013, Act 865. Discussions so far have
been on how the implementation of Act 865 can be implemented in a manner that
will not render Nigerian traders in Ghana jobless since most of them have had
their shops closed and some fines levied at them, in accordance with the
provisions of Act 865. Ghana’s sovereignty and national interest in the matter
has been at the front burner in all the discussions held so far.
“The idea of legislation to promote a
Ghana-Nigeria Business Council, that will have superintendence over trade and
investment matters between our two countries, is well overdue. It is events
that produce institutions, and the time has come for it to be done,” President
Akufo-Addo said, adding that, “It will be a good idea to also set up a Joint
Ministerial Committee for Ministers on both sides, who would be responsible for
shepherding Ghana-Nigerian issues, and reporting to both Presidents at any time
when matters occur, and how they should be resolved.”
Participants in the discussions have included
the 12-member delegation from Nigeria, sector ministers for Trade, and National
Security, a Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Chief Executive Officer of
the GIPC, the Chairman and Deputy Ranking Member of the Parliamentary Committee
on Foreign Affairs, the Clerk to Parliament, and some key Parliamentary staff.
Speaker of Nigerian House of Representatives, Olufemi
Gbajabiamila, in his reactions described the economic, social and political
ties that bind Ghana and Nigeria together and urged that the two countries to
use legislative diplomacy to resolve the issues confronting them.
This, he said, is most appropriate, since he
and Speaker Oquaye had, on previous occasions, worked together, using the same
tools to resolve economic issues not only between the two countries but in the
sub-region.
Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan
Kyerematen explained the context of the GIPC Act and its implementation and
said that it was not targeted at any particular nationals and definitely not
Nigerians.
He outlined ways by which the two countries
can have mutual trade relations with the requisite benefits.
Assuring Nigeria of Ghana’s good intentions,
Speaker Oquaye pointed out that reports on the matter may have escalated
tensions and cautioned that private or commercial arrangements between
individuals and organizations of the two countries should not be confused with
governments’ engagements.
He also encouraged the use of diplomacy in the
resolutions.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Union of Traders Association
Ghana (NUTAG) has finally agreed its members are prepared to leave the Ghanaian
local market if the government has asked them to do so.
“The truth of the matter is, to the best of my
knowledge, even the Ghanaian authority, our authority and ECOWAS Parliament and
ECOWAS Commission and on most occasions, the GIPC is not meant for ECOWAS. It is for other nationals. And me personally
I stand on that, either Ghana government or ECOWAS make it clear to us that yes
if you are a Nigerian you must abide by
the GIPC law or else leave the country, then I will be the first person to
leave because I don’t have 1 million dollars”. Chief Chukwuemeka Nanji
President of NUTAG has said.
The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC)
law says; ‘A person who is not a citizen or an enterprise which is not
wholly-owned by a citizen, shall not invest or participate in 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’.
However, enforcing this law, members of GUTA
recently embarked on an exercise of closing stores and shops owned by their
counterparts from Nigeria who were engaging in retail activities in Ghana. The
closure of shops owned by Nigerians prompted its government to issue warning to
Ghana over the decision by GUTA.
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