Apparently making good its threat to apply Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) Act on Nigeria in retaliation of the border closure, members of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) on Thursday shut down shops owned by Nigerians in five markets in Kumasi, the Ashanti Region capital.
It was the second time this year the association would shut Nigerian-owned shops, claiming it was waging a war on foreigners doing retail business in the country.
Yesterday, GUTA claimed foreign retailers flout section 27 of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) Act 865, which forbids their involvement 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 must be reserved for Ghanaians.
The law also bans foreigners from operating taxis, beauty salons, selling medicine, production and sale of sachet water, among others.
The markets where Nigerian traders were shut out were in Kejetia, Suame Magazine, Adum and Asafo. markets were all yanked out of the shops on Thursday, reports Asenso Mensah.
Shipping Positing Daily recalls that, the President of GUTA, Dr Joseph Obeng, had recently expressed surprise that Nigeria closed her border in violation of ECOWAS protocol.
He said it was worrying that although ECOWAS protocols existed and required countries to open their borders to member countries, Nigeria failed to do so.
“These people (Nigeria) are abusing the ECOWAS Protocol and must be told in the face to open that corridor for people to send their goods. What Nigeria is doing presupposes that they do not have any regard for ECOWAS protocols”, he had said after a delegation led by two Ghanaian Ministers came to Nigerian to plead that the border at Seme should be partly opened to allow Ghanaian products to come into Nigeria.
In subtle appeal to his country to retaliate, he said, “We need our government to also put its feet on the ground and protect local businesses, using the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) Act.
He said the major concern of Ghanaian traders was for the border to be opened, so that goods that had been stranded could be brought into Nigeria.
According to Ghanaweb.com, the action of the association is being interpreted as a retaliation for the closure of the Nigerian land border, which has affected traders in the West African region.
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