Eric Appah Marfo/Emmanuel Todd, GNA
Accra, July 23, GNA – The Ghana Electrical
Dealers Association (GEDA) has embarked on an exercise to clean the Opera
Square of foreign traders to give room for locals to do business without
interference.
The traders said the action was taken to
show their displeasure towards their unmet grievances, which they spelt out
during a press conference held on Monday, June 24.
Mr Koranteng Asiamah, the Chaiman for GEDA,
told the Ghana News Agency that their action was to clean the business area of
foreign traders, who had encroached on the local business space, depriving
local traders of their right to trade.
He added that the Ghana Investment Promotion
Centre (GIPC), Act 865 Sections 27 and 28, prohibited foreigners from engaging
in the retail of merchandise within the local markets, which was reserved for citizens
only.
“Have you seen a Chinese or an Indian
woman selling pepper or ‘koobi’ at Makola before? Of course not! This is
because this and other trades were reserved for local traders only in order to
protect citizens economically,” he said.
Mr Asiamah said they were going to open the
shops for the affected traders after their documents had been vetted and proven
to be genuine and qualified them as citizens.
“These are the only ways to prove that
they had the right to do business within the Opera Square,” he added.
Mr Samuel Addo, Public Relations Officer for
GEDA, said foreigners, who did not pay taxes, owned more than 40 per cent of
the shops at Opera Square, depriving government the needed revenue to run the
country, adding that, all the goods imported by these foreigners were shoddy.
He said, but for one foreigner who proved
difficult, the exercise was generally a peaceful one and that about 35 to 40
shops were closed.
He said they were currently in dialogue with
the police and representatives of the foreign traders, however, they were still
looking up to the government to fully implement the GIPC Act.
Mr Eric Abowu, a cable retailer, said their
businesses were being affected mainly because the foreigners had taken to retail
trade and sold their shoddy goods at lesser prices, hence attracted more
customers at the expense of local traders.
He suggested that the way out was for
foreign traders to engage in wholesale trade only, outside of the Opera Square
area.
GNA
