The scrap dealers protesting in Kumasi
ALL BUSINESS activities at the Suame
Magazine in Kumasi came to a temporary standstill after some angry-looking
scrap dealers staged a peaceful demonstration over a ban on exportation of
scraps.
Wearing red armbands and chanting war songs, the members of the
group calling itself ‘Progressive Scrap Dealers Association’ said they were
losing their jobs as a result of some policies including a ban on scraps and
unfair trade relations between scrap dealers and steel companies in the country.
The Secretary of the association, Nasiru Mohammed, after the
protest march, passionately appealed to the Ministry of Trade and Industry to
come to their aid so they could revive their businesses and continue to contribute
to national growth through the payment of taxes.
“We are serving notice to all stakeholders, particularly
government, to mediate to ensure that scrap dealers are respected in mutual
trade relations with steel companies and as a matter of urgency lift the ban on
scraps export to make the industry competitive.
“It is our collective conviction that this would be urgently
treated without any compromise to avert any unpleasant recourse in the face of
consistent challenges, threatening the collapse of the businesses of our
members,” he appealed.
“Whilst the steel industry in Ghana, which is fed with materials
by the scrap industry, is globally competitive in terms of pricing regime and
export, pricing of scraps and the decision to buy or withhold purchase of
scraps and payments, is solely the decision of the steel companies,” he added.
Because of this unfortunate development, Nasiru Mohammed
lamented: “Any imposition of taxes on the steel industry by government is
virtually offloaded to the tottering scrap industry by consistently reducing
prices from which they purchase scraps whilst steel products are well priced.”
He stated that it was about time government intervened so that
all the injustices and maltreatment being meted out to scrap dealers in the
country would stop, saying “review the discriminatory trade policy regime that
has rendered the indigenous scrap industry non-competitive, threatening its
survival”.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi
