The National Association of Nigerian Traders is warning the quit notice issued to foreigners operating in the Ghanaian retail business sector could spark xenophobic attacks.
It said the consistent directive to by the Ghana government to foreigners, mostly Nigerians, engaged in retailing is not only “unguarded” but breaches the ECOWAS on free movement which Ghana is a party to.
In its view, as far as ECOWAS protocols are concerned, Nigerian retailers in Ghana are no more “foreigners” but citizens of Ghana who are engaged in legitimate businesses.
Ghana on July 11 issued a public notice to foreigners engaged in retail business, which is reserved for only Ghanaian nationals, to cease by July 27 or face legal action.
Section 27 (1) of the GIPC Law 2013, (Act 865) states: “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.”
“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,” a public notice published in the national dailies by the Trade and Industry Ministry read it part.
It continued: “All persons engaged in such practices are therefore advised to stop to avoid legal actions being taken against them. Offenders are entreated to move out of the markets by Friday, July 27, 2018,”
The government however announced a suspension of notice before the deadline elapsed.
It explained that the decision to indefinitely suspend the enforcement of the provisions of the laws on retail business was taken after consultation with stakeholders.
But the National Association of Nigerian Traders in a statement dated July 27 said it fears the issue of Ghana persistently serving quit notices may degenerate into xenophobic attacks.
“Our fear is that mistrusts arising from unguarded actions like the quit notices endorsed and officially announced by the Government of Ghana can only (with time) build divisions and segregation that have the potential and capacity to trigger xenophobic attacks” it said
The Association said its disappointment with the order by Ghana stems Article 2 of the ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, Rights of Residence and the Rights of Establishment.
“The National Executive Council of NANTS hereby expresses strong resentment over this consistent and repeated threats to Nigerian citizens doing business in Ghana,” it said.
The Association said it is “specifically disappointed with the Ghanaian Government over the perennial quit notice and ill treatment meted on Nigerian traders who are by law bonafide community citizens of ECOWAS”.
“Nigerians who are doing their legitimate businesses in Ghana as guaranteed under the ECOWAS Treaty, which no longer sees a Nigerian or any other Member State citizen residing or doing business in Ghana as a ‘foreigner’ but a citizen of Ghana”.
The Association insisted there is the need for Ghana and Nigeria to partner for economic development, especially when such partnerships bring about mutual benefits, citing the existence of Nigerians banks in Ghana and Nigerian students in Ghana.
While the Association commended the government for momentarily suspending the order, it called on the Nigerian Government to rise up and deal with the matter once and for all.
Source: 3news.com
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Why dont you built that your so called mall in that your densily populated country called Nigeria and leave ghanians alone
For a long time, i have watched with pain, the indecision of our governments regarding the interests of Ghanaians citizens. Be it at our foreign missions, entry points,government contracts, and many other areas. It is obvious that we prefer to protect the interests of foreigners than our own. So cant we see its impact on our exchange rates.Foreigners will always transfer their profits to their home coutries. Nigerians are daily remitting lots of money through their banks back home. Unfortunately, our economists and financial experts, not to mention security agents, sit and watch for Ghanaian majority to suffer. How many Lebanese,Indians and Chinese investers are parading our 'juridiction' as investors,who have only one or only two employees, whom they make to overwork without adequate compensation. The least said about company registration skewed to favour foreigners cannot be overemphasized. For Ghana to achieve the 'vision' Ghana beyond foreign aid',our Government must be 'bold' enough to promote Ghanaian interest. NANA and Bawumia please shine your eyes ,to walk the talk. GHANA FIRST ! Check other forward looking nations. I rest my case.
I AM A FULL BLOODED NIGERIAN, AND NO NO NO, WE NIGERIANS HAVE NO RIGHT TO TELL GHANAINAS WHAT THEY SHOULD DO. GHANAINAS PLACED THE LAWS AND THEY HAVE EVRY RIGHT TO CHANGE THE LAW TO SAFE GUARD THIER CITIZENS. WE ARE MORETHAN 10 MILLION NIGERIANS IN GHANA, WE ACT AS IF WE ARE ALL THAT AND ALL THAT BUT THE ONLY THING WE HAVE IS MONEY. I REPEAT THE ONLY THING WE NIGERIANS HAVE IS MONEY, AND MOST OF THAT MONEY IS QUESTIONABALE MONEY, JUST LIKE WORLD WIDE EVERYONE WITH MONEY HAS A QUESTIONABLE ACT HE OR SHE DOES THAT THE WORLD DONT SEE. NIGERIANS IN GAHAN, CAN YOU SEE SHOPRITE??? CAN YOU SEE GAME ?? CAN YOU SEE PALACE MALL??. DO YOU ALL KNOW WE ARE MORETAHN 10 MILLION NIGERIANS HERE IN GHANA??, WHY CANT WE ALL COME TOGETHER AND BUILD A MALL LIKE SHOPRITE?? SO THAT OUR OWN CITIZENS WOULD BUY FROM US??. YOU GUYS NEEDS TO THINK. I GO TO TIP TOP LANE AND I SEE NIGERIANS EVERYWHERE SELLING EVEN TOMATOES, THAT IS RUBBISH. YOU DONT COME TO A FOREIGN LAND AND SELL RUBBISH, INSTEAD YOU COULD HAVE STAYED IN LAGOS OR IMO STATE AND HUSSLE THAT HUSLE. LOOK AT THE CHINESE HERE, LOOK AT THE TURKISH HERE, LOOK AT THE LEBANESE, THEY ARE ALL INTO BIG TIME SHOPS AND BUSINESSES NOT SOME 30,000 GHANA CEDIS BUSINESS. ITS ABOUT TIME WE STEP UP OR ALLOW THE LAW TO TAKE ITS CAUSE YOU CANT COME TO GHANA AND BE SEEING PHONE CHARGER AND BATTERY, ARE YOU NORMAL???, YOU CANT COME TO GHANA AND BE SELLING PHONE CASE????? YOU DEY MAD ????. LISTEN GHANA IS FOR GHANIANS AND THE ONLY REASON THEY ARE TARGETING US IS BECAUSE WE ARE TOO MANY YET WE DO LITTLE, LIKE OPENING A SHOP AND SIT DOWNM THERE EVERYDAY, DRAGGING THE LITTLE COINS THE GHANAIANS ARE TRYING TO GETT O FEED THEIR FAMILIES. WAKE UP NAIJA, I STAND ON THIS GROUND TO SAY, YOU CANT COME TO A FORIEGN LAND AND BE SELLING 2 BY 4 BUSINESS, YOU ARE WRONG. GET UNITED, BUY A LAND LANDS AND BUILD STUFFS LIKE SHOPRITE AND GAME, AND YOU WOULD BE AMAZED HOW WE THE NIGERIANS WILL FLOCK TO SUCH MALLS AND BUY FROM OURSELVES. be like the spanish and peurto ricans in the usa. dont be a black man all your life.