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Abossey Okai Spare Parts Dealers Suspend Locking Shops Of Foreign Retailers

Business & Finance Abossey Okai Spare Parts Dealers Suspend Locking Shops Of Foreign Retailers
JUL 30, 2020 LISTEN

The spare parts dealers at Abossey Okai in the Greater Accra Region say they will suspend the locking up of retail shops of foreigners.

They said they will wait on the Retail Trade Committee to do its work.

The 20-member committee under the auspices of the Trade and Industry Ministry is to ensure that all foreigners trading within the local retail market comply with the relevant regulations notably the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre Act (865).

The law bars foreigners from engaging in retail trade in Ghana.

The spare parts dealers on Tuesday night locked up over 60 shops of Nigerian Traders in the Abbosey Okai area, resulting in the arrest of some of their leaders.

The Co-Chairman of the Spare Parts Dealers Association, Clement Boateng, told Citi News that a meeting held with the government had concluded and that they backed down and allowed the Committee to do its work.

“If both the Minister [for Trades and Industry] and the committee do their work, we won’t have any problem with anybody. We will retreat, sit back and let the committee work.”

“But so long as the committee doesn't do what it is supposed to do, the agitations will continue,” Mr. Boateng warned.

Meanwhile, the National President of the Nigerian Traders in Ghana, Chukuemeka Nnaji, told Citi News that his side was also engaging the authorities.

He urged them to remain independent in its assessment of the issues.

“I am calling on authorities to do what is right and not follow the illegalities of GUTA [Ghana Union of Traders Association]. They cannot close my shop without any information and I allow it to go that way.”

He had previously called on the government to protect his fellow members at Abossey Okai from threats and intimidation from the Ghana Union Traders Association (GUTA).

---citinewsroom

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