Parliament Meet Unions Over Feud In Retail Trade

The Trade and Industry Committee of Parliament has started engaging the various unions in the country's retail trade to deal with the issues in the sector.

Two of such groups scheduled to meet the Committee before the end of the week are the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA).

Last week, simmering tensions between Ghanaian and Nigerian retailers at the Suame Magazine renewed calls on government to enforce existing laws on retail trade.

The Deputy Ranking Member of the Trade and Industry Committee of Parliament, Yusif Sulemana told Citi News that a general meeting has already been held.

“When the referral was made to us, we identified all the stakeholders and called them to one general meeting where we all agreed that we invite them individually and listen to them thoroughly because this is a very serious issue that we have to get at the bottom of it. We have started inviting them one after the other,” he said.

Within just a week, separate clashes between Ghanaian and Nigerian traders at the Suame Magazine in Kumasi, were recorded, resulting in the destruction of property belonging to the Nigerians.

In Accra, the Abossey Okai Spare Parts Dealers gave Government a two-week ultimatum to evict foreigners from the retail space or face their wrath.

President of NUTAG, Chief Chukwuemeka Levi Nnaji told Citi News, GUTA is a threat to the peace and must be watched.

The development sparked concerns about the potential reprisal attack and effect on Ghana’s diplomatic ties with Nigeria, but parliament has tasked its Trade and Industry Committee to look into the matter and find a way to address it forever.

—citinewsroom