Ghana insists Nigerian traders must pay $1m fee

OBINNA EZUGWU

Ghana has insisted that Nigerian traders must pay a whooping $1million if they must continue to trade in the country, insisting that claims of unfair treatment by the traders during the enforcement of the Ghana Investment Promotion Council regulations was misplaced.

Recall that a Nigerian trader whose shop was forcefully locked up by the Ghanaian security officials had recorded a video of the incident in which they asked him to pay the $1 million registration fee.

The victim had shown the officials his business registration certificate and other documents but the enforcement team was adamant as they insisted on shutting his premises.

However, speaking on the incident on a Ghanaian radio station, Starrfm monitored by Punch, the Head of Communications, Ministry of Trade, Prince Boakye Boateng, said the Nigerian traders had failed to honour an ultimatum to meet the requirements.

“It cannot be we’ve been insensitive; if that is what they’re saying, I’ll be disappointed because I’ll rather say they have rather been unfair to us as a regulatory body because we have given them more time than enough to the extent even the Ghanaians thought that the ministry was not even on their side or the ministry wasn’t ready to even enforce the law,” he said.

Boateng recalled that the shops were locked last December and later re-opened following the intervention of President Nana Akufo-Ado.

He argued that the traders complied but have not regularised their documents for verification.

According to him, the law being enforced gave the Ghana Union of Traders Association the right to be the sole traders in the local market.

The Spokesman, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Ferdinand Nwonye, said the Nigerian mission in Accra was yet to send a formal report on the harassment of the traders to the ministry.