Ghana denies tough trading law to Nigerians

The Ghanaian Government has refuted allegations that Nigerian and ECOWAS citizens in Ghana are expected to pay 300,000 dollars and employ 10 Ghanaians before setting up businesses in the country, Mrs Irene Maamah, Deputy Head of Mission in the Ghana High Commission said in Abuja on Wednesday.
The statement was a clarification from Ghana’s Ministry of Trade and Investment.
The statement said the allegation was a misunderstanding of the exercise carried out by the Inter-Agency Task Force to ensure that foreign traders complied with the laws of Ghana.
“The attention of the ministry has been drawn to a number of statements in the public domain and in the media. That shows a basic misunderstanding of the exercise that is currently being undertaken by the Inter-Agency Task Force to ensure that foreign traders comply with the laws of Ghana. ”
It noted that the task force was to ensure that foreign traders complied with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) Act.
The statement said that the GIPC Act of 1994, stipulates that foreign traders were expected to invest 300,000 dollars in trading activities, employ at least 10 Ghanaians and operate in any commercial area that is not a market.
It stated that the Act did not prevent foreigners from trading in Ghana but allowed foreigners to trade on a large-scale while petty trading was reserved for Ghanaians.