Director of Communication for the Abossey Okai Spare Parts Dealers Association, Takyi Addo, has urged Ghanaian property owners to stop renting out shops to foreign nationals.
According to him, such arrangements are illegal under Ghana’s investment laws.
His comments follow the Association’s planned operation to close down foreign-owned retail shops in the enclave today, Monday September 8, in line with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) Act.
The Association had announced the move in a statement last Friday, noting that the exercise was aimed at enforcing Section 27(1) of the Act, which prevents non-citizens or enterprises not wholly owned by Ghanaians from engaging in retail trading, hawking, or selling goods in markets and stalls.
Speaking to Metro TV presenters on September 8, Takyi Addo explained that the Association’s actions are to safeguard local businesses.
“We are protecting our businesses. Act 27 says we should protect the petty trading aspect and that is what we are doing,” he said.
Adding, “The foreign nationals have invaded the market for a long time and now we can’t even have any space to operate.”
He clarified that the Association was not enforcing the law directly, since that role lies with the police and the courts, but rather acting in support of it.
Takyi Addo further disclosed that about 90% of foreign nationals had already complied by shutting down their shops.
“So far, the Nigerians, the foreigners, they’ve done well. They have complied. They are our brothers and sisters, we have no problem with them. But the law is the law.”
Mr. Addo however cautioned Ghanaian property and shop owners to desist from renting their spaces to foreigners or acting as fronts for them, stressing that such practices are against the law.
“After this exercise we are going after the shop owners, property owners. And then the last people will be the Ghanaians who are fronting for them,” he warned.
“If you are a Ghanaian and you are fronting for foreign nationals, you will be imprisoned. That is the law.”
He further noted that the Association intends to go to court on Thursday to seek an injunction against any foreign owned shops that fail to comply.
