₦airaland Forum

CLARIFICATION FROM THE MINISTRY OF TRADE & INDUSTRY ON THE ACTIONS OF THE INTER-AGENCY TASK FORCE THAT IS WORKING TO ENSURE THAT FOREIGNERS IN THE TRADING RETAIL SECTOR CONDUCT THEIR OPERATIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF GHANA.



https://photos.myjoyonline.com/photos/news/201108/978281579_682052.jpg

The attention of the Ministry of Trade & Industry has been drawn to a number of statements in the public domain, and in the media that show a basic misunderstanding of the exercise that is currently being undertaken by the inter-agency task force led by the Ministry of Trade & Industry to ensure that foreign traders comply with the laws of Ghana.

When the Ministry undertook this exercise it was stated that the Ministry was taking steps to enforce the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre Act, 1994 (Act 478) which made it quite clear that activities that are categorized as petty trading, and small trading businesses were reserved in the act for Ghanaians. It is important to note that the act does not prevent foreigners from trading in Ghana, it however provides for a situation where foreign traders are expected to engage in larger scale trading activities that indeed provide Ghanaian Consumers with wider product choices. However recognizing that petty trading is an area which does not require a large capital outlay in starting a business, it was decided to reserve that as an area of operation for Ghanaians.

Generally speaking therefore in order for a foreigner to undertake trading activities in Ghana he or she must invest at least three hundred thousand united states dollars in their trading activity, they must employ at least ten Ghanaians and they must also not locate their trading activities in the markets, but are at liberty to operate in any commercial area that is not a market. Therefore trading in Makola Market for example is not allowed, but establishing a shop in any commercial area such as locating on the Kojo Thompson Road or on Osu Oxford Street in Accra, for example is allowed.

The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre Act was passed into law in 1994, and at that time even though there were foreign traders operating in the country, they were not doing so on the scale and in the numbers that are present today. Over the last ten years especially as the economy has expanded there have been many more foreign traders who have established in Ghana and though a good number of them have made the effort to comply with the GIPC Act there are a number of them who have not done so. Indeed over the last two days as fifty shops within Makola have been locked, at least half of them have no form of business negotiation whatsoever, let alone compliance with the GIPC Act.

The action taken by the Inter-Agency Task force is to ensure compliance with the GIPC Act, however the Task Force is making some exceptions for ECOWAS citizens in recognition of the ECOWAS Protocol on the right of residence and establishment. Specifically ECOWAS citizens are not being asked to have invested US$300,000.00 neither are they being asked to employ ten Ghanaians in their businesses. They are however expected to meet the same conditions that Ghanaian citizens who start businesses are expected to comply with. This means that they are required to register businesses with the Registrar General’s Department, they are required to register with the Ghana Revenue Authority and pay taxes in the same way as Ghanaians are expected to do, and because they are not our nationals they are expected to properly apply for residential status in Ghana.

Recently the Minister of Trade & Industry – Ms. Hanna Tetteh had the opportunity to meet a delegation from the ECOWAS Parliament, after the Nigerian Union of Traders Association in Ghana petitioned the ECOWAS Parliament informing them that the Government of Ghana was engaged in an action targeted at ECOWAS citizens. The Minister had the opportunity to inform the ECOWAS Parliament that this was not the case and that they had been misinformed, and the Ministry wishes to use this opportunity to restate that this action is not targeted at ECOWAS Citizens, but to bring sanity into the operations of foreign traders activities in Ghana.

http://mobile.myjoyonline.com/mobile/v3/read.php?siteid=6&catid=2&contentid=89655

deda: i find it difficult to believe that pple are responding to this crap. are u guys now tellin me that LEVI AJONUMA is now speaking from his grave after we learnt he ws among those involved in the DANA air crash. and i also think that the source of this news shld be from heaven and not leadership news. naija na wa

The story the OP posted is more than 60 days old, then it was just 60 days after Ribadu committee was set up, excuses were given for the correct interpretation of 60 days and that was when Late Levi Ajonuma was also quoted. The OP is saying it is now more than 120 days, still no report. What is the excuse now?

Freiburger: I never had any problem with my ist car, it was a 1994 vw gollf 3, and my younger bro still got close to 600kkm on it. But my 2nd car 1994 opel vectra was hell, top cylinder got burnt when i tried to accelerate up to 180km/h in just about a month after i bought it.

The car dey try save you from speeding ni now.

And yet another committee...

A committee set up to study the work of another committee, meanwhile the new committee is headed by the chair of the former committee.

GEJ I hail thee!

Obiagu1: . . . and where did you get that from?

Me sef wonder o. Voodoo Economics I guess.

PhysicsQED: This is true.

But I think the reason people get so annoyed about being told that they're living off of oil is because they know that without oil they wouldn't "be Somalia" like some people are claiming (well, actually, maybe much of the North would be Somalia) and they know that there are many successful countries that don't rely on oil. They are right to question the exaggerated picture being painted of oil keeping them from Somalian poverty, but at the same time they should acknowledge that oil contributes majorly to the development of all regions of Nigeria. I don't know why this last part seems so hard to do.

Even with the right leadership, the Northern part of Nigeria will never become Somalia. Most of our leaders became lazy to look out for other source of income because they are too comfortable with oil money from Abuja majority of which are not even spent for the people.

Stop the oil money 'handout', and let serious leaders emerge and you see even the Northern part turning out better than it is after a while.

Well said OP. Matured talk.

Applicable to both Ladies and Men.

petcarol: PLEASE I URGENTLY NEED A COPY OF THE POLICE CERTIFICATE FORM TODAY AS WELL AS THE FINGERPRINT FORM IT CAN BE FORWARDED TO .....carolkenny2001@yahoo.com.............THANKS PETCAROL.

Sent.

[quote author=ekt_bear]Who cares about international market. Is a man's labor only of value if he can make stuff to sell internationally?

Is pounded yam only of value if you can sell to Yankee?

Won't a Nigerian pay you money for pounded yam too?[/quote]I wonder o!

like its all about export only to survive.

jmaine: Now let's get a lil practical . . . .Can the proponents of those hilariously seeking to make us believe that Agric has benefitted the economy more than the drive of oil please answer the questions below

1) What will happen if the FG with holds the monthly allocation to the states . . . . can Agriculture salvage the impending disaster that will follow it . . .

2) why do Agric based traders groan, whenever there is a delay in paying the civil servants . . .You hear complains like this === > "Government no gree release money" . . .Why are they so dependent on Gov releasing their oil money to make ends meet . . .

What visible developmental gains has the populace enjoyed largely from the revenue from the agric sector . . .

It's a fact that without the monthly allocation from the FG to the states . .people especially the farmers groan citing bad market

Lemme put it this way: Many more people will die and not survive if we produce nothing from agriculture compare to if the whole oil production should cease.

Beaf: It is money from allocations from oil that builds roads, schools, hospitals and a vast and assorted array of other services. Farmers benefit directly from oil money, as does every person living within the borders of Nigeria.

Was expecting you and someone to come up with this question.

How many of the roads, schools and hospitals are functioning despite the oil money? Assume government refuses to spend a dime of oil on those things, you think majority of Nigerians will not survive?

Last time I checked, majority of Nigerians pay for their education, health, water even for their security.

Mind you I have not said or indicated that oil contributed nothing; my argument is on the side of the OP that oil is not the major source of income for the 150million Nigerians and tough it may be, but majority of Nigerians will survive without oil. This remain my argument.

Billyonaire: Some people dont know about GDP, even the meaning of GDP, they just wanna put mouth in arguments.

You are the one that is ignorant of the meaning of GDP and the interpretation of GDP data, that is why you think the data is wrong. No economist has claimed the data is wrong.

Billyonaire: I wrote export, not import. You seem not to understand what we are even discussing in the economic sense. Do you know about GDP at all ?

What is the basis for export if not to generate foreign exchange for import?

You are the one that needs to grab the understanding of GDP components. The data is right!

And yes there are lots more prospects in agriculture for the future than oil. Agriculture more than oil will rule future economy. Go and study why many countries outside Africa are investing and grabbing lands across Africa.

Billyonaire: I do not believe those statistics come from the National Bureau of Statistics, even if it comes from there, I wanna ask any of the proponents of such belief just one question. Which agricultural products on the export menu brings in the income. In our local parlance, which agro product una dey export wey generate income like oyel ? mention the agro product now or shut the phuck up

It is not all about import. A whole lot of people survive without imported goods and services. Even though many farm produce are still being exported.

The income from agriculture simply takes care of the whole lots of farmers and their family since most farmers don't pay tax.

Sky Blue: Major source of income for Nigeria, not necessarily for Nigerians. Without oil Nigeria in its current economic set up is going to be in very serious crisis and would barewly survive (if it does).

I will rather say its a major source of income for the government instead of saying for Nigeria.

You might be right with your other statement, but I believe it is not a crisis that cannot be overcome and turn around for greater prosperity with a right thinking government.

Billyonaire: How is the Oil a curse ?

I already gave you a POV, but you can open another thread for the question if you want people to discuss it further.

Sky Blue: Of course Nigerians can survive without oil, people from Niger republic do. But are we going to be able to sustain the rate of development we currently experience? Absolutely not, not even close. Very few industries in the country are any were near properly developed because of this sustained laziness of the past decades. When government can start sustaining itself with less than twenty percent revenue from oil then we can talk. Saying you can survive is not a compliment, ideally you want to prosper. What I really know is why government doesn't try to aggresively increase its revenue from other sectors.

The argument for development without oil is another topic on its own. Suffice to say not few people believe that oil that should have been a blessing has turned out to be a curse considering the fact that we were developing well without oil before the discovery of oil and other nations we were ahead of then that didn't discover any oil have since gone ahead of us in terms of development.

But as far as this thread is concerned, looking at OP's argument, it is erroneous to say oil is Nigeria major source of income, or that majority will not survive without oil.

The OP argument is correct in the context he puts it. Oil is a major source of income for the government not for the overall Nigerians. But when you understand the fact that the Government does not pay 10% of its whole population's income and service needs then you understand that majority of Nigerians do not survive with oil money i.e oil is not the major source of incomes of Nigerians (OP's argument)

We can argue that oil is the major source of foreign income to Nigeria but that does not mean majority of 150million Nigerians survive on oil or will not survive without oil.

J12: Nice question you asked on "Where is the money from agriculture?"
Simple answer: Because it doesn't exist!
Benue state is the food basket of the nation, they are piss poor and depend on monthy stipends from the federal purse funded by crude oil. If agriculture is a huge revenue earner, why is the "food basket of the nation" not rich?

No the money exists, they are with the farmers. The farmers use the money to sustain themselves and their families. These farmers are not being paid by the government with Abuja oil money. Let us even agree that Borno State Govt cannot pay his civil servants without oil money from Abuja, the question is; what is the % of the civil servants of Borno State to the whole population of Borno State? Now you will understand why Agriculture is the major source of income of Borno people because the earn/feed/survive more income from Agriculure than from Abuja oil money.

Clerverly: Why always North?

This question has been answered before.

It will always go to the North because many Lawyers from the North go for the bench while the ones from the South opt for the bar because there is less money on the bench compare to the bar. Its a case of the South cant eat its cake and have it. The reason you will also find more SANs in the South compare to the North.

Check the list of Nigerian judges, you will find more Northerners on the list.

What is the problem with you guys sef?

Are you saying Otedollar is not rich enough to invent his own grammar?

Abeg make una just remember to pay him royalty anytime you use the grammar.

When will Nigeria/Arica get to this level?

lol.

Ola Rotimi got it wrong then; the gods are to blame!