Ghanaian traders must embrace globalisation, competition – Citinewsroom – Comprehensive News in Ghana

Managing Editor of The Herald Newspaper, Larry Dogbe, has called on Ghanaians to embrace competition and globalisation in response to the Abossey Okai Spare Parts Dealers Association’s ultimatum to foreign traders.

The Association, on September 8, issued a three-day notice to foreigners engaged in retail trading at Abossey Okai to shut down their shops or face enforcement action. It argued that the activities of foreign traders contravene Ghana’s investment laws, distort competition, and threaten local businesses.

Speaking on Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily with Nana Tuffour Boateng on Tuesday, September 9, Mr. Dogbe emphasised the need for consistency in Ghana’s investment policies.

“We can’t talk about globalisation and still be where we are. Globalisation comes in various forms, technology transfer and the movement of people; you need to welcome it. You also need to appreciate the competition that it brings to you and be prepared for it,” he said.

He questioned the government’s stance on foreign investment, highlighting the contradiction between inviting investors abroad and resisting them in local markets.

“Our Presidents, since time immemorial, have been travelling the world over, saying they are looking for investors here and there. What type of investments are they looking for? So the people will come deep in the night, and whenever everybody is asleep, the foreigners, knowing that they have to work, make money, and remit the profits to their countries. Do you tell them not to work in the middle of the night?

We declared One-District-One-Factory a while ago. What became of it? We’re talking about the 24-hour economy as well, so if we, the Ghanaians, are sleeping and the foreigners are working, we want to do what?” he asked.

Mr. Dogbe further criticised contradictions within local practices, pointing out that some traders opposing foreign participation rent out their shops to the same people they are protesting against.

“…Meanwhile, it’s the same people who are renting out the shops to the foreigners. It’s like blowing hot and cold. What is it that we want as far as our investments are concerned? Do we want money? How do we make the money?

Is it by partnership or sole proprietorship? If that is what we want, we should be clear in what we want to do,” he added.

The debate over foreign involvement in retail trade has resurfaced in recent weeks, with renewed calls for stricter enforcement of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) Act, 2013 (Act 865), which reserves petty trading for Ghanaians.

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