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The president of the Ghana Merchants Union Association (GUTA), Dr. Joseph Obeng, fears the possibility that Ghana will be defrauded in the proposed Nigerian Friendship Act.
“I think we have to be cautious. What do we seek to gain by relaxing our business laws for a population of more than 200 million? Events have overtaken us. The arrival of the AfCFTA deals with trade problems and that is where Nigeria should go, ”he argued.
In response to calls from the Nigerian House of Representatives for a review of Ghana’s GIPC ACT, which calls for an investment of at least US $ 300,000 for foreign merchants to venture into the Ghanaian retail space, Dr. Joseph Obeng insisted that Ghana’s laws can only be revised. by national referendum.
“The laws of a country are reviewed based on the demands of citizens and not the demands of a foreigner,” he emphasized.
A joint committee between Ghana and Nigeria will be established to consider a possible Ghana-Nigeria Friendship Act to end decades of retail disputes between merchants from the two countries.
This became known when the heads of the parliaments of Ghana and Nigeria issued a joint statement to this effect.
“In awareness of the negative impact that this development could have on our commercial ties, we propose that a joint committee made up of members of both legislatures be established to expose and explore the possible approval of reciprocal legislation that will potentially be called the Ghana-Nigeria Friendship Act or Business Council to foster trade relations with the two nations, ”revealed the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria, Benjamin Kalu.
GUTA contends that under the ECOWAS rule of origin, foreign traders in the ECOWAS subregion can only trade in products manufactured in their respective countries.
And any other attempt to trade goods that are not manufactured in the respective country will require the trader to comply with the GIPC conditions on retail trade in the country.
