The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) has demanded an immediate retraction and unqualified apology from the first deputy speaker of parliament, Mr Joseph Osei-Owusu, for what the association describes as unsavory comments against its members. According to GUTA, the lawmaker implied traders are thieves who are ripping off Ghanaians and should be blamed for the hike in prices and not the taxes introduced by the government. Read details of statement below: Source: Apexnewsgh.com
The Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana (IEAG) has pointed its hands at the leadership of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) for being the genesis behind the high cost of doing business in Ghana. The Executive Secretary, Mr. Asaki Samson Awingobit made the allegation in a statement signed and dated May Friday 13, 2022. Read the full statement below: I have taken my time to visit and interact with some business operators, and many of them admit losing huge revenue between January, this year to date on their sales by a huge percentage negatively with some losing about 40% or more in terms of their monthly sales. Again, prices of goods have gone up by 30% in all sectors and consumers’ purchasing power has dropped drastically. All these hardships and challenges largely have to do with GUTA’s endorsement of the government’s unwarranted and insensitive policies toward trading. Since the inception of this government, the current GUTA leadership has never succeeded in kicking against any of its policies. Any time my Association kick against some government’s bad policies, the government then runs to GUTA, or GUTA will go there to say they control traders in this country, yet they can’t defend their members and end up being compromised and rather praise the government, putting their own members into distress. Almost all the policies the government has introduced and implemented have received the blessings of GUTA, yet, they will leave the meeting grounds, go into the market, and behave like saints and are innocent or ignorant of what is happening to the business community. The way and manner the current GUTA Executives are treating the government and some of its unfriendly trade policies leave one to wonder if the current GUTA executives are not directly and personally not benefiting from the government at the expense of their members and the cherished trading public. Let me, therefore, caution that until this current GUTA leadership acknowledges that they are leaders because of their members, and not that they are too powerful or knowledgeable than some of us who always stand firm to oppose certain policies by the government not because we hate the government but rather recognize that we have to protect the interest of our constituent, the hardship the business community is facing will be worse. Until the current GUTA leadership change and realize that they are not Leaders on their own and therefore cannot take decisions all the time on their own, but rather need to consult with their membership including sister associations like the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana, and the freights forwarders, we will still have these problems at hand in the Ghanaian Trading Environment. It must therefore be placed on record that GUTA is responsible for the difficulties all Ghanaian businesses are going through by accepting and allowing the implementation of some government insensitive policies. We are by this statement calling on all the importers and traders in this country to put pressure on the current GUTA leadership to sit up and think of the plight of traders instead of bowing to the whims and caprices of the current government all the time. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your adverts and credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Nigeria and Ghana have put in place a mechanism to end the trade dispute between Nigerian traders and the Ghanaian authorities, the Speakers of the Parliaments of the two countries have said. The dispute arose from the $1million business participation fee introduced by the Ghanaian authorities, which required foreigners to pay before they can do business in Ghana. Speaking at a press conference after a closed-door diplomatic meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila and the Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana Hon. Alban Sumana Bagbin, said the trade dispute would soon become history. “We got assurance from both sides that the issue of trade dispute will be a thing of the past. We’re now putting up a mechanism to make sure that these issues don’t come up again in the future”, Hon. Bagbin said. Earlier, Rep. Gbajabiamila said the closed-door meeting they held was a successful one as issues of interest to both countries were discussed. “We’ve more or less concluded the roadmap to achieve lasting solutions to the diplomatic issues with our traders. “The issue with our traders and the Ghanaian authorities has been addressed today. The Minister of Trade and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs were at the meeting. “There is a technical committee set up. They will be going to Ghana next week to dot the ‘Is’ and cross the ‘Ts’”, he said. Gbajabiamila also announced that the two parliaments had established and inaugurated a parliamentary friendship group that would hold talks on the relationship between the two countries. He spoke more, “We’ve inaugurated the friendship group, and they will start talking on behalf of the two Parliaments. “I want to thank you, the Hon. Speaker, for your kind words and your determination to see an end to the issue. “The issue of the Nigerian embassy in Ghana, the Ghanaian authorities have accepted to take responsibility, though it has nothing to do with them, but they said they will put it back. “We went beyond Nigeria-Ghana relationship. We also talked about CoSAP. Other issues will be addressed by the two friendship groups.” Responding, Hon. Bagbin said: “I want to sincerely thank you so much for the invitation. I can only confirm that everything will be put in place to address the issue of trade between our two countries. “Let’s ensure that the relationship between Ghana and Nigeria remains cordial and mutual. I thank the Speaker for his commitment and enthusiasm on this matter.” Earlier, Hon. Bagbin addressed members of the House at plenary, where he said Ghana and Nigeria had come a long way and that the relationship between the two countries would continue to be cordial and mutual. He said despite the commonalities between the two countries, “it is important to mention at this stage, that relations between our two countries have not always been smooth. Consistent with the tongue and teeth metaphor which has it that even though the tongue and teeth play complementary roles in the digestive process, they come into conflict occasionally. Similarly, our relations have had its own challenges every now and then.” However, he noted that the two countries had been able to address whatever issues that came up between them in the past and that they should be able to do that currently. He gave details, “The issue of Nigerian traders in Ghana; it is on this basis that I commend my brother and colleague, Rt. Hon.Gbajabiamila, and my predecessor, Rt. Hon. Professor Aaron Michael Oquaye, for their noble efforts in pursuing Parliamentary Diplomacy towards finding a lasting solution to the trade impasse between some Ghanaian and Nigerian traders in Ghana. “The conclusions you arrived at, which were encapsulated in the joint communique issued after the visit, provided the basis for redefining our relations, in terms of our history of cooperation, to forge a better future for the citizenry of our two nations. These conclusions were reinforced by the communique issued after the recent meeting between our ministers responsible for Trade on the sides of the Extraordinary ECOWAS Summit on the Political Situation in Mali held on 31st May 2021 in Accra. “Rt. Hon. Speaker, I am here just to help bring finality to the impasse. I pledge my commitment and that of the Parliament of Ghana, to contribute in every way possible to end the impasse between traders of our two sister countries. “In furtherance of that, under my leadership, the Parliament of Ghana has appointed a seven-member committee as Ghana’s delegation to the Joint Committee of Eminent Persons of our Legislatures. They will interact with their Nigerian counterparts towards passing the ‘Ghana-Nigeria Friendship Act.’ “The Act will set up the proposed ‘Ghana-Nigeria Business Council’, which is intended to provide the legal and institutional framework to sustain the continued friendship and business interests of our people.” He also appealed to “review the prohibition list banning the importation of specific goods and commodities into the Nigerian market from other countries, including Ghana. This request is underscored by the resolution as captured in the communique of 31st May 2021. —Opeyemi Rasheed Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
