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The Deputy Chief Executive Officer in charge of Operations at the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), Prof. Michael Ayamga-Adongo, has cautioned the Abossey Okai Spare Parts Dealers Association against taking matters into their own hands in enforcing investment laws. The association recently embarked on an exercise to enforce Section 27(1) of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) Act, 2013, which prohibits non-citizens from engaging in petty trading.
The Abossey Okai Spare Parts Dealers Association’s exercise resulted in a near-confrontation between some foreign traders and the executives. Prof. Adongo emphasized that enforcing such laws is the responsibility of law enforcement agencies, including the Ghana Immigration Service, and not the associations. He warned that the association’s actions could trigger international retaliation against Ghanaians living abroad.
The association’s actions could spark retaliatory measures against Ghanaians living abroadIt may trigger reactions and responses from other jurisdictions where Ghanaians may not be doing what they are supposed to be doing. The fact that foreign citizens have come under certain forms of attack could trigger international backlash.
Despite the EPA’s warning, the Abossey Okai Spare Parts Dealers Association has issued a three-day ultimatum to foreign traders in the hub, demanding that they shut down their shops or face further action. The association claims that foreign traders are distorting fair competition and threatening the survival of local businesses.
Prof. Adongo stressed that the enforcement of such laws must be carried out by the appropriate authorities. “It is the responsibility of law enforcement, the Ghana Immigration Services authority, also in collaboration with the relevant agencies, to monitor these things and regulate them. To the extent that other actors in the space take the law into their own hands and begin to enforce these things is problematic,” he said.
By : epos
