The Minister of Trade and Industry Dr. Ekow Spio Gabrah has warned that expelling of non Ghanaians involved in petty trading may have a negative impact on the country.
According to Dr. Ekow Spio Gabrah Ghanaians involved in petty trading in other ECOWAS countries risk losing their livelihood if those countries also enforce the same laws.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry had earlier issued a 30-day ultimatum to non-Ghanaians in petty trade to leave some 48 short listed markets across the country.
To enforce the directive a new court is being set up by the Chief Justice, Mrs. Justice Georgina T. Wood to prosecute foreigners who engage in petty trading.
Speaking at a meeting with the heads of agencies under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Dr. Ekow Spio Grabrah said Ghana must be cautious in dealing with the matter since its can trigger a reciprocal action in neighboring countries.
“Even as we point out to the non Ghanaians that are infringing our laws and to the Ghanaians who may be accommodating them, let us also be mindful of the potential impact from a reciprocity point of view when it comes to international relations”.
According to him it is important to be mindful of the laws of neighboring countries.
‘there may be Ghanaians also involved in all kinds of petty trading, shop keeping activities in neighbouring countries and if so happens these countries have similar laws and if they choose to enforce them then we could have some very interesting situations’.
“And that is not what we are looking for, where we have tit for tat type activity in the ECOWAS region.”