Businessmen cry over Chinese infiltration in retail market

Businessmen in the country are complaining bitterly about the invasion of their areas of operations by Chinese who go contrary to the provisions of the investment laws of Ghana.

What hurts these businessmen the more is that state institutions which are supposed to protect them look on helplessly.

The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) of which these businessmen are members, have expressed similar concerns and bemoaned the state of helplessness they found themselves as several discussions they had with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) as well as the Trade and Industry Ministry, but did not yield any positive results.

A businessman, who for the fear of being attacked, spoke to this reporter on condition of anonymity, recalled with nostalgia the contempt treatment the Trade Ministry subjected them to when they officially petitioned it with their concerns some few years back.

Article 19 (3) of the Investment Code, Act 478 states that: Notwithstanding sub-section (1) of this section, in the case of a trading enterprise involving only the purchasing and selling of goods which is either wholly or partly owned by a non-Ghanaian, there shall be an investment of foreign capital or its equivalent in goods worth at least US$300,000.00 by way of equity.

But the Chinese, according to the Ghanaian traders, have subjected the investment laws to all forms of abuses and simply do not comply with the provisions.

They pointed out that where the law required that they employed at least 10 Ghanaians, the foreigners rather bring into the country their relatives and engage one or two Ghanaians as casual workers, who they discard at will eventually.

The adverse effects of the foreigners, whose activities are ruining their businesses on the national economy, they argued that there is influx of shoddy foreign goods onto the market which compels Ghanaian to also resort to the importation of similar products which hinders the development of local manufacturing industries.

“In a year, a Chinese would have imported about 3, 000 containers of shoddy goods into the country, whereas that would have been done by 100 to 200 Ghanaian traders in the same year. Compare the tax one person pays to that which 100 people would have paid. They are collapsing our businesses”, they stated.

They revealed that because the foreigners are willing to pay any amount for rent, rent has increased exponentially and that landlords are kicking out Ghanaians from their shops just to accommodate the Chinese.

Aside that, they accused the Chinese of buying Ghanaian properties and building huge stores out of the monies gotten from the shoddy sale of goods just to invite more of their people to continue infiltrating the retail market where they are not supposed to.

They are, therefore, calling on government to flush out the growing number of Chinese and other foreigners in the retail business or come out with stricter policies for their activities to be closely monitored.