<<Print>>

Cabinet has directed that the printing of scratch cards of telecommunication companies should be done locally. By this, cabinet means that the printing of the scratch cards should be wholly reserved for Ghanaian entrepreneurs. This directive follows concerns raised about foreigners penetrating business sectors reserved for Ghanaians. According to a letter signed by Mr. Ben Eghan, Secretary to the Cabinet, and sighted by the Times newspaper, government has requested the Ministry of Trade and Industry to review the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GPIC) Act, 1994 (ACT 478) and certain businesses exclusively for Ghanaians. These include the printing of scratch cards, the operating of beauty salons, barbering shops, the settling of goods or provision of services in markets, petty trading or hawking, and selling of good in a stall anywhere. Also, the operating of taxi or car hire services should be reserved for Ghanaians. This according to the directive would provide more opportunities for Ghanaians and curtail the invasion of the sectors by foreigners. To ensure that the directive had legal backing, cabinet authorized the legislation. It directed the Ministry of Trade and Industry to, as a matter of urgency, revise the GIPC Bill, finalize it, and present it to Parliament for consideration. The Ghana Union Traders Association (GUTA) has for sometime now been agitating for the government to crack the whip on foreign-owned shops in the retail sector since it is reserved for Ghanaians. GUTA contends that the influx of foreign businessmen poses challenges to Ghanaian businesses. This compelled the Ghana Investment Promotion Council to strengthen the inter agency task force set up to monitor activities of non-Ghanaians in the trade sector. However there has since been several reported incidents of foreigners flooding the Ghanaian retail markets.