Stop intimidating us with your taskforce or we protest - GUTA warns government

Correspondence from Ashanti Region

Members of the Ghana Union of Traders' Association (GUTA), Ashanti Region, have given a two-week ultimatum to the Nana Addo-led NPP government to stop intimidating them with the task force.

Registering their displeasure over what they consider as harassment, intimidation, discrimination, and deliberate attempts to collapse their businesses, the disappointed traders said they do not understand why importers from the Ashanti Region alone have become subjects of intimidation by this task force.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Maxwell Bamfo who doubles as the Ashanti Regional Financial Secretary and Deputy National Financial Secretary said that despite an earlier announcement by the Vice President about the removal of customs barriers across the country, the reverse has been the case in the Ashanti Region alone.

"With the coming into force of the paperless system, we all heard Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia telling the whole world of the removal of the customs barriers across the country. However, in the Ashanti Region, the reverse has been the case", they said.

According to them, there has been constant harassment and intimidation on the Accra- Kumasi and the Takoradi- Kumasi route since last year.

"On the Accra - Kumasi road one has to contend with the Bunso and Kubease barriers. Beyond these two, there are now what they call Regional and National Taskforce all operating in a duplicative manner. The same applies to the Takoradi- Kumasi road beyond the Anwiankwanta barrier", they added.

Revealing the sad side of their ordeal, the GUTA members said that goods with duties paid and cleared at the port are many a times arrested by these taskforces of customs leading to extortions, delays, and re-examinations which result in heavy penalties slapped on owners of the goods.

"In many cases, such containers are taken to the Aboabo yard of the customs where owners are made to offload and reload at their own expense. This has led to losses of several Cedis to the owners in transportation, offloading, and reloading cost including penalties of Gh¢300", he read in the statement.

According to them, this has led to the collapse of several businesses and the relocation of others out of the region.

They further supported their call with claims that the act is a deliberate agenda to collapse businesses by some people in government including the finance minister.

They said the finance minister on several occasions has stated that he cannot come to terms with why the Ashanti Region's contribution to the national tax is 12.6 percent.

Giving a week ultimatum to the government to stop the intimidations and harassment, the GUTA members in the Ashanti region said they would have no option but to call for the closure of all shops in the region in protest to what they consider discriminatory and a clear agenda to collapse businesses in the region.

Some leaders who spoke to GhanaWeb further disclosed that in a bid to address the situation, they have engaged all the necessary stakeholders including the Ashanti regional minister, the leadership of the security agencies at both national and regional levels, the past and the present commissioners of the GRA as well as the commissioner of customs, but, to no avail.

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