Suame Mazagine traders to demonstrate against GRA over alleged money extortion

Vehicle spare parts importers in Suame Magazine in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi have announced their intention to stage a mega street protest against government targeting Ghana Revenue Authority Taskforce station at Anwia-Nkwanta

on the Kumasi-Obuasi highways and Pokuase in the Greater Accra region checkpoints.

The angry importers are demanding the government to withdraw the Ghana Revenue Authority Task Force stationed there who they claim are extorting money from them with unjustified threats.

Addressing a news conference at Suame in Kumasi, the importers said they have been paying required tax at the various entry ports before transporting their goods to their respective shops in Kumasi.

The angry vehicle spare parts dealers explained that when goods are imported into the country by their members arrive at the Takoradi and Tema ports, the goods go through thorough checks by various security agencies.

These checks they say are conducted to confirm if the purported imported goods correspond to what has been declared on the bill of lading with the help of technology scans among others.

However, according to Korea Importers Association Kumasi Branch chairman, Kwaku Marfo the GRA official, physical checks are also ordered if there are doubts before it’s released to the importer after all duties and taxes are correctly paid.

But after all these many checks, the importers complain they are again confronted by Customs Taskforce team along highways in the name of extra checks that are only aimed at extorting unlawful money from them which runs in hundreds of cedis.

They contend it is having a great negative impact on their businesses leading to many companies folding up.

The group is therefore pleading with the government to intervene and immediately stop the illegal extortion and commence investigations into the matter.

The group chairman Kwaku Marfo while addressing the media said, they are fed up with the GRA taskforce and threaten to prevent them from conducting such checks on their goods again if the government fails to call them to order.

“When our goods arrive at the port, we pay every clearance tax before moving the goods from the port. When we get to Pokuase or Anwia-Nkwanta, we have to offload all the goods in the container for further check at our own cost of loading and unloading of the goods while we clear documents from the port. The GRA Taskforce first demands 'do you want us to check your good or not'? If you say yes it means you will pay over GHc.10,000 and if you say no without receipt you will pay about GHc.50,000. We are tired of these illegalities," he alleged.

The Chairman further gave the government 7 days ultimatum to remove the GRA Task Force personnel from the road will face their wrath.

“The Customs Divisions and GRA Taskforce is not there to check our goods but rather extort money from us for no crime committed’’.

“We are telling the NPP government that if they fail to listen to us we will show them something. One next week we will block the Suame Magazine Ecowas road to traffic and we will beat any security man who will come there. You are all leaving witness to what we did to Minister of parliamentary Affair Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu Suame Constituency Member of Parliament nobody should underestimate us because you know what we can do. We are tired of the Akufo Addo Government that came to Beg for our Votes. We will also make sure the NPP will never campaign in Magazine for the election 2024. This is because you can’t collapse our business and demand for our votes to rule us with," they warned.

Meanwhile, GHOne News check from Suame Magazine on 29th March 2023 confirmed the leadership of the various importer groups have begun a mobilization drive to whip the artisan in the Suame Magazine to support their plan demonstration stated for next week.

However, Suame Divisional Command and Ashanti Regional Police Command of the Ghana Police Service have both denied receiving formal letters informing the police or requesting the police permission to protest.