GIPC’s ‘incentives’ approach must yield results

In the last few years, traders in our local market spaces have been up in arms with foreigners who they accuse of engaging in retail business despite being restricted by the GIPC Act, 2003.

The Ghana Union of Traders Associations (GUTA) has been at the forefront of this battle which, on several occasions, has led to temporary closure of shops belonging to some of these foreigners, as well as near fisticuffs between the indigenous traders and their foreign counterparts.

Indeed the weak enforcement of the law restricting foreigners from the retail sector has led to calls for the GIPC Act to be reviewed to water down the tension that exists between traders in our market places.

The GIPC, under the leadership of Yofi Grant, welcomes the need to have the troublesome portion of the legislation dealt with in a manner that is sustainable and does not deviate from the intended purpose of benefiting local businesses.

Yofi Grant has said it is about time the country reconsidered its economic empowerment strategy by incentivising its citizens who are lower down the retail chain than just protecting them.

This is because, he argued, without incentives to push them up they remain lower down the chain of commerce even with a lot of protection.

This paper is a firm believer in building a resilient Ghanaian economy that creates sustainable jobs for its youth. While there are several means of helping local businesses to compete even beyond their home markets, having a deliberate policy to help these businesses grow and dominate the economy is not out of place.

Even countries that are the citadels of market liberalisation do not shy away from using legitimate means to support indigenous businesses to grow beyond their borders; and as such the GIPC’s approach to incentivising these businesses to go beyond being just retailers is in the right direction.

It is also welcoming that the Ghana Union of Traders Associations, having met the GIPC leadership yesterday, has made their grievances known. For any policy to succeed, it is important it gets the buy-in of its key stakeholders and the invitation of GUTA to the discussion table will enhance the sustainability of whatever output comes from the revised GIPC Act.

While the GIPC plans on paper look good, the B&FT would like to caution against the perennial attitude of weak enforcement of laws which make nonsense of their passage in the first place.

This paper will contribute its bit by holding the GIPC to its word whenever the new law comes into being. The economy truly needs a transformation and any move that will move it from its current status needs the support of all.