Foreign-owned retail shops shut in Ghana’s capital

A total of 46 foreign-owned retail shops have been shut in Ghana’s capital, Accra, because they were trading illegally, the Ministry of Trade and Industry has said.

Ghanaian law bars foreigners from engaging in retail business and the authorities have come under pressure to enforce it.

Last year, traders believed to be members of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (Guta) forcibly locked up foreign-owned shops belonging to Nigerians and Chinese residents in parts of the country.

The Nigerian Union of Traders Association in Ghana says about 80% of Nigerian-owned businesses in the country are licensed.

Ghanaian law allows foreigners to engage in non-retail business. (BBC)