The leadership of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) in the Eastern Region has condemned Monday’s altercation between its members and foreigners engaging in retail activities in Koforidua.
Members of GUTA, during an operation to close down shops of foreigners engaging in the retail space, had a heated confrontation with some Nigerian nationals who stormed the premises of the New Juaben South Assembly to demand the immediate release of confiscated goods by GUTA.
A timely intervention by the Member of Parliament for the area and Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Michael Kofi Okyere Baafi, who was on a tour in the constituency at the time of the confrontation, prevented the volatile scene from escalating.
In an interview with Citi News on the development, the Chairman of the Mobile Phone Dealers Association in the region, Alhaji Ben Abdallah, called on the Eastern Regional and government to immediately intervene for peace to prevail going forward.
“We are pleading with the government and the assembly to help us to make sure that this situation doesn’t become a problem in the society. Because we are finding it difficult to get them out, as we have already locked up their shops and we are in negotiations with them at the office of the regional minister. We are waiting for the regional minister to call on us to come for negotiations, which he has promised to do within the shortest time. The government should help us get rid of the hawkers on the streets so that there will be peace,” he said.
Citi News can confirm that the Eastern Regional Security Council (REGSEC) is convening a meeting with the leadership of the Ghana Union of Traders Association and the leadership of Nigerian nationals engaging in retail marketing in Koforidua.
This meeting is to help address tension between the two groups following yesterday’s altercation between them during an operation by GUTA to lock shops of foreigners engaging in retail activities in Koforidua.