The Trade Ministry’s Committee on foreign retail trades has shutdown 92 shops belonging to foreigners on violators of trade laws in Kumasi.

The exercise was carried out at the Suame Magazine artisanal hub.

51 shops were closed on Tuesday and another 41 shops on Wednesday.

Speaking to the media, a member of the Committee Nana Kwabena Peprah explained the affected traders failed to comply with the provisions of the Ghana Investment Promotion Center (GIPC) Act which clearly spells out the rules governing trading by non-Ghanaians in the country.

He said: “We have our investment laws in this country which is the GIPC law and it spells out how a foreigner can apply and be doing trading in Ghana and It also gives us how indigenes can do business in Ghana.”

He further disclosed the foreign traders found to have flouted the laws were given about 18 months to comply with the directives of the investments agreement or face the necessary sanctions.

“We have been here before and we did the assessment and checked their documents among other things and we had given them almost eighteen months to regularize but they have not done so. That is why the team is locking the shops,” Mr Peprah said.