The Minister for Trade, Agribusiness, and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, has cautioned against attempts to restrict foreign involvement in Ghana’s retail sector, highlighting the challenges posed when local operators act as fronts for foreign investors.

Speaking during the Government Accountability Series on Wednesday, January 21, the minister dismissed claims that foreigners dominate the country’s retail market, describing such assertions as inconsistent with on-the-ground realities.

“I can say for sure, without any scientific basis, that foreigners are not responsible for 70% of our retail market. I don’t need rocket science; I only need to go to the market to see how many shops are being manned by foreigners,” she said.

While acknowledging that some foreign nationals participate in retail trade, Madam Ofosu-Adjare pointed out that many operate through Ghanaians, making enforcement of regulations challenging.

“I would not deny the fact that there may be a few foreigners in the retail trade. But even those in the retail space are being fronted by local people. If you enter the shop, you will see a Ghanaian sitting there,” she explained.

She further noted that ownership structures often mask the true beneficiaries, even in official records.

“What do you have to say that you are closing that shop because it doesn’t belong to a Ghanaian, whereas it is being manned by a Ghanaian? Even if you proceed to the Registrar-General’s Authority, the name of that shop is Ghanaian. What I can say is that if Ghanaians don’t want foreigners in the space, we can fish them out and sack them. But so long as we front for them and register for them, there is nothing anybody can do,” Madam Ofosu-Adjare added.