The task force set up by the Trade Ministry to monitor the activities of non-Ghanaians engaged in retail and petty trading, will commence full operations on Tuesday, July 3. The task force, which was to begin shutting down stores of all non-Ghanaians on Monday, put the move on hold without citing any reasons. The Ghana Union Traders Association (GUTA) has however criticized the task force for the delay and intimated that it will be forced to protect its members if the task force failed to do so. Speaking at a press briefing on Thursday however, the sector Minister, Hannah Tetteh said the exercise was halted because of a letter from the ECOWAS Parliament regarding the exercise. “In my absence, my Deputy received a letter from the ECOWAS Parliament indicating that it had sent a fact finding mission to come and find out what exactly we were doing hence my Deputy was of the view that we should suspend this action” she explained. The Minister said despite the initial decision to suspend the exercise, the Ministry will proceed as earlier planned because it is within its mandate to enforce the laws of this country. There were earlier reports that Nigeria had petitioned ECOWAS on the move and had threatened to break ties with Ghana if it went ahead with the directive. Some ECOWAS Member States had claimed they had been exempted from the directive which initially was applicable to all foreign nationals. Ms. Tetteh however dismissed the assertions. “We wish to state categorically that in embarking upon this legitimate operation, we are very conscious of the existence of the ECOWAS protocol on free movement of persons, the right of residence and the right of establishment” she stated. Hannah Tetteh however gave the assurance that the ECOWAS laws had been duly considered. She added that the interests of Ghanaians and law abiding non Ghanaians will be protected.