Members of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) have said that they are making losses after the closure of the Nigerian border with Benin.
According to some of the members of GNCCI, they fear they will make more losses if the government fails to address the issue immediately.
The Chief Executive Officer of GNCCI, Mark Badu Aboagye, said even though the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that it is working to resolve the issue, its members are making huge losses that pose a serious risk to their businesses if not addressed.
“It will impact negatively. You know we issue certificate of origin to exporters even within the ECOWAS and some have been complaining about the fact that they have not been able to send their goods to Nigeria through that border. So, once they are not able to do that it means they can’t sell their goods and those who want to bring their goods to Ghana through that border can also not do that,” he told Accra-based Citi FM.
He added that “definitely the revenue they are supposed to get does not come to them and it is having a toll on their activities and they have expressed huge concern about it and the fact that something should be done quickly to resolve it.”
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the partial closing of its border with Benin in August. A few weeks after that he ordered the closure of all borders. This was to curb the smuggling of rice and other commodities into West Africa’s largest economy.
This has affected all West African countries including Ghana.
The border restrictions are coming after Nigeria and Benin in July agreed to join the African Continental Free Trade Area, which targets greater economic integration through the removal of trade barriers and tariffs on 90% of commodities.
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