The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) has shut down two business centers in Ganta, Ruhul Building Material Store and Caroline Frozen Center, citing unfair business practices aimed at defrauding the government and the public.
Newly appointed Commerce Inspector General Miantor Sei L. Gbatu led the surprise inspection, intending to deter unlawful business activities in Nimba and beyond. Ruhul was closed for several reasons, including expiration of the business document, selling with price tags and also selling of expired building materials, such as paint, nails and roofing sheets, which are not allowed in the public, while Caroline Frozen Center had a large portion of unwholesome products in their storage.
"For now we are closing two business centers, Ruhul Building Material Store and the Caroline Frozen Center," he said. "We are going to do more, where all the business centers across the country will be inspected and the appropriate action taken."
"We discovered some substandard materials as well as expired materials in the store," he said. "Before doing business in this country, you comply with the legal law governing business, but surprisingly, the Ruhul Building Material Store business registration document expired last year in March.
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"For the Caroline Frozen Center/cold storage, about 85% of the 3000 cartons of frozen products discovered in their warehouse were unwholesome or contaminated, and it is not good for public consumption," he said.
The affected businesses were given 72 hours to comply with regulations or face legal consequences. Previous inspections by Minister Dagoseh's team led to closures, but outcomes of penalties imposed remain undisclosed.
The local management of Ruhul denied selling substandard goods and claimed to have segregated unsuitable items for disposal.
"All the goods that are not good for sale were stockpiled in a separate area in the warehouse, waiting disposal," he said.
Early this year, Minister Dagoseh and a team of inspectors carried out similar exercises in Ganta, closing several business centers, including Bunty Pharmaceutical (an axillary to Ruhul), but upon her departure all the closed business centers, including Bunty were opened.
Up to the present, the public is yet to know what became of the penalty imposed by the minister and her entourage.
The unexpected operation highlighted gaps in local inspectors' oversight and challenges in controlling smuggling activities in Ganta involving essential goods like rice, petroleum, and cement.
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Meanwhile, the smuggling of rice, petroleum products and cement to Guinea is allegedly on the rise in Ganta, but it appears like the Commerce Inspectors and other revenue authorities are failing to curtail the movement, which are considered as "political goods."
