Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Benjamin Quashie has said the Ghanaian government is taking steps to protect businesses owned by Ghanaians in South Africa and will pursue compensation or legal action if any of those businesses are unlawfully targeted or seized.
Speaking on Citi Eyewitness News, May 28, the High Commissioner disclosed that Ghana has begun documenting and registering Ghanaian-owned businesses in South Africa, including verifying their legal ownership details, as part of measures to safeguard the investments of its citizens.
“We’ve instituted measures to ensure that everybody who has business in this country, we protect that business,” he stated.
According to him, Ghana will insist on adequate compensation should South African authorities attempt to interfere with or take over any Ghanaian-owned business.
“And ensure that if the government of South Africa wants to take that business, there should be compensation to the owners of those businesses,” he added.
Mr. Quashie explained that the Ghanaian mission already possesses records of affected businesses and their legal documentation and is prepared to challenge any actions deemed unfair through legal and diplomatic channels.
“We know what the businesses are, we know the legal documents that they have, and we intend to take it strongly up against the government of South Africa,” he said.
The High Commissioner further revealed that Ghana intends to escalate the issue to the African Union as part of broader efforts to address repeated xenophobic attacks and concerns affecting African nationals living in South Africa.
He warned that failure to resolve the matter amicably could lead to court action to determine compensation claims for affected Ghanaian business owners.
“If not, then compensation and other things they will be paying to those people, it will be a matter that will be determined by a court of competent jurisdiction,” he stated.
His comments comes after the first batch of 297 Ghanaians have been evacuated from South Africa amid the xenophobic attacks.
