Africa-Press – Angola. The director of the Provincial Office for Integrated Economic Development of Luanda, Dorivaldo Adão, stated that some traders, from the Economic Community of West African Countries (ECOWAS), do not comply with commercial standards in the country’s capital city.
Countries such as Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo and Senegal are part of ECOWAS, established in 1975.
According to Dorivaldo Adão, who was speaking at the seminar on training and technical assistance for commercial agents, for example, in the urban district of Hoje-Ya-Henda (Cazenga), there are 680 commercial units, 90 percent of which are citizens of the countries of ECOWAS which, more than half, does not comply with Angolan commercial legislation.
Angola has Law No. 1/07, regulating acts of commerce, but, he pointed out, there have been mishaps, due to lack of knowledge and/or indiscipline.
He indicated that, in the space in question, there were some working with permits with a name that did not match, as well as tax evasion.
According to current legislation in Angola, companies must have invoice blocks and equivalent documents, and many of them did not do so, so they did not deduct them from the General Tax Administration (AGT).
To change the paradigm, he assured that the Government is working with the National Institute of Social Security, AGT, Ministry of Finance and the Civil Protection and Fire Service.
On the occasion, he recalled that the reorganization of commerce in Luanda resulted in an improvement in mobility, as well as in the regularization of companies, with procedures such as employee contracts and payments equal to or above the minimum wage.
He made it known that in São Paulo, in the municipality of Luanda, more than 400 commercial units closed, but more than half have already been reopened, after complying with trade rules.
The president of the Angola/ECOWAS Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ablay Diop, said that training traders to better understand Angolan law, by members, is part of its objectives.
Of the 1,800 members of the chamber in Luanda (more than 400 thousand nationwide), including wholesalers and retailers, 200 will benefit from training, divided into two phases.
In turn, Wassamba Neto, deputy director of the National Institute for Consumer Protection (INADEC), recalled that all commercial activities are reflected in the life of the consumer, so there is a need to train traders to better deal with consumers and provide quality products.
“This training action responds to some irregularities found by INADEC, when there are conflicts, as sometimes the commercial operator does not have control over the legislation and good practices, to improve, in practical terms”, he highlighted.
The seminar on capacity building and technical assistance for commercial agents is organized by the Luanda Provincial Government and the Angola/ECOWAS Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
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