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The Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyeremanten, has observed that for Ghana to benefit from the civilian market, a high level of awareness needs to be created among regulatory authorities.
“These regulatory authorities included Customs, Immigration, Police, Producers and Exporters, as well as the Logistics Industry, who were the agents that would make the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) work on the ground so that Ghana could obtain the maximum benefits. ” he said.
Mr. Kyeremanten said this in a speech read on his behalf by Dr. John-Hawpkins Asiedu, Technical Advisor-Industrial Parking and Special Economic Zones of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, during the regional conference on the implementation of the AfCFTA.
“If there is no awareness, we cannot reap the full benefits of the agreement.
“We need to develop concrete ways that allow regulatory authorities and economic operators to interact with the systems that are being established under the AfCFTA and agree on entry routes, customs facilities and procedures for the export and import of goods,” he said.
Mr. Kyeremanten noted that for them in Ghana, they recognized that increased trade was the surest way to deepen regional integration in Africa.
Adding that the creation of the Continental Free Trade Area Agreement was one of the most important decisions adopted by the African Union.
He indicated the government’s commitment to ensuring the operationalization of the AfCFTA Secretariat in Ghana, adding that it would accelerate industrial transformation for inclusive economic transformation.
The Minister of Trade and Industry noted that Ghana’s overarching goal was to position itself as the newest manufacturing and service hub on the African continent.
He stressed that this was the most opportune time for the government to empower the private sector to optimize the full benefit of the AfCFTA.
“The government seeks the cooperation of the private sector, the public and all relevant institutions to work together as stakeholders and become strategic partners to address the complexities of regional integration while ensuring that the implementation of the AfCFTA leaves no one behind.” Kyeremanten said.
“AfCFTA is the second largest business blog in the world today, with a population of 1.2 billion and a combined GDP of $ 3.4 trillion,” he said.
He noted that the agreement, once fully implemented, had the potential to save African trade by up to 52.3% by 2022 from 15% today.
Albert Kassim Diwura, Deputy Executive Director (CEO) of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), noted that over the past decade, Ghana had improved its position in international trade with a substantial expansion in total exports, and gave credit to the efforts of the Ghanaian government and private sector.
However, he noted that the recent relatively weak performance of the non-traditional export sector and other externalities in the external business environment had revealed the risk, weaknesses and uncertainty associated with its over-reliance on commodity exports and diversification and limited value of products. addition.
Diwura said it was for this reason that President Akufo-Addo called for a paradigm shift from exporting raw materials to value-added products, noting that the government had embarked on an industrialization agenda, which saw the establishment of various manufacturing companies under the government program “One-District-One Factory”.
The conference was organized under the theme: “Empowering Ghanaian Businesses to Reap the Benefits of AfCFTA under the National Export Development Strategy (NEDS)”.
It was organized by the Ministry of Trade and Industry in collaboration with the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) and the AfCFTA National Coordination Office.
The conference, which was part of the preparation for the start of operations on January 1, 2021, aimed to sensitize the business community in the Upper West region about the market opportunities available, as well as the essential target products in the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement. (AfCFTA).
