Member countries must be prepared for AfCFTA regardless of preparations

Business News for Thursday, October 29, 2020

Source: GNA

2020-10-29

Mr. Seth Twum Akwaboah, Executive Director of the Ghana Industries Association (AGI), has highlighted the need for member countries of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to join forces to begin trading in January 2021.

He said that the industrial development of the 52 member countries that have joined the trade bloc should not necessarily be completed before they can begin to trade on the continental framework.

Mr. Akwaboah, speaking at the 21st annual general meeting of the Ashanti, Bono and Ahafo branches of the Association in Kumasi, pointed out that the whole essence of the AfCFTA was to support industrial development, transformation and trade.

The important thing, he said, is that each country has its own strategies to be able to penetrate the markets.

The conference was held under the theme “Building local resilience and capacity towards AfCFTA”.

The main objectives of the AfCFTA are to create a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of business and investment persons, and thus pave the way to accelerate the establishment of the customs union.

Akwaboah said that AGI’s willingness to negotiate under AfCFTA had prompted the administration to intensify education and sensitize its member companies on protocols, mechanisms, certificate of origin, rules of origin and commitment, as well as other critical issues in trade in that platform.

Once again, the management was working closely with the Ministry of Commerce to choose selected products that had the potential to prosper on the African continent, as well as to define the type of interventions that member companies might need to prosper.

The Ministry, according to Mr. Akwaboah, had also established a technical working group, which was developing a specific country strategy that would help facilitate the process for Ghanaian industries: produce goods that were competitive and conform to the standards of the AfCFTA.

He noted that counterfeit products could be easily identified and banned from markets, and recommended that member companies always work with the Ghana Standards Authority for product certification.

Ms. Afua Gyamfua Owusu-Akyaw, Ashanti Regional President, AGI, said the Association was committed to leading the advocacy of members for a friendly business environment, especially in the era of COVID-19.

He used the occasion to call on the government to expedite the processing of funds for members who did not yet have access to the stimulus package and MASLOC loans.