Ghana government constitutes Technical Working Groups to domesticate AfCFTA objectives

Government has commissioned a Technical Working Groups (TWGs) drawn from the public and private sector organizations to domesticate and actualise the African Continental Free Trade Area’s (AfCFTA) objectives, to ensure Ghana derives maximum benefits from the continental framework.

The seven TWGs, comprised over 100 technical experts from the various sectors of the economy, mandated to develop a comprehensive National Action Plan to boost Intra-African trade and ensure the nation takes full advantage of the opportunities presented by AfCFTA to enhance economic growth.

They are Trade Policy, Trade Facilitation, Enhancing Productive Capacity, Trade-Related Infrastructure, Trade Finance, Trade Information and Factor Market Integration, which were created based on the seven clusters of the Boosting Intra-African Trade (BIAT) proposed by the African Leaders during the AfCFTA’s adoption.

At the inauguration of the TWGs in Accra, Mr Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, the Minister of Trade and Industry, said the boosting of Intra-African trade required the adoption and implementation of efficient trade policies at the national, regional and continental levels, geared towards the promotion of intra-African trade.

He entreated members of the technical groups to be sentimentally and psychologically convinced about the objectives of AfCFTA and should critically examine the various policy interventions instituted by successive governments, in order to close the gaps inherent in them.

The Trade Minister noted that no single country could achieve economic growth without aligning itself with a regional trade bloc and cited countries like the USA, France, Germany, Japan, Malaysia and other advanced nations that developed their economies through their association with their regional trade blocs.

“For any nation to go global you need to join a regional market and I believe that the AfCFTA will become a single most significant factor to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into Africa.

“This will help create joint ventures, scale up capacity, open market opportunities for small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs).This is a game changer and there is no turning back,” the Minister pointed out.

Mr Kyerematen observed that Ghana had already developed a National Trade Policy with various strategic intentions put in place to boost export and thus, urged the technical groups to identify the gaps so that the nation could take full advantage of being the host of AfCFTA Secretariat, to increase export, create jobs and accelerate economic development.

The Minister announced that a National Steering Committee comprising heads of the seven cluster TWGs would be established to coordinate the activities of the technical groups for effective implementation of the National Action Plan.

Mrs Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, in an address, said the TWGs would ensure effective implementation of Ghana’s National Action Programme for boosting Intra-African trade.

She said as the host of the AfCFTA Secretariat, government was committed to providing the necessary facilities and tools to actualise the objectives of the AfCFTA.

“I signed the Host Country Agreement for the establishment of the AfCFTA Secretariat at the just-ended 33rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union.

“As you may be aware, at the same session, the Assembly of the African Union elected Mr Wamkele Mene, former South African Head of Mission to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and South Africa’s Chief Negotiator in the African Continental Free Trade Area negotiations, was elected as the first Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat.

“With the signing of the Host Country Agreement and the election of the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, the African Union is laying the building blocks for the operationalisation of the Secretariat,” Mrs Botchwey said.

The African Continental Free Trade Area is a duty-free quota single market established by the AfCFTA Treaty, which came into force on May 30, 2019, after the 22 countries including Ghana deposited instruments of ratification with the African Union Commission (AUC).

Of the 55 African countries, 54 had signed the AfCFTA Agreement with 28 member countries already ratified the Treaty to enhance intra-African trade. Currently, it has a market value of $2.5 trillion with a population of 1.2 billion.

It is expected to expand and transform the manufacturing and agriculture sectors to promote Intra-African trade, inclusive growth and trade competitiveness in Africa.

The AfCFTA will come into full operation in March this year while trading in goods and services comes off on July 1, 2020.

Source: GNA