GNA –The Governance Think-Tank, Center for Greater Africa Impact has said the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) presents an incredible opportunity for Ghanaians to scale up activities and expand into the African market.
The Reverend Dr Worlanyo Mensah, the Executive Director of the centre stated at the Ghana News Agency Industrial News Hub Boardroom Dialogue platform at Tema, that AfCFTA opens the citizenry to a market of 1.2 billion people across the continent and provides endless possibilities for sociology-economic growth of the population.
He said: “The AfCFTA provides a structure for Ghana’s foreign traders, producers, and stakeholders in the value chain to grip its existence in the country to successfully trade with their fellow partners in Africa or even the world at large.”
Dr Mensah who is also an economist emphasized that the agreement aims to reduce all trade costs and enable Africa to integrate further into the global chains adding that “AfCFTA will eliminate 90 per cent of tariffs, focus on outstanding non-tariff barriers, and create a single market with free movement of goods and services.”
According to the economist, it is estimated that the agreement will increase Africa’s export by $560 billion, mostly in manufacturing, and urged the private sector to take advantage of the agreement by expanding production both in the industrial, and agriculture sector while taking the lead on the socio-economic transformation of the country at the same time.
He noted that AfCFTA will expose the Ghanaian economy to be an industrial and aviation hub pointing out that every major bank will set up a branch in the country to create more opportunities.
The Governance Think-Tank Executive Director explained the intracontinental export would also increase by 81 per cent while the increase to non-African countries would be 19 per cent.
Rev Dr Mensah also revealed that, fighting corruption as a country would continue to be difficult “as the geopolitical system seems to breed it”.
He said under the fourth republic various governments had attempted to help fight corruption but “we have achieved virtually nothing, corruption continuous to affect every facet of life”.
The Economist noted that even the internal political process for selection of executives, Parliamentary Candidates, Presidential Candidates have all been loaded with “alleged financial influence”.
He stated that “if we want to fight corruption, we must change the way political positions are contested for; I believe that there are various political parties’ positions that should be occupied through appointment rather than elections”.
Rev Dr Mensah said democracy was not only about elections, but all about building consensus therefore “if the citizens believe and have confidence in an individual to perform a particular task, they should come together and agree to appoint that person, and not always through elections”.
He noted that “it’s not only about sitting on radio and television to debate about corruption but to look at the root causes. It calls for exemplary leadership and an all-hands-on-deck approach.”
Source: Ghana News Agency
