Ghana has launched a national African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Policy Framework and Action Plan to position private businesses in the country to fully take advantage of AfCFTA.
The policy framework and action plan is geared towards the harmonisation of relevant policies, programmes, laws, and regulations to boost the productive capacities of the private sector in the country, particularly the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to harness the full benefits of AfCFTA.
In a speech read by the Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah on behalf of the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said a successful implementation of the Action Plan would boost the capacities of the Ghanaian private sector to take advantage of market access opportunities in Africa to promote ‘Made in Ghana’ goods and services.
He said the Action Plan was derived from the work of the national structures put in place by the Ministry of Trade and Industry to advance the country’s interest in the continental project.
The President stated that African countries could not overcome the current economic challenges occasioned by the incidence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war if they did not develop measures to improve the productive capacities of the private sector and increase intra-African trade.
President Akufo-Addo pointed out that the effective operationalisation of the AfCFTA Agreement in Ghana would significantly boost balance of trade, stimulate investment and innovation, diversify exports, improve food security, foster structural transformation, enhance economic growth, and above all, provide jobs for the youth.
He, therefore, charged the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Coordinating Office of AfCFTA to implement the programmes under the action plan with speed, effectiveness and commitment.
“This framework, as brilliantly as it is structured will not mean much if you do not implement the programmes under it with speed, effectiveness and commitment.
“It is your successful implementation of the programmes under this framework that matters and which will ensure that thousands of Ghanaian businesses can ride on its back and export significantly into the African continent, thereby boosting local economic activity, our growth, jobs and earnings. So go at it and don’t be held back by the hurdles that will come your way,” he charged.
