Businesses told to Own AfCFTA
By Isaac AIDOO, Accra
Senior Advisor at the Office of the Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat in charge of private sector engagement, Cynthia Gnassingbe-Essonam has rallied businesses in Ghana and the African continent to exploit and explore the advantages the trade deal has to offer.
Speaking at an AfCFTA private sector awareness raising and information sharing workshop, Ms Gnassingbe-Essonam outlined some of the opportunities that were open to businesses, urging them to take full advantage of them.
“Forty-seven countries is already a huge market and we have to get ready to access that market, to trade among the 47 countries and trade has already started; you know about the guarded trade initiative that was launched in October 2022 with seven countries that piloted the initiative , today we are working with more than 30 countries on the continent that will open up their markets for businesses to trade,” she stated .
Even though it would take a long time for everything to firm up, Ms Gnassingbe-Essonam noted that trade was feverishly ongoing, as countries were importing and exporting under the AfCFTA agreement and “it’s very encouraging.”
It was critical, according to her for businesses to “own the AfCFTA and drive its implementation.”
She acknowledged however that implementation will face challenges if businesses have little or no knowledge of what is in the agreement and how those provisions can benefit.
“We have to know what it is that we have to do , to get ready to access the market, we have to know the tools that have been developed by the Secretariat and its partners to support the private sector in partaking in the trade deal ,” she maintained.
Access to information about AfCFTA has been a subject of discussion for businesses associations such as the Ghana Union of Traders Association.
GUTA has consistently lamented the lack of access to information about the different products member countries were producing. President of the Association , Dr Joseph Obeng on the occasion of the visit of President William Ruto to the AfCFTA Secretariat called for increased information about the trade deal to businesses to enhace movement.
Ms Gnassingbe-Essonam said the reason the workshop was being held was to provide the needed information about the AfCFTA.
