The caretaker Minister for Trade and Industry, Samuel A. Jinapor, has reiterated the importance of active private sector involvement in the Africa Continental Free Trade Area’s (AfCFTA) implementation process.
With Ghana and six other countries commencing trading within the free trade area through the Guided Trade Initiative (GTI), he said private sector involvement in ensuring that AfCFTA is fully implemented cannot be underestimated.
“I urge you to own the AfCFTA and continue working with governments to ensure its full implementation; for not only will the private sector be the driving force of AfCFTA, but it will also be the primary beneficiary of the single market when we achieve the desired levels of trade between ourselves as a people,” Mr. Jinapor said.
He spoke at the maiden Africa Prosperity Dialogues dubbed the Kwahu Summit, which was held in the Eastern Region.
“Africa can and will unleash prosperity for its people. The Europeans did it, at least beginning from the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries with the mining of coal and use of steam engines through the development of technology and creation of a single market for the movement of goods and people.
“The Asians have done it, with the Asian Miracle of the Four Asian Tigers fuelled by exports and rapid industrialisation. Africa can and must do it,” he added.
The maiden Africa Prosperity Dialogues’ organisation comes exactly a year after the eighth Meeting of the AfCFTA Council of Ministers responsible for trade was convened in Accra, on Friday, 28th January 2022 as part of the tariff and rules of origin negotiations.
At the end of that meeting, over 87 percent of the rules of origin for goods covered by AfCFTA was agreed on. It comprises some 3,800 tariff lines, with a view to addressing the issue of duties and restrictions on goods traded between member-states.
The agreed rules of origin eliminate the hurdle associated with identifying products that qualify for the preferential tariff regime under the AfCFTA, and gives a strong basis for full-scale trading across the continent.
The maiden series of Africa Prosperity Dialogues brought together captains of industry, entrepreneurs, economists, bankers and other business-leaders in Africa to take part in three days of discussion about what needs to be done next to expand trade and wealth creation across the continent.
