Minister for Trade and Industry, Alan Kyeremanteng, has expressed confidence in Ghana’s ability to take full advantage of the benefits of the implementation of the African Free Continental Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.
According to the Trade Minister, the institutional support structure put in place by government to aid the nation’s private sector will ensure the success of the private sector and the country at large in the implementation of the AfCFTA.
The institutional support structure for the private sector, the Trade Minister, Alan Kyeremanteng, speaking at the official launch of the ‘Business Forum on the Start of AfCFTA Trading in Ghana,’ said include; an established national coordination office which is to provide management support for the implementation of the AfCFTA programme and a developed national action plan and programme which provides detailed activities of support for the private sector.
The provision of technical working groups tasked to work hand-in-hand with the private sector in different areas of the AfCFTA implementation process in the area of access to finance, enhancing productive capacity, access to market information, supporting trade facilitation and all other functional areas are among the institutional support structure made available by government to ensure the success of the private sector.
“We have conducted series of sensitisation and orientation programmes for the private sector in Ghana without whom this will not work, not only in Accra but the whole of Ghana and sent the message to the doorstep of the average Ghanaian. We have also established a national coordination office which will provide management support for implementation of the AfCFTA programme,” he said.
He continued saying, “The president has also directed for the establishment of an institutional support structure that will ensure the success of AfCFTA and at the base of this structure we have technical working groups that are going to work with the private sector in different areas of implementation in access to finance, enhancing our productive capacity, access to market information among others.”
“The technical working groups are coordinated by a national steering committee, and the committee reports to an inter-ministerial facilitation team set up by the president, so there is already a structure in place and I am confident that this time we will succeed,” Mr Kyeremanteng added.
