Ghana committed to making AfCFTA a success – Carlos Ahenkorah
Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism, Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah, has said that government is committed to providing the necessary support to make AFCTA a success and to benefit all countries involved in the trade pact.
‘Ghana is committed to providing all the necessary support to make AfCFTA a success to the benefit of all Africans. For us, in Ghana, the success of the AfCFTA is critical to Africa as a whole,” he said.
The MP for Tema West pointed out some of the efforts the government especially Parliament is putting in place to ensure the actualization of the project.
“The parliament of the Republic of Ghana is considering the Ghana Standards Authority bill which we hope to sign into law this year. The current Standards Act was passed into law in 1973 meaning that we are using laws of 1973 to trade in 2021.”
“As the mainstream statutory body in Ghana, parliament aims to give the GSA legislative backing which will be future proof and which will also provide for the needed financial and human resources to enable GSA to undertake its critical role in Ghana.”
“In addition, I am happy to inform you that the Ghana National Quality policy is being finalised will be approved shortly.”
“I urge all National Standard Authorities in Africa to ensure that their laws and policies are modern and are aligned with WTO’s and ARSO standards in order to boost intra-Africa trade,” he added.
The Government of Ghana through the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) is hosting the 65th Council Meeting of the African Organization for Standardization (ARSO) in Accra.
The conference which is expected to run till 26th November kicked off today at the premises of the Ghana Standards Authority.
The meeting comes amidst calls to accelerate the harmonisation of standards in the region which is seen as crucial to achieving the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The Council meeting has been themed: The Beginning of Trade among African countries under the AfCFTA Agreement: Boosting Intra-African trade within the African Single Market through “One Standard – One Test – One Certificate – Accepted Everywhere.”
Speaking to Council members and other dignitaries present was the current President of ARSO, Booto a Ngon Charles, wh commended the Secretary-General of ARSO, Dr. Hermogene Nsengimana, for his tremendous work in getting the MoU between AfCFTA and ARSO signed.
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“I will like to congratulate the SG of ARSO to have fast-tracked the signature of the agreement between the secretariat of AfCFTA and that of ARSO that took place on the ARSO round table on strengthening with pharmaceutical and medical institutions and also the trade fair that took place in Durban South Africa from 15th to the 21st November.”
About a week ago, ARSO signed an MoU with the AfCFTA Secretariat on the implementation of AfCFTA Agreement, with respect to the elimination of Technical Barriers to Trade that has consistently hindered the intra-African Trade, as provided for under the TBT Annex 6, which also recognizes the role of ARSO, in the same, under article 6.
Council members from across ARSO member states were present as they seek to facilitate seamless intra-trading through harmonized quality infrastructure.
It is the first Council meeting since the General Assembly unanimously elected the Director-General of GSA, Prof Alex Dodoo as the president of ARSO. He is scheduled to lead the organization from June 2022 up until 2025.
