Ghana-South Africa: Bilateral trade lead to continental success – Wamkele Mene
Secretary-Genera of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Wamkele Mene, has said that successful bilateral trade relations between countries on the continent lead to continental success.
According to him, the success of the AfCFTA and the continent in general is dependent on breaking down barriers present bilateral trade relations.
Making the assertion at the Ghana – South Africa Business Forum on Sunday, December 5, 2021, Mr Mene remarked, “The success of the AfCFTA is intrinsically connected to the success of bilateral trade relations like South Africa and Ghana. There is a clear indication that, bilateral trade and regional value chains, lead to continental success.”
Speaking further at the Business Forum, Mr Mene noted that the private sector is critical to the successful operationalisation of the AfCFTA and hence the Secretariat’s immense support for the private sector on the continent.
“The AfCFTA is for the private sector, the private sector is a critical pillar for the implementation and success of the continental trade arrangement,” he noted.
Trade relations
With regard to bilateral trade, Ghana represents the major export market for South African goods after Nigeria.
In recent years, trade between South Africa and Ghana has grown significantly. South African exports have grown from less than R1 billion ($61.9 million) in 1998 to over R3 billion ($185 million) in 2008. In 2019, total value of trade between Ghana and South Africa reached $357.61 million.
Despite the ravaging impact of the Covid pandemic in 2020, trade between the two countries was still robust as Ghana’s imports from South Africa was $347 million whilst exports to South Africa amounted $520 million.
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Products such as vehicles, machinery, mechanical appliances; electrical equipment, base metals, aircraft, vessels & associated products contributes to the increased exports to Ghana.
There are more than eighty South African multinational and small scale companies registered in Ghana and they include MTN, ABSA Bank, First National Bank, Old Mutual, Gold Fields, AngloGold Ashanti, SABMiller, Woolworths, Engen, Hytec Engineering, Multichoice, Alliance Media, Stanbic, Shoprite, among others.
South African investors are prevalent in the following sectors: mining, retail, insurance, transport, tourism, banking, telecommunication, construction, services, franchising, manufacturing, fishing, advertising, aviation and energy.
South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa was in Ghana for a two-day State visit with a strong government and business delegation aimed at re-affirming the ties of co-operation and the bonds of friendship between the two countries.
Earlier, the two presidents held bilateral talks and discussed how to boost further political and economic relations, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, as well as co-operation at the continental and multilateral levels.
Their deliberations also centred on driving investment opportunities, domestic and foreign, into both countries, the realisation of the 17 SDGs, and the need for enhanced co-operation and partnership in the areas of education, trade and industry, agriculture, defence co-operation, immigration, environment, science and technology, petroleum and hydrocarbon activities, and tourism.
To consolidate relations between the two countries, four agreements on immigration, gender, agriculture and transport were signed during the bilateral exchanges, with commitments to explore areas of new economic, trade and investment cooperation, especially in Ghana’s key sectors of road, railway infrastructure, mining, energy, manufacturing as well as Agro processing.
The two countries also inaugurated the Bi-National Commission to replace the Presidential Joint Cooperation Commission that has to date, facilitated engagement between the two countries.
South Africa is Ghana’s second largest trading partner in Africa.
