Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah (middle) in a group photograph with some delegates from other African countries
CHAIRMAN of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism, Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah, has urged African nations to increase intra-African trade especially at a time when trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement is gathering steam.
This, he said, would propel the continent to wealth and prosperity, describing the success of the AfCFTA as“critical” to the continent.
“We are a continent with huge potential and we can lift our people out of poverty and into prosperity by boosting intra-African trade. We must trade amongst ourselves and increase wealth and prosperity among our people. This is a charge we cannot ignore,” he iterated.
He made this charge during the opening session of the 65th Council Meeting of the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) in Accra on Wednesday.
Mr. Ahenkorah also noted that ARSO was “working hard” to remove all barriers to intra-Africa trade, especially barriers relating to technical barriers to trade, while highlighting on the need to harmonise standards and technical barriers to trade issues, citing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between ARSO and the AfCFTA in recent times.
This, he underscored, would remove huge barriers to industry and further boost intra-Africa trade. With both tariffs and technical barriers lowered or removed, African countries have every reason to trade among themselves to make this richly-endowed continent prosperous.
Mr. Ahenkorah went on to urge all national standards bodies in Africa to ensure that their laws and policies are modern and are aligned with World Trade Organisation (WTO) and ARSO standards in order to boost intra-Africa trade.
On his part, Dr Hermogene Nsengimana, Secretary-General, ARSO, emphasised on the need for a uniform standardised quality among African states.
He cited the situation where persons who tested negative to COVID-19 in their home countries later tested positive to same when they travel to other countries, saying that we do not have property quality culture.
The 65th ARSO Council Meeting, which has about 15 African countries in attendance, is under the theme: “The Beginning of Trade Among the African Countries Under the AfCFTA Agreement: Boosting Intra-African Trade Within the African Single Market Through One Standard – One Test – One Certificate – Accepted Everywhere.”
On his part, the Director General of the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), Alexander Dodoo, said the meeting would create a uniform African standard and certification for all goods and products from various countries, adding that having uniform standards and certification of products and services would go a long way to prevent the many impasse that usually erupts between Ghanaian and Nigerian traders for instance, without any party feeling that the other’s products are below standards.
By Nii Adjei Mensahfio