Frank Annoh-Dompreh
The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, has highly commended President Akufo-Addo for his political commitment in getting the Secretariat of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) sited in the country.
He said now that the African Union had confirmed Ghana’s hosting of the Secretariat, the country stands to gain tremendously from employment creation, influx of goods and services and a boost in the tourism industry.
He indicated that the upcoming intra-African trade would generate $16 billion for African economies and make the economies very attractive for direct foreign investments.
He said Ghana had managed to maintain ideal bilateral relationships with other states within and outside Africa and this certainly speaks volumes about the capability of the nation to competently manage the AfCFTA Secretariat.
The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament, who is also the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Nsawam/Adoagyiri, made the comments in a statement in Parliament on Tuesday on the expected impact of the AfCFTA.
According to him, the AfCFTA would create a single continental market for goods and services with free movement of business persons and investments, adding that it would also definitely expand Intra-African trade through better harmonization and coordination of trade liberalization across the continent.
“Mr. Speaker, the AfCFTA will resolve the challenges of multiple and overlapping memberships and also expedite the regional and continental integration process,” he said pointing out that competitiveness would be enhanced at the industry and enterprise levels.
“For the people in Ghana, AfCTFA Secretariat established in the country will have a great advantage that all of us need to make good use of especially in our current regime to industrialise under the ‘one district, one factory’ and produce goods sufficiently,” he stated.
By Thomas Fosu Jnr