The National Executives of GUTA and Wamkele Mene, AfCFTA Secretary General
• GUTA has called on Ghanaian businesses to take advantage of the AfCFTA
• It lauded the free trade pact as a game-changer for the trading community
• The Union made this known when its National Executive met with the Secretary-General of AfCFTA
The Ghana Union of Traders Association has said it is hopeful that Ghanaian business owners are positioning themselves to take advantage of opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Agreement (AfCFTA).
The comments come after the National Executives of the Union led by its President Dr. Joseph Obeng met with the Secretary-General of AfCFTA H.E Wamkele Mene at the Headquarters of the Secretariat in Accra.
At the meeting, GUTA and the AfCFTA Secretary-General held firsthand frank and insightful discussions on how the trading community and general public can fit in and take advantage of the free trade initiative.
“The meeting afforded the Secretary-General the opportunity to see things from the perspective of the trading community in Ghana and it is our hope that Ghanaian business owners are positioning themselves to take advantage of the vast opportunities offered by the AfCFTA”
“The Secretary-General also gave the Executives a broad view of what the secretariat has done since its inception and other programs and policies it intends to roll out,” GUTA president added.
“We also narrated some challenges that trading community were currently faced with towards pursuing the AfCFTA agenda and also offered some possible solutions which could mitigate these challenges should the secretariat consider them,” GUTA said.
Meanwhile, the leadership of the Union following the discussions said they were pleased with the suggestions and information provided to them and called for more collaboration between the Secretariat and trade body.
Executive Secretary for the Exporters and Importers Association, Samson Awingobit who was also present at the meeting to lend his support to GUTA, identified some viable export markets and price-competitive sources of imports.
The AfCFTA agreement is expected to see a much-reduced tariff regime that will enable traders, exporters, and small and medium enterprises to transit their goods and products efficiently.
The Intra-African trade pact will see to it that 90 percent of all goods that are traded will enjoy a tariff-free regime for all countries that have signed agreements and deposited their instruments of AfCFTA ratification.
So far, some 55 African countries are participating in the single trade market pact, making it the largest number of member countries participating in any trade deal since the formation of the World Trade Organization, covering a market of more than 1.2 billion people and a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of more than US$3.4 trillion.
Accra-Ghana currently serves as the Secretariat of AfCFTA with its headquarters commissioned and handed over to the African Union by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in August 2020.