Foreign Affairs Ministry urges Parliament efforts are underway to ensure the operations of AfCFTA

The Foreign Affairs Ministry has informed Parliament that preparations are being made to ensure the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat (AfCFTA) is ready for operations.

Foreign Affairs Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, told parliament that despite the postponement of the conference they are still on course.

“What we are doing is opening the door for the Secretariat to start operations. The Secretary General and his team, the first team to kick start operations will arrive in the country sometime this month of August. Indeed, it is true that we had to postpone it from March to August and also the operations of the secretariat. The trading has been postponed to January, but we are on course. AfCFTA is the largest trading block since the WTO made up of fifty five member states with a market of 1.2 billion people. This affords us a great opportunity for Africa to take its rightful place where trading is concerned”.

Currently, Parliament has approved the choice of Ghana as the host country for the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat (AfCFTA) in Accra.

A report of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee says Ghana will secure premises for the secretariat and furnish it, as well as provide the necessary security.

According to the report, the date for the operationalization of the agreement has been moved to January 1, 2021, instead of the July 1 deadline due to the impact of COVID-19.

The AfCTA is an agreement among some African countries aimed at creating a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of business people and investments, to accelerate the establishment of the Continental Customs Union and the African Customs Union.

Ayorkor Botchway emphasized on the need for the country and other member countries to take advantage of the initiative to be able to trade effectively.

“It is a fact that Intra African Trade is unimpressive if you compare it to what happens in Asia and other places, so we are very happy that this is happening and for Ghana to host this secretariat, I think that we need to take advantage of all the opportunities that it presents us”.

Ghana prepares to host AfCFTA

Government on July 8, announced that the nation was ready to host the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

In statements by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, and the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism gave the assurance that the nation was ready to host the AfCFTA.

At the 12th Extraordinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union in Niamey, Niger, on 7th July, 2019, the operational phase of AfCFTA was launched, and the summit decided that July 7, every year, should be designated as “Africa Integration Day.”

The day is not to be observed as a holiday but it is to commemorate the operationalization of the AfCFTA and to promote economic integration across the Continent.

It is intended to celebrate the progress made in the implementation of the African Integration Agenda, including the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and its achievements.

It is also to galvanize and mobilize Africans within the Continent and abroad, towards accelerating and fully operationalising the ideals and objectives of the African Economic Community as enshrined in the Abuja Treaty of 1991, which, since its coming into effect in May 1994, has ensured major strides towards an integrated continent.