To take advantage of the benefits of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) , the Ministry of Trade and Industry will work with financial institutions to create Special Financing Windows for goods in strategic sectors.
The Ministry stated that the proposed Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) by Afrexim Bank and the Africa Trade Insurance (ATI) to include export finance, insurance, and guarantees for companies in Africa the AfCFTA agreement will support Ghanaian businesses.
This was said in a speech delivered on behalf of Mr. Allan Kyeremanten, Minister of Trade and Industry, at the Graphic Business and Stanbic Bank Breakfast meeting in Accra on the topic of “leveraging AfCFTA: The Critical Success Factors.”
Currently, Ghana’s Monetary Policy Rate stands at 14.5 percent, compared to 3.5 percent in South Africa, 4 percent in Cote d’Ivoire, 7 percent in Kenya, and 11.8 percent in Nigeria.
He noted that the government has initiated a range of policies aimed at assisting the business sector with better access to financing and lower credit costs since 2017.
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The Financial Stimulus Package for local industries, which was implemented with the help of participating financial institutions; banking sector reforms, which improved liquidity in the sector; proposals to establish a Domestic Credit Rating Agency to assist firms with access to capital; and Ghana Stock Exchange Market Initiatives to help attract capital to Ghanaian businesses are just a few examples.
According to him, the government’s National Action Plan for Boosting Intra-African Trade aims to close the knowledge gap by supplying companies with adequate, conveniently available, and timely information they need to take maximum advantage of the AfCFTA’s opportunities.
The Ghana Export Promotion Authority and the National AfCFTA Coordinating Office had increased activities under the One-stop Shop Market Hub to provide consolidated related exports trade details, including linking the Hub with the African Trade Observatory, which had been developed as one of the operational instruments under AfCFTA, according to the Minister.
Mr Kyerenmanten also reported that the Ministry is working on a coordinated mechanism to assist the Ghanaian private sector in creating regional networks to exchange knowledge on industry, export, and other market opportunities throughout Africa.
He said the Ministry had developed 67 Business Resource Centres across the country with funding from the African Development Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development to provide business development services to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as well as serve as district service centers.
Mr Kyerenmanten said Ghana’s overall imports in 2018 were about $12 billion, emphasizing that the top 30 imported goods, which accounted for around 57% of the total annual import bill in the same year, were mostly from outside Africa.
Ghana’s overall exports in 2018 were $14. 8 billion, including $2.9 billion in non-traditional exports, with a large portion of that number going to business destinations outside of Africa, such as Europe, North America, and Asia.
Mrs Emily Mburu-Ndoria, Director, AfCTA Secretariat, Trade in Services, said African countries had around 107 goods to trade among themselves and called for proper harmonization in all facets of the sectors to fully profit from AfCTA.
She projected that the AfCFTA will increase Ghanaian exports, promote investment and creativity, encourage institutional reform, strengthen food security, boost economic development, and diversify exports.
Mr Humphrey Ayim-Darke, Vice President of the Association of Ghana Industries, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), congratulated the government for the measures placed in motion to ensure the effective execution of the AfCTA and urged the government to cut taxes to make doing business simpler.
SOURCE: ATLFMONLINE
