Private sector will succeed through implementation of CFTA – Trade Minister

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen has assured that the private sector in the country and Africa will succeed if the implementation of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) is pushed through.

According to the minister, the implementation of Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) is a major step in consolidating the integration agenda for Africa and that is what his government believes will make businesses in the country succeed.

“Today, we are sowing the seeds of what I believe ultimately would determine whether this enterprise will succeed or not which is the participation of the private sector in Africa in the implementation of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA).

Speaking at the 2017 African Prosperity Conference on the theme “The Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) – Exploring Possibilities for Business Engagement across Africa” at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City in Accra on September 12, Mr. Kyerematen further said although there may be challenges with the implementation of the CFTA amidst doubts, as a continent, we have no choice than to go ahead with it because it would be of significant help for Ghana and Africa.

“In actual fact, whether there will be challenges or not as a continent we have no choice but to move ahead with this continental agenda.......First, I’m not sure that there is any evidence of any country in the world that has achieved significant growth without taking advantage of the regional market. All the countries that have achieved superlative growth whether it is in Asia or is in North America you would find eventually that they’ve achieved that growth partly based on the advantage they’ve taken on the regional market.

“Also there is evidence that many of these countries have actually used regional markets as a stepping stone into the global market and so we should not be surprised if we find that most of the world’s advanced trading nations are also part of the most integrated regional economies,” he explained.

The two-day conference on CFTA which ends on the 13th of September 2017 is organised by the Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry and hosted by the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It's being supported by the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

The Continental Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) is a key African initiative aiming to urgently take forward the continent’s long-standing integration and development agenda.

The CFTA represents a significant opportunity to redress the vulnerabilities of Africa’s economies within the global economic order that have been manifest in and deepened by the imbalances of the World Trade Organisation as well as other multilateral and bilateral trade agreements.

The establishment of the CFTA aims to create a continental market for goods and services in Africa covering over a billion people and a GDP of over USD 3 trillion.