Dr Joseph Obeng, GUTA president
The President of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Dr Joseph Obeng, wants the government of Ghana to find an immediate solution to address the recent withdrawal of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso from the ECOWAS regional bloc.
He argued that the withdrawal will hinder development of the sub-region as an economic bloc while no substantial progress, without unity, will affect the continent’s economic fortunes.
In a statement issued by the GUTA president and sighted by GhanaWeb Business, Dr Obeng noted that “their withdrawal from ECOWAS will impact negatively on cross border trading activities, especially with Ghana where we are very much related and intertwine in terms of our economy, history, culture, etc.
“In fact, Ghana stands to gain immensely when everything is done to bridge up our relationship with these countries. There is a list of items that we trade in among ourselves such as onions, tomatoes, cola nuts, salt, locally made and imported goods and many others.”
The GUTA president further noted that the withdrawal of the three countries will impose unnecessary controls at the borders while hindering the free movement of people, goods and services within the sub region.
“We should be mindful of the fact that one major reason for the formation of the regional bloc is to take advantage of, the number of people in the sub region for the purpose of trading to enhance economies of member states as we recognize that Ghana is a member of the ECOWAS Community.
“We also know that member states have their own bilateral relations with each other. Therefore, as a country, the first step or strategy to use is for Ghana to bypass ECOWAS and use the already existing good relationship with the three countries and find immediate solution to restore trust and confidence as a catalyst to unify all member states.,” he urged.
MA/AE
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