President Nana Akufo-Addo has reiterated the critical importance of active private sector participation in ensuring the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Speaking at the 2024 World Economic Forum event, President Akufo-Addo emphasised the need for private involvement to realise AfCFTA’s transformative potential.
At the event, titled “Driving Action Under the African Continental Free Trade Area and Launching the First AfCFTA Private Sector Action Plan,” which took place on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, President Akufo-Addo underscored the pivotal role that private sector engagement would play in AfCFTA’s success.
He stated, “Critically, active private sector participation will be key to the success of this transformational initiative. Excellencies, let’s not lose sight of the fact that the AfCFTA is not a ‘government initiative’; rather, it represents the first step toward empowering our private sector to lead the economic emancipation and transformation of our continent.”
Furthermore, President Akufo-Addo assured the global economic community of Ghana’s unwavering commitment to the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area, recognising its potential to reshape Africa’s economic development. He added, “As the host of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Ghana is committed to the success of the AfCFTA, and recognises its potential to change the trajectory of Africa’s economic development.”
The President acknowledged that Africa needed to overcome the legacy of market fragmentation caused by political and economic barriers that had hindered the continent’s development. He affirmed, “It is a well-known fact that, for Africa to grow, she must overcome a legacy of market fragmentation, stemming from the many political and economic barriers that have stifled the continent’s developmental potential.”
In light of this, President Akufo-Addo articulated AfCFTA as a vision for “a new emancipated Africa that trades with herself, creates jobs for her peoples, and produces what she consumes.”
Recognising the transformative potential of this vision, Ghana has taken proactive steps to harness the benefits of AfCFTA. The Ghanaian Government introduced a national AfCFTA Policy Framework in August 2022 to provide strategic direction for realising the full potential of the trade agreement.
Additionally, the government established seven thematic working groups under a National AfCFTA Coordination Office, responsible for overseeing trade policy facilitation, infrastructure development, trade finance, and factor market integration in support of the national AfCFTA Policy Framework and Action Plan.
In 2020, the National AfCFTA Coordination Office initiated a programme to identify firms and businesses with strong export potential, offering support to help them expand their presence in African markets.
President Akufo-Addo stressed that, given the sudden disruptions in global supply chains and the increasing frequency of global crises, Africa needed an economic model that primarily served its interests. He highlighted the urgency of financing and developing adequate infrastructure and services to enable domestic businesses to engage extensively across borders.
Furthermore, the President emphasised the importance of long-term cooperation in investment and competition policies to counter market dominance by a few entities and reduce structural and regulatory barriers to market entry.
He noted, “Also, concerns relating to the destruction of jobs, currency manipulation, the proliferation of ‘cheap substitutes,’ and the use of smaller nations as a beachhead for ‘tax-dodging’ multinationals, must be addressed.”
In conclusion, President Akufo-Addo highlighted the significant economic benefits that AfCFTA could bring, including additional GDP growth, employment growth, intra-African trade expansion, and a decline in Africa’s trade deficit.
He concluded on an optimistic note, saying, “Truly, we are one step closer finally to making Africa a proud, connected continent, where people cannot only realise their ambitions but also do so in an atmosphere of continental brotherhood.”
