AfCFTA will create more employment opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry

Ernest Chemist Chief Executive Officer Ernest Bediako Sampong said the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) will create more employment opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry.

He said new markets would help manufacturers increase employment due to the high demand for the products.

Mr Sampong, speaking at the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce (GNCCI) Virtual Awareness Seminar on AfCFTA in Accra, said AfCFTA was a laudable idea but: “I don’t think it will be easy. . “

He said it was not going to be easy due to the attitude of Africans towards products made on the continent, especially Ghana.

Mr Sarpong said the industry will experience technology transfer with international pharmaceutical companies setting up factories and factories in Africa and creating jobs.

The event was organized by GNCCI in partnership with Joy Business and the Ghana Shippers Authority on the theme: “AfCFTA: Adopting the right business strategies to take full advantage.

It aimed to educate small businesses on how they could develop a strategy to take advantage of the Accord.

He said some multinationals would also have the opportunity to collaborate with existing companies to enable them to export to the sub-region.

Mr Sarpong said there would be a possibility of drug safety and increased industrial investment and called for viable policies and free will for policies to be implemented, adding that the government should try to harmonize policies and systems for doing business in Ghana. .

The CEO urged the government to help the private sector to develop its businesses in order to contribute to the development of the economy.

“We urge the government to remove taxes on equipment used in manufacturing.”

A technical adviser to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Mr. Anthony Nyame Baafi, said the government, through the ministry, has put in place institutional structures to support the implementation of the Agreement.

“We have the national inter-ministerial secretariat of AfCFTA to provide information to anyone who wants to access any information,” he said.

He said arrangements were in place to ensure member states benefit from the deal, stressing that the government needs the private sector to participate in the deal’s implementation and that if something goes wrong, the Ministry and the Ghana Export Promotion Authority were ready. help.

Ghana Shippers Authority Chief Executive Officer Benonita Bismarck said it was an opportunity to partner with GNCCI to educate the private sector on how to maximize the benefits of AfCFTA.

“It’s all about education and awareness, so in the end we will be going across the country to make sure our stakeholders fully understand and benefit from this very important concept,” she said.