Effectively exercise your watchdog role – Akufo-Addo to regulators

General News of Monday, August 19, 2019

Source: starrfm.com.gh

2019-08-19

President Akufo-Addo instructed Ghana's regulatory agencies to perform their duties to protect private sector activities.

Speech delivered on the occasion of the opening ceremony of the National Conference on the Implementation of the Free Trade Agreement between African Countries and Ghana (Ghana) on this theme "Harnessing the benefits of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) for a Ghana Beyond Aid ", at the Accra International Conference Center (AICC), said President Akufo-Addo," It is vital that regulators be able to the height to discharge their duties in order to promote discipline in private sector activities. "

"Institutions such as the Bank of Ghana, the Registrar of Companies, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Insurance Commission and the National Pension Regulatory Authority should ensure the effective regulation and supervision of entities under their jurisdiction. skill. We have seen what the previous failure of regulation had led in the banking sector, "said President Akufo Addo.

Reception campaign of AfCFTA secretariat

In his statement, the President indicated that the campaign for Ghana to host the AfCFTA Secretariat was national and involved two former presidents, Jerry John Rawlings and John Agyekum Kufour; the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, as well as many other prominent statesmen.

He added that the level of participation to ensure that Ghana wins the bid was a genuine national enterprise.

"The campaign was truly national and I thank all those who contributed to its success," said President Akufo Addo.

The national conference aims to bring together key stakeholders in Ghana to discuss national strategies and program interventions to harness the benefits of AfCFTA.

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, said in his opening remarks that he was eager to gather rich ideas and proposals from the three-day conference that would lead to the The successful establishment of the AfCFTA Secretariat in Ghana.

The three-day conference will consist of eight (8) sessions, which will include AfCFTA's contextualization, the economic benefits for Ghana of implementing AfCFTA, and the concrete badysis of AfCFTA's contribution. achieve the objectives of the African Union Agenda 2063, the SDGs and a program of badistance beyond Ghana.

Other sessions will focus on the implementation of AfCFTA in Ghana, on actions needed to develop and implement Ghana's National Program of Action to boost intra-African trade (BIAT). ), and explore ways to strengthen employment opportunities for young people and improve the empowerment of women.

Participants in the three-day conference include senior decision-makers, parliamentarians, business, academia, representatives of civil society organizations and development partners.

L & # 39; AfCFTA

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a free trade area defined in the African Continental Free Trade Agreement between 54 of the 55 countries of the African Union. The free trade area is the largest in the world in terms of participating countries since the creation of the World Trade Organization.

The agreement was negotiated by the African Union (AU) and signed by 44 of the 55 member states in Kigali, Rwanda, on March 21, 2018.

The agreement initially provided for the removal of tariffs for 90% of goods by members, allowing free access to products, goods and services across the continent. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa estimates that the agreement will boost intra-African trade by 52% by 2022. The proposal was to enter into force 30 days after ratification by 22 states. signatories.

On 2 April 2019, The Gambia became the 22nd State to ratify the agreement and on 29 April, the Saharan Republic deposited the 22nd instrument of ratification. The agreement entered into force on May 30 and entered its operational phase following the July 7, 2019 summit.