Ghana has been chosen to host the secretariat of ALECA – Veep

Company News of Monday, July 8, 2019

Source: ghananewsagency.org

2019-07-08

Ghana has been chosen to host the secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA), beating competition from six other candidates, including e-Swatini, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal and Madagascar.

The official announcement of Ghana's selection should be made at the Twelfth Extraordinary Session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government in Niamey, Niger.

The summit will launch the operational phase of the African Continental Free Trade Area after reaching maturity on May 30, 2019, when the 22 member states will have deposited their instrument of ratification at the headquarters of the African Union Commission in Addis -Abeba, Ethiopia.

Vice President Bawumia said this at a presidential gala on the occasion of the official closing ceremony of the Ghanaian diaspora celebration for four days and the summit of the homecoming Saturday.

The summit was part of the government's strategy to mobilize the human and financial resources of Ghanaians living in the diaspora to invest and accelerate national development.

A 10-member delegation of the African Union (AU), led by Ambbadador Rosette Katungye, AU Regional Integration Advisor, arrived in Accra on May 13 and spent seven days to badess Ghana's preparedness and capabilities to host the continental and African free trade area. (ACFTA).

ACFTA must create a continental market for goods and services, with free movement of businessmen and investments, and thus pave the way for the acceleration of the creation of the Continental Customs Union and the Union African customs.

The 18th Ordinary Session of the African Union Conference of Heads of State and Government, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in January 2012, adopted a decision to create a DCFTA. here at the tentative date of 2017.

ACFTA will bring together 54 African countries with a combined population of more than one billion people and a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of more than US $ 3.4 trillion.

Bawumia said the government would continue to engage with diasporas, create synergies and leverage their wealth of knowledge and expertise.

He said 60 of the people appointed by President Akufo-Addo were Ghanaian diasporans because he believed in their skills and hard work, pointing out that the commercial discovery of crude oil in Ghana was made possible by Dr. Kwame Bawia Adusei and George Yaw Owusu, all based in Ghana. in the USA.

He said the creation of the Diaspora Presidential Office was aimed at ensuring effective collaboration between the government and the diaspora community.

This, he said, would facilitate an understanding of government policies and programs and create a feedback loop that would allow Ghanaians from abroad to put their expertise to work to help build the government. a better economy.

Dr. Bawumia stated that a dual citizenship bill had been submitted to Parliament and that its adoption would allow dual-nationality Ghanaians to hold public office in Ghana and urged all diasporas to ask the Diaspora Office for clarifications and contributions.

Acting on the successes achieved by the Akufo-Addo government, he said that Ghana was one of the fastest economies in the world, with growth of more than 6%, badociated with stable and human-centered macroeconomic policies and interventions to improve the country's fortunes. people.

He also mentioned the delivery of medical drones, the property addressing system and the paperless ports system, as well as the scanning of business registration, driver license applications and licenses, mobile money interoperability system and automation of services, to improve the way the public sector conducted its business. .

He said the government will focus on infrastructure development this year and urged Ghanaians in the diaspora to bring their expertise and investments in this direction.