Only 300 businesses in Ghana meet criteria to participate in AfCFTA

Patrick Adu Osei, the chief programme officer, National African Peer Review Mechanism Governing Council (NAPRM-GC), said only 300 out of 61,000 businesses engaged in Ghana meet the criteria to participate in the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) market.

He said the country, in preparation towards the AfCFTA, set up the AfCFTA national coordination office to prepare businesses to take part in the trade market, which led to the review of businesses, with the findings presented in a report.

He said this in Tamale at an empowerment workshop for the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) District Oversight Committees (DOCs) on targeted review of Ghana and AfCFTA.

It was organised by the NAPRM-GC, in partnership with the Northern regional directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), with the aim of equipping the DOC with knowledge on corporate governance and the implementation of the AfCFTA.

It sought to upgrade the knowledge of the DOCs about corporate governance as a catalyst to the opportunities of the AfCFTA to ensure they effectively educated the micro, small and medium scale businesses accordingly.

The event, which was the sixth in series, was on the theme: “Corporate Governance as a Catalyst for the Implementation of AfCFTA).”

Osei, who emphasised the need for awareness creation, said many companies in Ghana were unaware of the trade market and its prospects.

“The figure tells that most Ghanaian businesses are either not aware of the AfCFTA and its requirements, so do not prepare for it, or their corporate governance practices are not adequate,” he said.

The AfCFTA National Coordination Office’s report, in response to the lack of knowledge on the trade area’s regulations, recommended that regional offices be set up to increase awareness on the market and its protocols.

Samuel Asare Akuamoah, the council member, NAPRM-GC, said the APRM was a testament of African nations’ commitment to self-improvement and accountability, adding that it served as an essential tool for fostering growth on the continent.

There were ongoing efforts by the NAPRM-GC that had contributed to promoting good governance, he said, and that the country’s progress in the APRM framework was marked since its initial review in 2006.

The DOCs, after the workshop, were expected to gain enough knowledge on corporate governance to appreciate its practices to make the intra-African trade under the AfCFTA easier for businesses of all kinds.

Winnifred Asare, the acting executive secretary, NAPRM-GC, speaking about the component of the DOCs, said the members comprised traditional and religious leaders, persons with disabilities, youth groups and representatives of civil society organisations.

The DOCs were formed to monitor the implementation of the APRM national programme of action at the local level.