AfTCTA should supersede all trade arrangements in Africa - Panel

The panel of speakers on the second day of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS) 2022 Public Forum have strongly urged African countries to ensure that AfCFTA supersedes any trade arrangement they have or might enter into.

The panel which included Prof. Ernest Kofi Abotsi and Prof. Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua was sitting during day two of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences 2022 Public Forum.

The theme for this years forum is African Continental Free Trade Area: Challenges and Prospects. This year’s forum is sponsored by the UMB, as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations.

Day two of the forum was focused on Political and Legal Environments for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Speaking on the sub-topic "The human rights implications of AfCFTA," Professor Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua, Associate Professor of Law, University of Ghana, argued that human rights will provide the framework for Africa's progress.

He also remarked that he believes the AfCFTA will be effective if barriers to the free movement of products, services, capital, and people are gradually removed.

Professor Appiagyei-Atua further opined that Human Rights Impact Assessments are a critical tool for the advancement of people-centered and human rights-based development, including through trade agreements.

This he believes is critical in ensuring that the rights of people whose needs may otherwise be overlooked or poorly addressed are protected in trade negotiations so everyone can benefit equitably from trade.

Professor Ernest Abotsi, Dean of UPSA Law School, during his submission asserted his confidence as regards AfCFTA, because the accords and implementation seems to have learnt from the mistakes of the WTO.

He however noted that one of the key dangers he saw in AFCTA was a legal weakness that allows signatory parties to enter into agreements that are more favourable or at par with AfCFTA.

He and other deliberants noted that this had come about as concessions from the long negotiations that led to the AfCFTA but the time has come to close this.

Prof. Abotsi also argued that the AfCFTA secretariat needs quickly structure a voluntary visa free travel arrangement, to fast track this element of the AfCFTA.

"The AfCFTA establishes the single largest free trade area by number." He added that the AfCFTA presents an opportunity for Africa to reset its relationship with itself and the outside world and leverage the enormous commercial advantages offered by the deal.

He also advised the African Union and the AfCFTA secretariat to speed up permitting voluntary free movement for the countries involved. In response to a query on how local traders may benefit from the deal, Prof. Abotsi stated that it is necessary to localize trade discussions in order to bring market women and men on board.

The Chairperson of the forum Emerita Prof. Isabella Akyinbah A. Quakyi Vice -President, Arts Section of the Academy in her closing remarks expressed GAAS profound appreciation to UMB for sponsoring the forum.

“AfCFTA is a game changer and a new magical wand that will bring in renewed energy being removal tariffs, single African market and bringing in untapped potentials’’ she said.

Belinda Boamah, Executive Director, Business at UMB in response stated “Our sponsorship of this forum is a testament that we remember that the conceptualization and formation of our Bank, was probably arrived at in deliberations like this.

The substantive point here being that the ideas, analysis and research of Academia, often drives and leads to very positive outcomes, what American management practice calls blue sky thinking or blue ocean ideas.”

She further added that for a fully Ghanaian Bank, with aspirations for exponential growth, AfCFTA features significantly in the Bank’s medium to long term plans and as such they were most eager to tap into the erudite deliberations, to learn, so the Bank is future fit to take advantage of this game- changer initiative.

The Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Herbert Krapa was amongst the dignitaries present with Professor SKB Asante,FGA, Professor Akilakgpa Sawyerr, FGA, Prof. Kofi Opoku Nti among other eminent people from academia, both private and public sectors asking pertinent questions on the subject matter.

The Forum enters its final lap this evening in Accra at the Academy’s auditorium.

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