The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana International Trade and Finance Conference (GITFiC), Selasi Koffi Ackom, has stated point-blank that the informal sector will not benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The AfCFTA aims at accelerating intra-African trade and boosting Africa’s trading position in the global market by strengthening Africa’s common voice and policy space in global trade negotiations.
But Selasi Koffi Ackom has expressed that the informal sector may not get this boost that AfCFTA promises to provide.
Explaining why he takes that stance, he told Don Prah on the Happy Development Dialogues that certain structures under the AfCFTA will not be favorable for businesses in the informal sector.
Speaking under the theme, ‘Understanding the relevance of AfCFTA for Ghana and Industry Players’, he explained: “Incoterms play a major role in the AfCFTA and people do not really know about that. Incoterms are guidelines by WTO guiding the shipment or movement of goods. If you don’t know the incoterms to use you will lose. So, there are technicalities. What we are saying is that currently within the fundamentals, it is left with the technocrats. AfCFTA currently as it is, is not for the informal sector yet.”
He was, however, quick to share that for the informal sector to benefit from AfCFTA, the sector must form a consolidation, identify their markets and seek help from an expert institution or consultant on the way forward.
African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a flagship project of Agenda 2063 of the African Union. It was approved by the 18th ordinary Session of Assembly of Heads of State and Government, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in January 2012 which adopted the decision to establish a Continental Free Trade Area. This initiative whose immediate implementation would provide quick wins, impact on socio-economic development and enhance confidence and the commitment of Africans as the owners and drivers of Agenda 2063.