President Mahama has emphasized the need for trade barriers on various African countries to be removed to meet the demands of the private sector.
“Africa is made up of 54 countries and while we detest being seen as one country… I believe that if Africa were one integrated market it will create the kind of economies of scale that the private sector is looking for,” President Mahama explained.
[contextly_sidebar id=”qUwMyfHlSH0JxSQAMzzMptLlf8lmjp8v”]He revealed that government intends to create sub-regional economic blocs across the West African sub region to ensure that government’s dream of removing trade barriers is achieved.
“…what we are trying to do is to create a subregional economic blocs and remove the buyers to movement of people, goods and services in each of those blocs and the strategy is that when we have created the integration at the sub-regional levels to plug it in together and create one huge featured area in the whole of Africa”
The President made the call on his two-day official visit to Denmark.
President Mahama said major challenges hidering the transportation of goods and services across African countries are the lack of infrastructure and lack of energy.
He was however quick to add that government has began optimising investment and infrastructure by putting in expanded ports in terms of highways, railway lines, and sharing power to address the challenge.
Government in a bid to promote trading activities between Ghana and other African countries approved the Economic Partnership Agreement(EPA).
President Mahama in July strongly defended the EPA,saying it is the only way to ensure economic growth within the sub-region.
By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana