The President of the Nigerian Union of Traders Association Ghana (NUTAG), Chukwuemeka Nnaji has prayed that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement should not become a white elephant just like the many joint projects started on the continent.
According to him, the free trade agreement is a welcoming policy that will remove all blockages to businesses but, “my concern is compliance here. It seems our governments and Africans are good with signing agreements but are not good with adherence to these agreements. ”
In an interview with Happy 98.9 FM’s Samuel Eshun, host of the Happy Morning Show, the NUTAG president indicated that education plays a major role in the realization of objectives outlined in the AfCFTA agreement.
“We should explain to everybody what the AfCFTA means. Let us advertise and publicize the AfCFTA more so that citizens will understand the trade agreement more and not agitate when things are not going their way.”
He indicated with sadness how some countries on the continent sign such trade agreements and neither say anything about it nor educate their citizens on the agreement. “West Africa is bigger than any individual country and we need to make sure trade agreements work by educating and getting people to adhere to them.”
Africans should know now that anytime our leaders sign agreements, we should respect them and the leaders should explain things more to citizens for them to understand,” he emphasized.
On his authority, some business people and member states look at large countries as being on the receiving end whilst the smaller nations are on the losing end. “But that should not be a worry to us as the agreement will benefit the whole of Africa,” he said.
The government of Ghana on Monday officially commissioned and handed over the headquarters of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat to the African Union in the Ghanaian capital Accra.
The handover ceremony was attended by Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo, African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat and AfCFTA Secretary-General Wamkele Mene.
The AfCFTA was headquartered in Accra as Ghana is a historical trading centre and remains an important center of commerce in Africa and the world.
By: Joel Sanco
