Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia has opened the 74th edition of the University of Ghana’s annual New Year School and conference in Accra.
Since the University of Ghana’s inception 75 years ago, the New Year School and conference have brought together stakeholders from academia, business, and political leadership to discuss issues of national significance.
Vice-President Bawumia, speaking on behalf of President Nana Akufo-Addo, opened the 74th edition by thanking the University of Ghana for sustaining the New Year School, which he described as “always being a source of national discourse and for transforming our nation.”
Dr. Bawumia noted that the theme for the 74th New Year School is “Positioning the African Market for Sustainable Economic Development through AfCFTA (African Continental Free Trade Area),” and that it provides an important barometer for Ghana’s quest to boost economic development through regional trading.
“While recent domestic and global economic challenges have negatively impacted our economy, it is important that we promote AfCFTA efforts of key stakeholders such as industry, the private sector, academia, and government to reposition Ghana through trade,” Dr. Bawumia noted.
The vice-president expressed concern about the low level of trade among African countries, adding that Africa must take advantage of the opportunities provided by AfCFTA in order to avoid the worrying situation of low intra-Africa trade.
“Madam Chairperson, when you consider the fact that trade between African countries remains low, currently standing at some 16% of our combined GDP, compared to other parts of the world, like the European Union’s 75%, it is obvious that these very low levels of intra-regional trade cannot improve our prospects of bringing prosperity to our peoples” Dr. Bawumia observed and listed a number of opportunities the AfCFTA provides.
According to him, a large part of the growth and prosperity that we seek on the continent will come from our trading more among ourselves.
The coming into force of the AfCFTA means that Africa now has the world’s largest free trade area since the formation of the World Trade Organisation,” he said.
“The Free Trade Area will cover a market of 1.2 billion people, with a combined GDP of US$3 trillion, across the 54 Member States of the African Union that have signed up to the Agreement.
“It will provide the vehicle for us to trade among ourselves in a more modern and sophisticated manner; it will offer a huge opportunity to exploit the abundant wealth and resources of our great continent for the benefit of all our people; and it would give us protection in how to deal with other trading blocks.”
According to Dr. Bawumia, the effective implementation of the AfCFTA and its entry into force are essential for Ghana to achieve its goal of becoming an independent nation “that has freed herself from a mindset of dependence, charity, and handouts and is determined to make intelligent, disciplined use of her considerable resources the basis for her growth and prosperity.”
If we can take advantage of the trade and investment opportunities the AfCFTA offers, this vision will be more fully realized.
Dr. Bawumia continued by arguing that although Ghana, like many African nations, is endowed with a wealth of resources, over time it has been unable to turn this into the much-needed growth and development that the nation and continent long for, leaving the economy in a precarious and unfulfilled state.
He called for the economic architecture to be changed in order to meet the needs of the emerging global economies following COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war in order to prevent this as well as to fully realize the benefits of AfCFTA.
Dr. Bawumia urged accelerating the structural transformation of the economy to maximize the benefits of the AfCFTA.
“We are still overly reliant on the production and export of raw materials, and not sufficiently on the things we make and grow.”
“That is why the government is firmly committed to addressing productive capacity issues through initiatives such as the “One-District One Factory” (1D1F) policy, the development industries like the integrated bauxite and aluminum industry, the iron and steel industry and the programme for agricultural renewal and enhancement that we have dubbed “Planting for Food and Jobs”.
Dr. Bawumia also cited the government’s digitalisation initiative, which has catapulted Ghana to one of Africa’s leading digital economies, as an example of how the government is transforming the Ghanaian economy’s economic architecture in preparation for the impending global economic revolution.
