Ghana is likely to become the major hub of trading activities in the sub-Saharan region following the birth of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) secretariat established in its capital city.

According to the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the country will take advantage of the secretariat to make room for easy trade facilitation to grow its economy.

Presenting the budget for the 2021 fiscal year, the Minister highlighted some key steps the government will be taking to boost the economy by the end of the third quarter of the trading year.

“Mr Speaker, I want to reassure this august House and the people of Ghana that in 2021; We will accelerate the industrialization and transformation of our economy and move away from the Guggisberg economy. We will prioritize support to the private sector and entrepreneurship to create jobs and improve incomes, we will make Ghana a hub for commerce, financial services and manufacturing to take full advantage of the AfCFTA, the world’s largest free trade area,” he said.

Meanwhile, in the bid to grow the economy and make Ghana a manufacturing hub, the government has started establishing some manufacturing plants like the Volkswagen Vehicle Manufacturing plant in the country where the vehicle will be locally assembled and manufactured here in Ghana.