From Christian Akorlie, GNA Special Correspondent, Po, Burkina Faso

Po, Burkina Faso, June 22, GNA - Mr. Ibrahim Akalbila, National Coordinator of the Ghana Trade and Livelihoods Coalition (GTLC) has appealed to the governments of English-speaking countries in West Africa to treat the adoption of a common external tariff (CET) as a matter of urgency.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of the sub-regional integration forum held in Po, Burkina Faso, Mr Ibrahim said the idea of a CET had been on the drawing board for far too long and a concrete action needed to be taken on it now. "We need to speed up the process of the adoption of CET if the removal of barriers on the trans-ECOWAS Highways is to benefit the people of ECOWAS," he said.

The common external tariff is a mild form of economic union that may lead to further types of economic integration. Besides, having the same customs duties, the countries may have other common trade policies, such as having the same quotas, preferences or other non-tariff trade regulations apply to all goods entering the area, regardless of which country within the area they are entering. The French Speaking countries in the sub-region already operate a four band CET levels of 0, 5, 10 and 20. Mr Akalbila said the general consensus was for the English speaking countries to adopt the same tariff band in order to harmonise tariff levels in the sub-region.

However, Nigeria is proposing a fifth band of 50 per cent. He emphasized that governments of the sub-region must adopt and use the Common External Tariff (CET) as a means to safeguard the regional market from the influx of cheap and subsidized imports from the developed countries. Touching on the forum, Mr Akalbila urged the governments of Ghana and Burkina Faso to develop mechanisms to ensure wider participation of the general public in issues of integration. There is also the need for both countries to implement the ECOWAS Agriculture Policy (ECOWAP), since it provided all the safeguards and protection for the development of agriculture in the sub-region. He said that, the ECOWAP had laudable objectives such as ensuring food security for rural and urban populations.

Mr Akalbila said with support and guidance of leaders on the continent the goal of total integration of member countries would be attained.

The forum was organized by the Ghana Trade and Livelihood Coalition and their counterparts in Burkina Faso, Organisation pour le Reinforcement des Capacites de Development (ORCADE) aimed at giving impetus to efforts at regional integration, using Ghana and Burkina Faso as a case study. It was held on the theme: "Effective Regional Integration for Better and Sustainable Development."