Accra (Greater Accra) 8 March '99

Mr Kwame Peprah, Minister of Finance, on Sunday called on ECOWAS member countries to implement ECOWAS protocols and resolutions without further hesitation. He said the initiative of ECOWAS promises to be a powerful tool for social-economic development of the sub-region. Mr Peprah was speaking at the closing ceremony of the second ECOWAS Trade in Accra. He impressed on individual governments of the community to initiate measures and give appropriate official backing to translate ECOWAS decisions. Mr Peprah said unless all member states of ECOWAS cooperate, all efforts at integration, cooperation, trade and development will be difficult to achieve. The future development of West Africa will depend largely on small scale businesses, he said and expressed satisfaction about the large turn out at the fair by small scale enterprises. Mr Peprah said the usefulness of the fair "lies in executing all contracts and business transactions at the fair". Business executives and enterprises were called upon to capitalise on their achievements at the fair to expand their businesses in the West African market. Mr Peprah reiterated the need for the removal of tariffs and trade barriers and called for support towards encouraging the objectives of the fair. Mr Lasana Kouyate, Executive Secretary of ECOWAS, said actvities at the conference reflected on the aspirations and potentials of ECOWAS. He suggested that the fair should be held every two years instead of every four years. Mr Kouyate expressed gratitude to the European Union and the Ghana Government for supporting the fair, adding a friendly atmosphere had characterised the fair.