Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Marfo has challenged businesses across Africa to make known the difficulties trade barriers create in order to find common resolutions for them.

According to him, there is the urgent need to reduce red tapes and avoidable bureaucracies which hold businesses on the continent to ransom.

"If manufacturing should be competitive and it takes me 15 days to clear my goods from the port, when it takes others two days, is that the way to go? We have to look at all these things and come up with resolutions for the Continental free trade",he implored.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the 3-day African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) conference in Accra, the Senior Minister said, the agreement will create new ties which will be underpinned by deeper economic operations through trade and mobility of goods and services.

He said the hosting of the AfCFTA secretariat has made Ghana the heart of Africa’s quest for expedited economic emancipation that will bring prosperity to the African continent.

He mentioned that AfCFTA will give Ghana the competitive advantage in the
pharmaceuticals industry and other sectors as well.

He allayed the fears of some Ghanaian traders that AfCFTA will make them loose their businesses to other African countries.



"We should not be looking at this as freeing other people from dominating our market but we now also have the opportunity to penetrate other markets because other markets are also being made available to you", he asserted.

Osafo Marfo added that there is the need for government to provide policies which make Ghanaian productions competitive and cheaper for industrial base.

He advocated for tertiary institutions in the country to begin to embark on researches that will improve trade and commerce.

"My challenge to our universities, is that we should not be doing theoretical research into areas. Instead, pick a problem within the Continental Free Trade, and research to bring the solutions to the secretariat", he charged.

The Senior Minister said there are risks with AfCFTA which African countries must work collectively to address to make the manufacturing Industry more competitive.

He added that the government of Ghana is rolling out various interventions and initiatives which will make Ghana competitive and robust in the AfCFTA.