Monday, 15th August, 2022

Page 10
The Ghana
International
Trade and Finance
Conference (GITFiC)
has called for
sustained sensitization of
the Ghanaian public and
the business community of
the benefits of the African
Continental Free Trade Area
(AfCFTA).
It said with intra-African
trade still very low, at less
than 20 per cent, the advent
of the AfCFTA was regarded
as a springboard to position
in the league of global trade
powerhouses.
The GITFiC made the call at
a press briefing on its 29-page
survey report titled: “Assessing
the AfCFTA Among the Business
Community in Ghana,” which
was undertaken within a period
of 12 weeks from February to
The Bank of Ghana has
directed all banks and
financial institutions
in the country to reject
all British £50 and £20
paper notes effective 31st August
2022.
The directive comes after
the Bank of England in the
United Kingdom declared that
the two paper banknotes will no
longer be legal tender starting
in October this year, because
they have been replaced with
polymer banknotes.
On its website, the Bank of
England said “30 September 2022
is the last day you can use paper
£20 and £50 notes. They have
been replaced by new polymer
£20 and £50 notes.”
Both the £20 and £50 paper
notes features the Queen of
England, but the new £50
polymer note features a picture
of British scientist Alan Turing
taken in 1961, according to the
bank of England, while the new
£20 note celebrate the works and
legacy of British artist, Turner.
The new £20 note has been in
Business
There must be sustained
of AfCFTA – GITFiC
April 2022.
The survey was to collect
and assess views of the business
community regarding the
framework of the AfCFTA, and
the designation of Accra as the
“commercial capital of Africa.”
Making a presentation on
the Report, Mr Gideon Adjandeh,
the Economic Researcher and
Policy Advocate at GITFiC said
a total of 4,800 questionnaires
were administered to business
enterprises in six sampled
regions of Ghana namely;
Greater Accra, Ashanti, Eastern,
Northern, Volta and Western
Regions.
“A non-disguised
questionnaire containing closeended
and open-ended questions
was developed to elicit the
perspectives of respondents” he
stated, and that the responses
were ranked on a blend of
Ghana Central Bank to
reject £20 and £50 paper
notes from August 31
circulation since October 2019,
while the £50 note has been in
use since June 2021. But both
will be of no use from October 1,
2022.
Following the BoG’s directive,
banks in Ghana have started
issuing circulars via SMS to all
their customers informing them
that the two paper banknotes
will longer be accepted at the
banks from August 31, 2022.
Techgh24 editor made a call
to Access Bank, upon receiving a
copy of the circular to get details
and a bank of official said per
the BoG’s directive, Ghanaians
are also on a deadline to spend
any £50 and £20 paper notes
they have between now and
September 30, when the two
paper notes would no longer
remain legal tender.
There is a countdown on the
website of the Bank of England
indicating 49 more days [from
today] left for you to use your £20
and £50 paper banknotes.
Meanwhile, as of today, the
British pound is equivalent to
GHS10.96.
DAILY ANALYST Monday, 15th August, 2022
the Likert scale and semantic
differential scale.
Mr Adjandeh said the
survey adopted a qualitative
approach, adding that, “a multistage
sampling approach was
used in the collection of data,
with a high sense of ethical
consideration and a total of 2,572
questionnaires was used for the
analysis.”
The study found that 34 per
cent of respondents have not
heard about the AfCFTA, and
the majority of respondents
(18.86 per cent) gained
information about it from the
radio and television while a
high rate of 66.5 per cent of
respondents indicated that the
implementation of the AfCFTA
would have a beneficial effect on
their businesses.
Mr Adjandeh said over 90 per
cent of respondents stated that
the sensitization of the AfCFTA
would be relevant to ensure that
Ghana harnesses the optimal
benefits under the preferences
presented by the continental
liberalized market.
“It is hoped that the findings
The Association of
Ghana Industries
(AGI) has initiated
talks with government
to push for tax
exemption on the importation
of raw materials and partially
manufactured goods into the
country by manufacturing
companies.
The move is to support and
protect investments made in the
country and ensure that goods
produced are affordable and able
to compete favourably on the
international market.
It would also cushion locally
produced goods from unfair
competition posed by cheap
imported goods.
Mr Humphrey Kwasi Ayim –
Darke, President of AGI, speaking
to the Ghana News Agency (GNA)
in an interview, said the current
tax regime was biased towards
manufacturing..
He added that some products
were enjoying tax exemptions
so it would be in the right
direction for raw materials
that were being imported for
manufacturing purposes to also
enjoy tax exemptions.
“All manufactured goods
must enjoy tax exemptions just
as agricultural machinery and
other equipment”, he stated.
This, he said would create
more jobs for the youth and
contribute to the manufacturing
sector increasing gross domestic
Mr. Gideon Adjandeh, the Economic
of this field survey would serve
as veritable reference for policy
makers and key players in the
AfCFTA ecosystem,” he stated.
Mr Selasi Koffi Ackom, the
Chief Executive Officer of GITFiC
said: “We at the GITFiC strongly
believe that, through sustained
help we can jointly change the
narrative on low sensitization
and spark the interest of the
business community and the
public on the vast opportunity
the Continental Free Trade Area
bring to the African Continent.
“Our vision was to serve
key stakeholders in trade and
industry.”
Mr Ackom said for GITFiC
to add layer to its vision as a
nexus serving both private and
public enterprises and entities
products.
According to him, globally,
manufacturing makes the
economy a real one and a
potential to ensure economic
growth and development.
It is in this light that the
government introduced the One
District, One Factory policy to
revamp industrialisation.
He indicated that the country
must endeavour to wean itself
from foreign supply to ensure
would launch a comprehensive
handbook on AfCFTA, which
would contain detailed and
simplified information on its
framework.
It would particularly delve
into key topics such as; the Rules
of Origin and Trade Remedies
among others as pertains in the
field of international trade, he
stated.
“The handbook has gone
under reviews from key
stakeholder institutions
including the African
Union under the Economic
Development Department
and under the auspices of His
Excellency Albert M. Muchanga;
Commissioner – Trade, Industry,
Tourism and Mining.”
Import of raw materials
must be tax exempted – AGI
socio-economic security.
Additionally, manufacturing
contributions to GDP had stalled
over the years and the youth
must endeavour to enter it to
improve their livelihoods.
Ms Akosua Amanoh, a
young entrepreneur in soap
manufacturing speaking to the
GNA called on the government
to ensure that the youth in the
small communities had a feel of
the 1D1F policy.