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Intensify Continental Trade To Unlock $450bn Afcfta Income – Pres Akufo-Addo
The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has called on fellow Heads of States and the global business community to focus on unleashing the 450bn United States dollars AfCFTA-driven potential income, that stands to be accrued from continental trade by 2035.
President Akufo-Addo also believes that, a one percent increase in Africa’s share of global trade from two percent to three percent could generate some seventy billion United States dollars of additional income per annum for the continent.
A key step to achieving this, according to the President, is for all within the global community to support the call for a new investment approach that prioritizes mutually reinforcing partnerships between the private sectors across advanced economies and the economies of Africa.
Speaking at this year’s edition of the Africa-Italy summit, on Monday, 29th January 2024, in Rome, Italy, President Akufo-Addo said, in line with the urgency to take the necessary steps towards resiliency as a continent, it is important to avoid “tax-dodging”, which is the illegitimate commercial transactions by multinationals, which account for sixty percent of the US$88 billion of illicit financial flows annually from the continent, and other relationships which inhibit Africa’s development.
With some eighty percent of infrastructural projects in Africa failing at the feasibility and business planning phase, he however noted positively, that with the right reforms and interventions, Africa, according to analysis conducted by the American management consulting firm, Mckinsey & Company, could unlock some US$550 billion of investments annually in infrastructure.
“Before 2020, Africa was attracting increasing foreign direct investment (FDI), although overall FDI inflows remained much lower than in other world regions. Between 2000 and 2019, FDI flows to Africa increased fourfold, with a compound annual growth rate of eight-point-five percent (8.5%). Our biggest challenge is not a scarcity of financing, but a confluence of poor governance, speculative risk perception, and a defective environment for crowding in investors.”
He was confident that with added emphasis placed on creating a de-risked landscape that innovatively crowds in resources from private sources of capital, international financial institutions, and sovereign wealth funds, governments on the continent will have to focus their efforts on delivering transformative investments like infrastructure to boost Africa’s development aspirations.
The African Development Bank says the continent’s infrastructure financing needs will be as much as $170 billion a year by 2025, with an estimated gap of around $100 billion a year.
This is essentially why, with a burgeoning population growing at a rate of 2.5% annually, “it has become even more urgent to provide reliable electricity, affordable and decent housing, improved transportation networks, and accessible health infrastructure.” he emphasised.
Touching on key efforts to engender the delivery of quality economic infrastructure for Africa’s post-COVID-19 recovery, he said, “recent happenings within the global space, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the turmoil in the Middle East, which is threatening to engulf the rest of the world, have increased the need for policymakers on the African continent to achieve a structural transformation that yields inclusive and sustainable growth patterns over the medium to long term.”
Massive celebrations were recorded countrywide as the Black Stars opened their 2026 World Cup campaign with a 1-0 victory over Panama in Toronto on Wednesday.
Midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi scored the only goal of the match late in the game as he shot in a decent cross from substitute Brandon Asante.
The win gave Ghana a positive start in the competition, placing them in second position behind England, also with three points but with a superior goal aggregate.
After the final whistle, the streets and other viewing centres were turned into partying grounds as fans, mostly clad in the team’s paraphernalia, danced to several World Cup-themed music.
Others blew the vuvuzelas in joyous mood with others putting up a spirited ‘jama’ session.
Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for the Adentan Constituency, Akosua Manu, has urged party members to move away from what she describes as an “entitlement mentality” and focus on unity, sacrifice and hard work as the party prepares for the 2028 general election.
In a statement titled “Is Loyalty a Queue?”, and posted on facebook, Ms. Manu argued that loyalty to the NPP should not be judged by how long a person has been in the party but by their contributions and commitment to its growth.
According to her, the NPP’s history shows that many of its leaders faced significant opposition from within the party before eventually leading it to electoral success.
She cited former President John Agyekum Kufuor as an example, saying he had to overcome resistance from influential figures within the party before winning power for the NPP in 2000.
Ms. Manu noted that after the party lost power in 2008, former President Kufuor faced criticism and accusations from some party members.
However, she said supporters eventually put their differences aside and worked together to rebuild the party.
She pointed to the experience of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who, according to her, faced opposition from some factions within the NPP despite his long service to the party.
“His trials were ten times what Kufuor endured,” she stated, adding that Akufo-Addo eventually overcame the challenges and became President of Ghana.
Turning to the NPP’s current flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Ms. Manu said he also faced resistance from different groups within the party while seeking leadership.
She praised Dr. Bawumia for contributing to policy-based political discussions in Ghana and for remaining composed following the NPP’s defeat in the 2024 elections.
According to her, party members must now rally behind him in the same way they supported former Presidents Kufuor and Akufo-Addo.
Ms. Manu, however, warned that internal divisions and a sense of entitlement remain major threats to the party’s future.
She argued that some party members place too much emphasis on how long individuals have belonged to the NPP rather than on their contributions and capabilities.
“This entitlement does not question impact. It does not ask what you sacrificed or what you built. It asks only how long have you been here,” she said.
The former parliamentary candidate cautioned that such attitudes could discourage committed members and prevent the party from selecting the best people for leadership positions.
She further called on the party’s incoming national executives to strengthen the NPP’s core values of sacrifice, honesty, integrity and dedication to national development.
Ms. Manu addressed the concerns of young party supporters, many of whom she said became discouraged following the NPP’s electoral defeat in 2024.
According to her, many young people remain eager to see the party return to power but are unwilling to support internal conflicts driven by personal ambitions.
She urged party elders to place the interests of the NPP above their individual goals and to demonstrate leadership that attracts rather than alienates members.
“The NPP is bigger than any one of us. It always has been. Our collective responsibility is to act like it,” she stated.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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