The National Coordinator of Ghana’s AfCFTA National Coordination Office, Dode Seidu, has called for reforms at the country’s borders to make cross-border trade safer and more accessible, particularly for women and young traders.
Speaking at a Stakeholder Dialogue on Safe and Inclusive Trade in Aflao, Mr Seidu said the benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) would remain limited unless continental trade commitments translated into practical improvements for traders at border points.
In a presentation titled “Bridging Policy and Border Realities for Safe and Inclusive Trade,” he urged policymakers and border institutions to simplify compliance procedures, eliminate discretionary barriers and strengthen measures to protect traders.
He also called for formal feedback and grievance-redress systems to enable informal traders to report challenges and contribute to national trade policy discussions.
Mr Seidu highlighted the economic potential of the AfCFTA, which brings together a market of about 1.4 billion people with a combined gross domestic product of approximately US$3.4 trillion.
Ghana ratified the agreement in 2018 and hosts the AfCFTA Secretariat in Accra.
He said the people who sustain daily trade across Ghana’s borders with Togo, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire, many of them women and young people, must be able to access the opportunities created by the continental agreement without facing unnecessary barriers or safety risks.
He stressed that making border procedures more efficient and responsive to traders’ needs was essential to ensuring that the AfCFTA delivers meaningful economic opportunities across the continent.
