Ghana offers free visa to Africans: Processes underway – President Akufo-Addo

Ghana has started a process to ensure that all Africans entering the country’s borders do so visa-free, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said.

The move, which would be implemented before the end of the year, is geared towards ensuring easy movement of goods, services and people within the continent to foster economic prosperity as part of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

President Akufo-Addo revealed this yesterday when he opened the second edition of the African Prosperity Dialogues at the Peduase Presidential Lodge, near Aburi in the Eastern Region.

The African Prosperity Network (APN) organised the high-level public-private matchmaking event in collaboration with the AfCFTA Secretariat.

“The government of Ghana is committed to ensuring visa free for all Africans travelling to our country and the process has begun to get the policy implemented this year, that is before I leave office,” President Akufo-Addo stated.

The three-day business and policy dialogue which has attracted representatives of heads of state and government and policymakers as well as leaders of business and industry has been described as an excellent initiative aimed at facilitating dialogue towards the AfCFTA initiative.

It also provides a unique platform dedicated to mobilising Africa’s energetic private sector to own and drive the benefits AfCFTA presents.

Other speakers included the Ag. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the APN Secretariat, Njack Kane; the CEO of Development Bank Ghana (DBG), Kwamina Duker, who is also representing the 3i Africa Summit, and the Board Chairman of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Alex Apau Dadey, who is also the Executive Chairman of KGL Group.

Others were the CEO of Oando Plc, Wale Tinubu, the former President of Mozambique and Chairperson of Africa Forum, Joaquim Alberto Chissano, and the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Wamkele Mene.

President Akufo-Addo expressed delight that Africa’s private sector was ready, deliberate and eager to ensure that the united Africa was attained, adding that it was time to focus on economic integration through the free movement of people, goods and services.

He emphasised that the continent was blessed with all natural resources such as gas and sunlight, with 65 per cent of arable land capable of feeding nine billion people on the surface of the earth by 2050.

The continent is also endowed with the most youthful population, the President added.

That, President Akufo-Addo explained, required collective responsibility to turn prospects into productivity that could generate prosperity for the people.

Transport

President Akufo-Addo called for the prioritisation of efficient transport and logistics infrastructure, streamlining processes and embracing digital technology that facilitated cross-border transactions without the need to depend on external currency.

“These dialogues must emphasise that Africa has to go heavy on the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices, coupled with targeted investment in infrastructure for innovation and technology, especially in agribusiness and industry that boost production,” the President said.

“We should also ensure the resilience of the agricultural sector in the face of evolving global challenges and climate change,” President Akufo-Addo added.

Commitments

He called on African heads and business leaders to find ways to realise the commitments that had been made previously to deepen the resolve in reaching the decisions of the compact.

President Akufo-Addo called for a critical examination of the responsibilities and expectations of the private sector and demanded same of the public sector and how both could work as partners to create the desired Africa.

“Let us work to get the buy-in of the small trader, farmer and seamstress and make them believe that having a single market can benefit them as well,” the President emphasised.

President Akufo-Addo urged all to embark on a journey that went beyond the rhetorics and transcended dialogue into actionable plans for transformative change.

Expatiating on the theme: “Prosperity in Africa, Production, Add Value and Trade”, Mr Mene said the AfCFTA was the instrument to deliver the promise of an Africa that produced what it consumed.

He added that since the establishment of the Secretariat in Accra, AfCFTA had recorded tremendous success in ensuring that the vision of the founding fathers of the AU became a reality, saying trading under the compact had started.

“We have a programme that we initiated last year which is designed and intended to see the realisation of the trade that all of us want to see on the continent.

He announced that the secretariat had developed the AfCFTA tariff book which would enable the private sector and economic operators on the continent to determine with certainty the tariffs that applied to the products they wanted to export.

GH¢1 billion

For his part, Mr Duker stated that the DBG had already directed about GH¢1 billion into the private sector, strengthening over 80 businesses and fostering the creation of more than 6,000 jobs.

He said 38 per cent of the jobs went to women and it had generated more than $40 million in foreign exchange revenue.

Mr Duker added that the bank’s focus extended beyond immediate financial outlays to emphasise outputs of collaborations, indicating that “we are committed to forging long-term, bankable deals that guarantee not only sustainable growth, but also profitability”.

The DBG CEO gave an assurance that the bank was transitioning from traditional transactional models to ones that prioritised lasting impacts and value creation.

“In our journey to de-risk the financing landscape, we are building the capacities of financial institutions to venture into sectors previously deemed risky and are empowering local businesses to embrace innovation and scalability.

“Together with the Bank of Ghana and the Monetary Authority of Singapore, we are building a unique platform code-named Ghana Integrated Financial Ecosystem (GIFE),” he stated.

In November 2022, the three bodies issued a statement saying GIFE aimed to enhance financial capabilities and access for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Ghana and generate greater opportunities for trade and financial services cooperation between Singapore and Ghana.

Over time, it is envisaged that the integrated financial ecosystem model can serve the Asia-Africa SME trade corridor more broadly.