Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia says Ghana’s mobile money interoperability success story shows that African countries can work towards achieving the Pan African Payment and Settlement System to further promote the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Speaking at the Fifth International Trade and Finance Conference in Accra, Vice President Bawumia called for collaboration to tackle issues impeding cross-country payment systems, to make the Africa Continental Free Trade Area effective and more beneficial.
The main focus of the Fifth Ghana International Trade and Finance Conference, GITFIC is to create the platform for stakeholders to work towards a single continental payments platform to promote financial transactions in the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)).
The Conference will also look at critical issues that need to be addressed to enable the continent derive maximum value from the African Continental FreeTrade Area. These include cross border payment, single currency, digital currency, monetary policy and price levels. Vice President Bawumia, said an effective single payment system is key to the success of AfCFTA.
He said the Pan African Payment and Settlement System should be linked to other payment systems in Africa, while the Sub-region works towards attaining a single payment system.
Vice President Bawumia also touched on how the banking industry will leverage on AfCFTA towards a more vibrant financial inclusion.
The CEO of Ghana International Trade and Finance Conference, Selasi Koffi Ackom, said AfCFTA offers Africa the best platform to increase trade, but effective mechanism must be put in place to help businesses realise it.
The AU Commissioner, Trade, Industry and Mining, Albert Maunchanga intimated that AfCFTA holds the key for economic and industrial transformation of Africa. He said domestic resources must be mobilized to bridge the infrastructural gap on the continent to shore up trade. This year’s GIFEC focused on Facilitating Trade in AfCFTA; The Role of the Financial Services Sector.
By: Mercy Darko.
