Ghana Presses African Parliaments on AfCFTA Oversight
Ghana’s delegation to the 55th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Africa Region Conference in Lilongwe, Malawi, has called on African parliaments to shift focus from ratifying the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to holding governments accountable for turning its commitments into tangible results.
Presenting a motion at the conference, the delegation argued that signing the agreement was the easy part and that the real work now lies in implementation, monitoring and oversight.
The AfCFTA covers all 55 African Union member states, representing roughly 1.4 billion people and a combined GDP of about US$3.4 trillion.
World Bank projections indicate the agreement could raise regional incomes by up to 9 per cent, create 18 million jobs, and lift 50 million people out of poverty by 2035.
The Ghanaian delegation, however, stressed that these gains will not materialise automatically and will depend on deliberate action by governments and scrutiny by parliaments.
The address noted that African countries still trade more outside the continent than among themselves, a situation attributed to high transport costs, weak infrastructure and persistent non-tariff barriers.
To strengthen oversight, the delegation proposed that parliaments assess every AfCFTA commitment by asking five key questions: what was promised, who is responsible, what resources were allocated, what has been achieved, and what corrective action will follow when implementation stalls.
This, it said, should be supported by legislative review of AfCFTA-related laws, tracking of budgetary allocations, and mandatory annual government reports on implementation progress.
The delegation also highlighted barriers that continue to limit trade, including delays at borders, burdensome documentation and certification requirements, and gaps in digital infrastructure, cybersecurity and cross-border payment systems that are undermining the Protocol on Digital Trade.
It urged that tax incentives and industrial policy be evaluated not by announcements but by concrete outcomes such as enterprises established, local content utilised and jobs created.
Ghana presented its own experience as a case study. As host of the AfCFTA Secretariat, the country issued 105 certificates of origin by October 2024, up from just one in 2022.
Ghana also leads the continent in digitally delivered services exports, recording about US$6.2 billion in 2022, and has established institutions such as the National AfCFTA Coordination Office and an AfCFTA digital trade hub.
The country’s free zones employed over 35,000 people and generated nearly US$973 million in export earnings in 2025.
The delegation called for stronger parliamentary scrutiny of AfCFTA laws, budgets and institutions, annual implementation reports from governments, and mechanisms to monitor customs procedures and non-tariff barriers.
It also recommended sustained and targeted budgetary support for implementation, greater inclusion of SMEs, women, youth and informal traders, and deeper inter-parliamentary cooperation through SoCATT and other networks to share lessons and track progress across the region.
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