President Akufo-Addo says the African continent has to work out ways to halt illicit financial flows.

According to him, one of the ways to curtail the situation is the use tax policies which can save the continent the needed resources in order to propel growth and development.

“We need to pay serious attention to and arrest illicit financial flow out of the continent which is estimated at $88 billion annually depriving Africa of significant resources which could be used to support the continent’s development agenda.

“We must urgently and collectively institute comprehensive and unambiguous tax policies to combat tax-motivated illicit financial flows, strengthen legal and law enforcement systems and bring together national agencies to stem such flows,” Mr. Akufo-Addo indicated.

President Akufo-Addo made the call during the closing session of the maiden African Prosperity Dialogues dubbed, “the Kwahu Summit”.

Meanwhile, the Caretaker Minister for Trade and Industries, Samuel Abu Jinapor has urged the private sector in Ghana and in Africa to own the AfCFTA Agenda to boost Intra-African trade and Africa’s prosperity within the context of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and continue to work with Governments in achieving its full implementation.

The Private sector, he said will not only be the driving force of AfCFTA, but will also be the primary beneficiary of the single market when Africa achieves the desired levels of trade between Africans as a people, adding that the advancement of intra-continental trade would mean private businesses can expand their markets, and venture into new territories which were previously inaccessible to them.

Abu Jinapor was speaking at the closing of a two-day Business and Policy Dialogue, dabbed The Kwahu Summit on Africa’s Prosperity, organized by The African Prosperity Network (APN) in collaboration with The Presidency and the AfCFTA Secretariat on Friday, 27th, January, 2023.

While targeting the private sector, he noted that “we must drill down further to address the needs of Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises in our respective countries, as they contribute more than half of the continent’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Indeed, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) estimates that Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) account for some ninety percent (90%) of all businesses in Africa, and provide for some eighty percent (80%) of jobs across the continent”.

Closing on the theme“ AfCFTA: From Ambition to Action, Delivering Prosperity Through Continental Trade”, the Damongo MP indicated that The quality of presentations, the constructive exchanges, and active participation over the past two days, are clear testimonies of their collective desire to move from ambition to action, and to deliver prosperity through AfCFTA for the “Africa We Want.”

“It is encouraging to note that as of November 2022, 44 members states have ratified the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCTA), this is strong evidence of the growing political will and commitment of the leadership of the continent to achieve market integration in Africa, and it’s our duty to engage to ensure the full participation of all members states.”

Source: Ghana/Kasapaonline.com/102.5FM